Brewers and Phillies: Which to choose?

Root for the home team, Dad told me when I was a kid. As someone who has lived, worked and studied in several states, I’ve followed a lot of local nines over the years. As the Phillies start a series in Milwaukee with playoff implications for both teams and those chasing them, I find myself […]

Looking back fondly on my ball-playing life

Playing softball again this year has got me thinking about the arc of my ball-playing life. It began as a toddler trying to hit a plastic ball tossed by my dad and has morphed into the 60-something trudger that I’ve become. As a kid, I learned the rules and how to play the game. “Meet […]

Old-time base ball comes to Princeton

Over the years in New Jersey, I’ve seen re-enactments of George Washington crossing the Delaware and the battles of Monmouth, Trenton and Princeton. Today, I got to see something old as something new: two bare-handed teams in Civil-War-era-style uniforms using vintage bats and balls play a “base ball” game using 1864 rules. The Newtown Strakes […]

Turkey Bowl XXX in Princeton

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We celebrated the traditional way in Princeton, New Jersey, by playing the 30th annual Princeton Gentlemen’s Society Turkey Bowl football game. Thanks to gimpy knees, I was a non-combatant. I did prowl the sidelines taking photos. My main photo outings are shooting birds and other wildlife, but I also enjoy sports photography […]

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 […]

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 […]

Turkey Bowl XXVIII on a beautiful Thanksgiving Day

Forget the Lions and the Cowboys. We have plenty of football excitement of our own in Princeton, New Jersey, on Thanksgiving. Today we held the 28th Turkey Bowl pickup touch football game. The curiously named Princeton Gentlemen’s Club holds the annual event, which brings players of all ages and their families to the big field […]

Opening day for old Guy Football

It’s opening Sunday for the National Football League, and even better, I survived the first game of the year in the long-running “old guy” touch football game that’s been playing in Princeton since the mid-1990s. In my mid-60s, I was a rookie last season. Now I’m hoping to avoid the sophomore jinx, although I’ll settle […]

The phenom(onology) of MLB Draft League baseball

If a line drive falls into left field and no one’s in the stands, does it make a sound? That question came to mind as I cycled away from Sonny Pittaro Field this evening after watching several innings of an MLB Draft League game between West Virginia and Trenton. Pittaro Field is at Rider University […]