The thrill of a walk-off win

Last weekend, I left Bill Clarke Field a few innings before Princeton scored a walk-off win against Harvard. On Saturday, I got a second chance, as Princeton defeated Penn with a walk-off 3-2 victory. With the score 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jake Kernodle hit a grounder to the Penn second baseman, […]

Surprise! Baseball players bunting

I could scarcely believe my eyes. During the three-game weekend college baseball series between Yale and Princeton, several batters squared to — wait for it! — bunt. The Bulldogs and Tigers each laid down a successful sacrifice bunt in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, and Yale laid down two in the nightcap. Neither team […]

The pleasures of baseball photography

When I started this blog several years ago, it was period in my career when I was deep into administrative work and sought a creative outlet to keep my writing skills sharp. That still rings true, but in recent years I’ve grown more and more excited about photography. While writing is what centers my creative […]

Giants’ baseball is on the air

I haven’t lived in California for 12 years, but I still love listening to the San Francisco Giants’ radio broadcasts. As I type this short post, I can hear Duane Kuiper’s soothing voice coming clearly from Arizona through my iPhone with the KNBR broadcast out of San Francisco. Yes, the Cubs are ahead 3-0, but […]

Baseball is in the air at Princeton

Baseball in the Northeast is always dicey early in the year, as winter often lingers well into spring. So it was an extra special treat today to watch the players on the Princeton baseball team scrimmage one another outside, on their home turf. After a stretch of several days without rain and with the temperature poking […]

On becoming a fan of women’s college basketball

In less enlightened decades in my life, I ignored women’s college basketball. I won’t reprise the dopey tropes that played through my head those many years that kept me from paying any attention to the women’s games. Older and wiser, I’ve become a fan, and it wasn’t Caitlin Clark of the University of Iowa who […]

On a winter’s day, a warm well of baseball history

As snow blanketed New Jersey and much of the Northeast on Friday, I headed to the Princeton University campus for a wonderful treat: a special class showcasing rare and unusual baseball artifacts and memorabilia donated to the university over the years. The class was part of Wintersession, the annual between-the-semesters opportunity for students, faculty and […]

Maybe, Just maybe, this is the browns’ year

I’ve been ruminating on the Cleveland Browns much of this NFL season, particularly since aging Joe Flacco stepped in as starting quarterback, leading the team to impressive late-season victories and securing a rare playoff spot. Then today I learned today that Frank Ryan, the Browns’ QB of my early fandom, has died. Could it be […]

Go birds! My Philadelphia Eagles cap always gets a reaction

Since moving into the Philadelphia area, I’ve bought and often wear Eagles-branded clothes. I have a Super Bowl LII T-shirt, an Eagles windbreaker and a cap, which I wear most often. Invariably, whether I’m out shopping, eating at a fast-food joint or even walking in the woods, somebody spots the cap and says, “Go birds!” […]

A tribute to Vic Davalillo

In my schoolboy days in the 1960s, Vic Davalillo was a fixture in the Cleveland Indians lineup. Sadly, I learned today that he has died at age 84. Davalillo, a good-fielding center fielder, finished third in the American League in batting average in 1965 at .301. I remember the Topps “league leader” baseball card the […]