What A Fan Sees

Are you a baseball fan? If you are keep reading, if not that’s OK football season has arrived. On August 24, 2019, for this year birthday celebration, we made our yearly sojourn to Dodger Stadium, home of the National League-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

It was a blistering day in LA! (Sounds like one of Chandler’s Philip Marlowe novels.) Haha - after fighting LA traffic, we arrive at Chavez Ravine. Posted, in BIG letters, at the parking lot gate - GAME SOLD OUT. Undaunted, tickets in hand, or should I say iPhone, we’re directed to park our automobile. After slathering on sunscreen, we make our way to the upper deck, thinking, it’s going to be hot up there, ah - “love these seats we’re in the shade,” thank the baseball gods.

Tradition dictates, especially at Dodger Stadium, tune in with your transistor radio.

“It’s time for Dodger Baseball!” Who could forget the magical voice of Vin Scully all those years? So, we’re cozied into our seats listening to Charlie Steiner and Rick Monday, “Hey Charlie talk about Yankee history; in 1941 Joe DiMaggio struck out 14 times the entire season, however in last nights game both teams combined struck out 26 times - in one game.”

As a fan living in Southern California, there is a multitude of options to visit a major league park; Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres; Angel Stadium, Angels of Anaheim; and Dodger Stadium.

Dodger Stadium is currently the third-oldest ballpark after Fenway Park, and of course Wrigley Field. However seeing the New York Yankees play, in a National League Park, and being able to get tickets is a rarity. So we had to go. If nothing else to see Aaron Judge, who by-the-way did not disappoint his fans. A monster home run that left the park in center field, in a flash. When this kid connects with the ball its pure power.

What is it really that makes the Dodgers vs Yankees rivalry so special? Surely, it must be the players we remember behind these storied franchises. Jackie Robinson, Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Podres, Mickey Mantle, Red Barber, Mel Allen, Gil Hodges, Jerry Colman, Orel Hershiser, Reggie Jackson, Eric Karros, Derek Jeter, the list goes on . . .

So, just what does a baseball fan really see? Well, maybe in the mind's eye, it’s vivid images of history, maybe stats, maybe it's just a favorite player? Or just maybe, it's the thrill of a magical play that ignites a sold-out stadium of fans, cheering for their team to win another game.

And every baseball fan has a story to tell, a treasured experience.

What’s yours?

* Major League Ballparks visited to date; Fenway Park, *Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium (original), Citizens Bank Park, Comerica Park, Wrigley Field, Bush Stadium, Kauffman Stadium, Ballpark at Arlington, Coors Field, *Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park), *AT&T Park, *Candlestick Park, Oakland Coliseum, Dodger Stadium, Angel Stadium, *Qualcomm, and Petco Park.

Comments

Night Before Christmas

I n this episode, Night Before Christmas . . . (In the spirit of Edgar Albert Guest) I’ve wrestled with the tangled lights the way I always do— With just enough patience left to see the project through. I climb the ladder carefully; the years have taught me how. To take my time with every step and keep a steady brow. We hang the faded ornaments I’ve known since I was small, the chipped, the cracked, the tilted ones—I love them best of all. Santa’s lost a bit of paint, the stars’ leaning right, but oh, it casts a holy glow across the room tonight. The kitchen hums with activity, with laughter, and with cheer, as voices drift like echoes from a long-forgotten year. The floor is strewn with paper scraps, the clock is ticking slow, As Christmas finds its own sweet pace and sets our house aglow. The hallway grows a little still; the lights are dimmed, and low, Small shoes are lined in messy pairs to wait for morning’s snow. The fire's warm, the room is full, the world is deep and wide,...

Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way

🎩 In this special episode. How to Un-Work the Old-Fashioned Way It’s 2026! Yes— this is the year! A different kind of start—you feel it right here? No lists! No demands! No fix-all-your-flaws! No “New You by Tuesday!” No rules! No laws! Those resolutions? Bah! Dusty and dry! We’ve tried fixing everything —so let’s ask why. Why rush and correct and improve and compare, When noticing quietly gets you right there ? So here’s a new project—no charts, no clocks, No boxes to check in your mental inbox. It’s bigger than busy and smaller than grand, It’s called Un-Working —now give me your hand! Un-Working’s not quitting or hiding away, It’s setting things down that shout “Hurry! Hey!” The hustle! The bustle! The faster-than-fast! The gotta-win-now or you’re stuck in the past! That’s the work of Un-Working— plop! —set it free! The titles! The labels! The “Look-At-Me!” The crown that kept sliding and pinching your head— You never looked comfy . . . let’s try this instead: Pick up a tel...

The Thought Experiment–Revisited

In this episode. The Thought Experiment–Revisited The Boy on a Light Beam In 1895, a sixteen-year-old boy did something we rarely allow ourselves to do anymore. He stared into space and let his mind wander. No phone. No notes. No “Optimization Hacks” for his morning routine. Just a question: What would happen if I chased a beam of light—and actually caught it? That boy was Albert Einstein . And that single act of curiosity—a Gedankenexperiment , a thought experiment—eventually cracked open Newton’s tidy universe and rearranged our understanding of time itself. Not bad for an afternoon of daydreaming. Imagine if Einstein had been “productive” instead. He would have logged the light-beam idea into a Notion database, tagged it #CareerGrowth, and then promptly ignored it to attend a forty-five-minute “Sync” about the color of the departmental logo. He’d have a high Efficiency Score—and we’d still be stuck in a Newtonian universe , wondering why the Wi-Fi is slow. In a post I wrote back in...

Boy on a Beam

In this special bonus episode, Boy on a Beam. In a world long ago, when the days moved quite slow, Before buzzes and beeps and the fast things we know, A boy sat quite still on a very fine day, Just staring at nothing . . . and thinking away. No tablets! No gadgets! No screens shining bright! No earbuds stuck in from morning till night. No lists, no charts, and no chores to be done. He just sat there thinking—that's quiet-time fun! His name was Young Albert. He sat in his chair, Thinking of things that weren’t really there. “Suppose,” said Young Albert, with eyes open wide, “I ran super fast with my arms by my side! Suppose I ran faster than anyone knew, And caught up to sunshine that zoomed past me—too! If I hopped on its back for a light-speedy ride, What secrets would I find tucked away deep inside?” “Would stars look like sprinkles, all shiny and small? Would UP feel like sideways? Would BIG feel like Tall?” He giggled and wondered and thought, and he dreamed, Till his head fel...

On The Fly

Search This Blog