TAKE ME OUT TO THE GAME MOM LOVED!

My mother passed on her love of sports to me.  In the spring and summer it was all about baseball for her—from spring training games in Arizona where she could watch the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, to summers at our Wisconsin cabin listening to radio broadcasts. Nobody could call a game like the legendary Bob Uecker of the Brewers, unless it was Harry Caray of the Cubs. The Cubs were her team as much as the Brewers; she loved to reminisce about players she adored—Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg,  Henry Aaron, Warren Spahn, to name a few.  She just loved baseball, win or lose. 

MOM WITH HER BASEBALL STARS AND HEROES

 

One day Mom was at the Cubs spring training ballpark in Arizona and was accidentally hit on the wrist by a foul ball.  Although it was painful, the benefit of being able to meet and hug a few of her heroes made it all worthwhile.  It didn’t stop her from going to as many games as she could over the next decade.  Now that she’s moved on to the “next level of play,” I always think of her when spring training is just around the corner and the long winter is about over.  I’ll never forget the hundreds of ballgames we went to through the years and the joy we shared.  There’s currently snow on the ground and a new round of flakes swirling about, but I’m still excited about Opening Day and the sound of PLAY BALL! Spring training gets it all started. 

Here are a few quotes to share from the world of baseball:

            "It’s designed to break your heart.  The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone.”  (Former Commissioner of Baseball, A. Bartlett Giamatti)

            “If I were playing third base and my mother were rounding third with the run that was going to beat us, I’d trip her.  Oh, I’d pick her up and brush her off and say, “Sorry, Mom,” but nobody beats me.”  (Leo Durocher, former baseball manager)—My mom would have loved that one.

            “It might be . . . it could be . . . it is!”  (Harry Caray’s home run call)

            “I don’t want them to forget Ruth.  I just want them to remember me.”  (Hank Aaron)

We remember you Henry, and the special lady who loved you and your game as well!