The Great Game of Baseball

So life truly began again yesterday. Spring is here. And now I have a reason to read the Sports Page every day. To me, there is no sport that even compares to baseball. Baseball engages all your senses. Sight - freshly chalked foul lines, green grass mowed so evenly, freshly watered dirt, the list could go on. Sound - the crack of the bat, the smack in the catcher's glove of a fastball, the strike call of a really good umpire. Smell - freshly mowed grass, leather of a glove, spring air. Taste - cotton candy, ballpark hot dog, bag of peanuts. Touch - the grip of a baseball, the way a bat feels, the passing of concessions down the row. One's whole person gets involved in baseball. I am glad it's back again. And I'm glad there are 161 games left after the way the Rangers disappointed in game 1.

One of my favorite things about the great game of baseball is talking about former players. During last night's broadcast, Tom Grieve and Josh Lewin, in the span of an inning, made reference to five centerfielders connected to the Rangers. First is the current centerfielder, Kenny Lofton. Next, a catch by last year's centerfielder Gary Matthews, Jr., a camera shot of the Rangers' firstbase coach Gary Pettis, and a reference to the speed of Damon Buford and Tom Goodwin. (I hadn't heard their names in a long time!) So, I began to think of all the Ranger CFs I could remember: Greer, Hulse, Brower, Nixon, Nix, etc, etc., etc. In college, we used to try to come up with the most obscure Ranger names we could think of. No one ever does that with football or basketball, do they? Well, anyway, I'm glad the season has started.