Tag: babe ruth

The Boys of Summer

Baseball is back and I’m thrilled. I’ve always been a baseball fan first. No other sport matches up against it. It’s a game that takes a tremendous amount of skill to play. Most players who get drafted never get to play in the majors . Hitting a major league curve ball is probably the hardest thing to do in all sports.

Anyway, there is nothing like spring training and the hope for a new season. Every team is tied at 0 in the standings. I really wish an MLB team was in the city I live in…we have an NFL team that I would trade in a heartbeat to get an MLB team. Baseball is not an action packed game like basketball, soccer or hockey but there is a game within a game. When you get up to bat…no one is going to block for you…no it’s you against that pitcher … What I love is the different sized fields, no clock, no salary cap, players with quirks, fastballs that are 95 and above and the people who have the skills to play it right…it is a beautiful thing to see.

Baseball really hasn’t changed too much over the years except for instant replay and some small changes. What you see now is pretty much what you saw in 1920s. It’s one of the few things in America that stays consistent.

It’s a game of numbers and history…From Honus Wagner to Babe Ruth to Ted Williams to Jackie Robinson to Willie Mays to Hank Aaron to Sandy Koufax to Clayton Kershaw to Mike Trout… No game has the history that baseball does that is as important.

I love to listen to broadcasts on the radio and to catch a game in mid summer after I get done with what I am doing. In an instant I’m back on the little league and then high school field…in what Bruce Springsteen says…my…”Glory Days”

The cold weather is leaving soon and it is time for me to follow my Dodgers all the way to a World Series again.

 

If you could have dinner with 5 people dead or still living…who would they be?

Mine are pretty shallow sounding vs what some people would say like Lincoln, Washington… Nope…no politicians, generals, or leaders…

1: John Lennon – He could be a walking contradiction but so are a lot of British rock stars but he was very intelligent and a superb songwriter. He loved to shock at times but could be very warm, generous and very honest. After he was shot his legend made him out to be some saint…he would have been the first to say he was not one….he didn’t suffer fools well. I remember when I was 13 and I heard about the shooting. The guy that shot him…I won’t mention his name is kept from the other prisoners for safety reasons. John had already signed a document saying he would get together with the other Beatles for what turned out to be the Anthology. At the time it was called The Long and Winding Road.

2: Keith Moon – I would prepare myself and sleep for as long as possible the day before and then take off and hang out with Keith for a little while.

3: Babe Ruth – What a guy… To me the best baseball player period…there is no one close. He was the best all around player…Not only was he one of the best power hitters he was also a great left handed pitcher….I would love to talk to him…get some dogs and beer and enjoy my time with the Babe.

4: Harpo Marx – The Marx brother that is my favorite. I would plead and recommend that you would read Harpo Speaks  ….It is the best autobiography  I have ever read. I’ve read it at least 8 times. I have worn out two copies. Yes Groucho is better known but Harpo was one of the most decent guys you could ever be around…he also hung out with the Algonquin round table crowd in the 1920s with writers Alexander Woolcott, brilliant playwright George Kaufman and many more. Harpo came from a very poor family at the turn of the century and he came to know some of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century.

5: Buster Keaton – Probably one of the best film makers of the 20th century. He gets over shadowed by Charlie Chaplin. That is not a knock on Chaplin but Keaton not only was a great screen comedian but the better film maker out of the two.

 

Honorable Mention

The two that I hated to leave out but one of the these two could substitute if two of the ones mentioned above could not show up.

Clara Bow – My favorite actress hands down. The original and the only IT girl and could say more with her actions than anyone else with words…she lit up the screen.

Keith Richards – The only living member of my wish list (though some would argue that fact) Keith is just cool period. If I had to describe rock and roll to an alien… I would hand them a copy of Brown Sugar and a picture of a 1972 Keith Richards…. I love that he has survived….God Bless you Keith.