Feb. 14 is a really sweet day
Two days.Two days until one of the greatest days of the year. Two days until I get that special feeling that comes only once a year. I’m so excited, I can hardly stand it.
What’s that? Valentine’s Day? Ha! You must be joking. I hate Valentine’s Day.
No, Thursday is much more important than cards and candy and flowers and kisses from your sweetheart.
Thursday is the day pitchers and catchers officially report for spring training.
Baseball is in the air, my friends. And there’s no other time of the year quite like it.
Here’s the strange thing: Baseball is not my all-time favorite sport. I don’t watch it on TV a great deal unless it’s my favorite team playing or it’s the postseason. And given the choice between attending an NFL game or a major league baseball game, I’m going to pick the NFL nine times out of 10.
But there’s just something about baseball, especially the start of the season. I’m not sure what it is. Maybe it’s because it really is like James Earl Jones’ character Terence Mann told Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, in the movie “Field of Dreams.”
“… Baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: It’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.”
Of course, the way things are going in baseball these days with steroids and what not, it’s hard to imagine that time Mann was talking about.
But for some reason, I am still drawn to this game much like I was in my youth, when I played it in backyards, on streets, on the game’s fields or anywhere else.
Baseball has its problems and they need to be fixed. But there is something both exciting and peaceful about the start of the season.
I’ve never been to spring training. But I’m going this year with some friends a few weeks from now. And when I’m in Florida next month, I won’t be thinking about whether Roger Clemens is lying about his alleged HGH use.
All that will matter will be the sunshine, the breeze, the crack of the bat, the pop of the leather and the wonderful memories.
Posted by on 02/12 at 10:10 AM
I agree - baseball can conjure up great memories. I don’t follow sports and usually don’t go to games. However, one of the best evenings I’ve ever had was when my husband and I attended a baseball game in San Francisco. It was fantastic. The seats faced the water and the weather couldn’t have been better.