Little did I realize that when I wrote my previous post, I had some medical adventures in store — and that baseball would once again be a tonic in unsettled times.
I’ll spare you the details of what I’ve been going through and emerging from, but I must note that the first inkling I was out of sorts came while drafting that post in mid-July . I was making lots of typos with my left hand. I caught many of them but discovered this morning as I went back to it that I didn’t catch them all.
Embarassing.
Now that I’m on the mend, I must note the salubrious role baseball has played in my recovery from what’s been ailing me. First are the games themselves. I’ve watched a few on television (even a Dodgers game!) and listened to many more on the MLB app, often while scrolling social media for baseball news and enjoying old photos of the game that people post.
Then there’s the baseball book. A great colleague and friend from work stopped by with a copy of The Greatest Summer in Baseball History: How the ’73 Season Changed Us Forever by John Rosengren.
The book is a thorough and thoroughly enjoyable retelling of the 1973 season, a point of transition as Willie Mays played his last season and Reggie Jackson emerged as a next-generation superstar. The book also details the awful racist attitudes of many fans who hated the idea that Hank Aaron would break Babe Ruth’s sacred 714 career home run record. The Aaron saga is also well featured at the Baseball Hall of Fame in a special exhibit, the entrance to which is shown in the photo leading this post.
I recommend “The Greatest Summer” to all baseball fans, for those of us from the 70s generation who will enjoy a retrospective on the teams and idols of our teens or childhood, and for younger fans who might get a kick out of what their “old-timer” relatives reminisce about. Besides, it’s just a darn good read.
The broadcasts and the books have the power to heal, reawakening memories of good old days, lifting one’s spirits and portending that many seasons in the sun remain.
And now, I’m going make a couple of sweeps of this post for typos!
The Ball Caps Blog 
Glad to hear you are on the mend. I’m no editor, but I don’t see any typos. You are so right about baseball being good medicine or as you put it – “salubrious role baseball has played in my recovery.” It is amazing what this game provides to us.
Thanks for recommending the book. I was only three years young in 1973, but I managed to get my hands on many cards from the 1973 set and your post reminds me/inspires me to go for it – to try and complete the 73 set with the biggest obstacle being re-attaining the Mike Schmidt rookie card. I say re-attaining because I once had it and have no idea what happened to it.
In any case, take care and enjoy the post season. Here’s to your continued good health Cheers!