Baseball-You're-Out!

JOURNALING:

BASEBALL YOU'RE OUT!

I DISCOVERED THE GAME IN THE LATE 1950'S AND FELL IN LOVE WITH THE WONDERFUL SLOW "SUMMER-WORTHY" PACE, THE DRAMA OF PITCHER V. BATTER, AND, ESPECIALLY, THE SHEER GEOMETRY OF THE PLAY. AS GEORGE CARLIN OPINED, THE OBJECT OF THE GAME IS "TO GO HOME."

I LIVE IN OHIO. PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL BEGAN IN CINCINNATI. SO I BECAME A REDS FAN. I WOULD GO TO GAMES WITH MY DAD, OR WITH CO-WORKERS, OR FRIENDS, OR EVEN ALONE. AND I NEVER LEFT THE BALLPARK BEFORE THE GAME WAS OVER. NO MATTER THE SCORE. I EVEN WENT TO A WORLD SERIES GAME WITH FOOD POISONING. THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER DID A STORY ABOUT MY LOVE OF THE GAME.

BUT, THEN, THERE WERE THE STRIKES, NOT DURING THE GAME, BUT WITH PLAYERS ON ONE SIDE, MANAGEMENT ON THE OTHER. THERE WAS THE THREAT OF THE TEAM MOVING OUT OF CINCINNATI (THANK YOU MARGE). THERE WAS THE "PETE ROSE" ISSUE. THE BEAUTY OF THE GAME WAS STILL THERE, BUT ALL OF THE OUTSIDE ISSUES JUST BECAME TOO MUCH. AND, THE FINAL STRAW - THE WAY MANAGEMENT TREATED THEIR LONG-TIME FORMER PLAYER AND ANNOUNCER JOE NUXHALL, DURING HIS FINAL DAYS, TOO MANY BROKEN HEARTS.

BESIDES, THERE WAS A NEW SPORT TRYING TO MAKE A DENT IN AMERICA. AND THIS TIME THE MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM WOULD BE IN COLUMBUS, NOT "DOWN THE ROAD!"

GO CREW!

CREDITS: BASEBALL PLAYER: created by me; KITS: "Sporty-Baseball" by Kristin Aagard; "Anti-Valentine's Day" by Studio Liv; FONT: Talking Baseball