Pinball Baseball still charms me

Growing up, I was continually frustrated playing pinball. Every quarter I’d drop into the slot would produce a minute or two of unsatisfying play, as the silver ball would flash past my flippers, ending the game. I never had enough quarters. I wouldn’t bash the machines to nudge the ball this way or that, and […]

My Rooting interests for the AL and NL championships

To demonstrate that I bear no animus toward New York City, I hereby declare my rooting interest in baseball’s American and National league championship series, gateway to the World Series. Anyone who knows me even passingly should not be surprised that I am pulling for the Guardians, the pride of my hometown, Cleveland. They are […]

A farewell to the Oakland Athletics

For six years in the 1990s, I lived about two and a half miles from the Oakland Coliseum. From the front lawn of our home in Alameda, I could occasionally hear cheers from an Oakland A’s game, if the wind was just right. I followed the A’s regularly back then, listening to their games on […]

Baseball in the sky

I watched the Princeton baseball team practice under a sunny sky with big, puffy clouds this afternoon. Although I didn’t have the wherewithal to photograph the concept, the day reminded me of one of my favorite sights: a baseball highlighted by the sun against a bright blue sky. Truly, is there a better sight? That […]

A nice night at Kauffman Stadium

A family gathering brought my wife and me to Kansas City last weekend, and we got in early enough Friday evening that we were able to catch the Royals hosting the Minnesota Twins. I’d been to Kauffman Stadium once a few years ago, and it didn’t make much of an impression on me. But I […]

An amazin’ Casey Stengel biography

Through my employer’s digital library, I checked out a copy of “Casey Stengel: Baseball’s Greatest Character,” a book rich in baseball lore and laughs that I highly recommend. Author Marty Appel combed through many records and historical sources to pen this biography of “the Ol’ Perfessor.” Stengel was managing the Mets when I was a […]

Requiem for a Cubs fan

Bob Newhart has died, and it’s fair to say that any and all Americans who enjoyed his comedy are deeply saddened. I’m squarely in that category. I alway felt an affinity for Bob and his Bob Hartley character on the Bob Newhart Show. Newhart grew up in Chicago and was Jesuit-educated: St. Ignatius High School […]

Saying farewell to the Say Hey Kid

Willie Mays died last night at age 93, news that most Americans woke up to today. So did I, by checking the text my daughter sent me last night shortly after I’d dropped off to sleep. Although I never saw Willie play in person, I saw him play on TV in many an All-Star game […]

A Father’s Day treat: Trenton Thunder baseball

For Father’s Day, I treated myself to a Trenton Thunder baseball game, spending an enjoyable couple of hours in New Jersey’s capital city as the home team fell 8-3 to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. This was only the second time I’d been to a game in Trenton. The first was several years ago when the […]

My quest for the Classic Cleveland Indians cap of my childhood

I started this blog years ago with the idea that I could comment on sports and life while riffing off the many baseball caps I owned, each one inspiring some memory or insight that I thought others might like to read. Today, I’ll tell the tale of my latest acquisition, one I spent several frustrating […]