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Monday, February 28, 2011

"Play Ball!"

Today is February 28, and the Washington Nationals will be visiting the New York Mets at their Port St. Lucie facility for the first baseball game of Spring Training.  It has been four months since the San Francisco Giants won the World Series, and this avid baseball fan has been starving for some good old ball to watch on TV.  We also recently bought our tickets for our first visit to Nationals Park this year - a Sunday afternoon game against the Atlanta Braves in April.  Why do I love baseball so much?  It is an easy game to follow - you throw the ball, you hit the ball, you catch the ball.  The fact that it's much slower than, say, football or basketball allows you to see the emotion on the players' faces; you can see when they're deep in thought, when they're upset over an error, when they're pleased with a good at-bat.  You anticipate every pitch, and you react to every swing of the bat, as well as to every missed opportunity.  You celebrate with the winners, and sometimes feel bad for the losers.  Baseball is a microcosm of life; you work hard, you try to get along with your coworkers so you can work together toward a common goal, you do your best, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, and in the end, you hope that you left a lasting impression and are remembered for your dedication and for the quality of your work (unless you're Barry Bonds or Pete Rose, but I won't go there on my first blog!).

So...why blog about baseball?  Because my kids get tired of me talking about it, and as supportive as my wonderful husband is, I don't want to bore him with my constant baseball-related observations and useless statistics ALL the time!  I have to share my latest instance of baseball nerdiness with you; it happened yesterday.  So a good friend is talking to my husband and me after church, and he tells us that his son's baseball jersey number is #32.  "Can you guess why he picked that number?", asks my friend.  Knowing that his son is a big Derek Jeter fan, I immediately answer "Well, the 3 is for Babe Ruth, and the 2 is for Derek Jeter."  He looks at me in a stunned silence.  I had to follow it with an eye-roll and a "DUH!", just to prove that I am truly a baseball nerd.  His son, too, was impressed.

It's moments like yesterday's Babe-Jeter reference that make me proud of not only being a big baseball fan, but being a FEMALE baseball fan.  Yes, I check out the players' physiques and make a note of who looks best in baseball pants.  But I also know that Nolan Ryan pitched seven no-hitters, I know that the Designated Hitter was adpoted into the American League in 1973, and I can explain the Sherman Antitrust Act and how it relates to baseball.  I can rattle off the starting lineup of the 1988 New York Mets, and I can do so while wearing stillettos and helping my kids with their homework.  I love being a wife, a mom, and a baseball fan.