A Ballpark Visit

Podcast - A Ballpark Visit . . .

“Are the Tigers playing at home?”

As an avid baseball fan, a question I’ve asked many times during my Alumni travels preparing to visit Detroit, MI.

However, this time I found that question printed in a tattered, yellowing, newspaper clipping from the Detroit Free Press dated Saturday, September 25, 1948, carefully tucked away in a scrapbook.

The ball-club was and two young boys realized a dream, I can only imagine what that was like . . .

Let me get you up to speed. While going through a box of old files from Lori’s father I came across an article titled Youth’s First City Visit.

A piece co-authored by 15-year-old Gerald (Jerry) Davies from the farming community of Marlette, Michigan about his experiences visiting Detroit.

The photo journal and article was a promotion sponsored by The Detroit Free Press as a student exchange.

Gerald Davies from Marlette MI would meet his namesake Jerry Davies from Detroit, together they would visit and work on the Davies family farm, take a trip to the city, and attend a big-league ball game.

Their weekend highlight was The Corner, the nickname for the intersection of Michigan and Trumbull Avenue, Briggs Stadium, (later re-named Tiger Stadium 1961).

During their Ballpark visit, the two young boys were the VIP guests that day, they met Tigers manager Steve O’Neil and chatted with star players from the 1948 Tigers.

The photo caption read, "Gerald was particularly impressed with outfielder Hoot Evers," (Walter Arthur Evers) who batted .314 in 1948.

Reading through that tattered article 70 years later, I can only speculate what game they saw.

Scanning the Baseball Almanac, I'd like to think it was the 1948 pennant-winning Cleveland Indians. A ball-club powered with such greats as Bob Feller, Lou Boudreau, and Larry Doby. The Indians whipped the Tigers 9-3. I'm going to dig deeper in that box, maybe I'll find the ticket stub? That would be pretty cool.

Be it nostalgia, the love of the game, or simply the longing to recreate the past, to this day, I’m able to follow the Detroit Tigers, via my iPhone and MLB’s At Bat app.

Obviously not yet, the 2021 Baseball season won’t start until April 1st.

It's as if there’s a connection somehow.

Hmm, maybe there is . . .

This is Patrick Ball, thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.

Comments

Anonymous said…

I knew a Marlette...

January 15, 2021 at 11:35 AM

We Need Awe More Than Ever

In this episode, Why We Need Awe More Than Ever Yesterday morning, I slipped into the cool stillness of my backyard before dawn. The air was crisp, the silence deep—broken only by the faint rustling of leaves and the familiar calls of birds waking early. Then I looked up. A thin crescent moon hung low in the east, with Venus just above it like a shining jewel. The sky was clear and full of stars, and for a moment, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time: Awe! For thousands of years, the heavens have carried on their steady dance, untouched by human noise. No ruler, no election, no breaking news has ever changed their rhythm. And yet here I was, tempted to reach for my phone—to trade the eternal for the urgent. Instead, I stayed. I watched the moonrise, the sky slowly lighten, and the world around me stir. Ducks passed overhead in a loose V, hummingbirds zipped past to visit their feeder, pausing mid-air as if curious about me sitting so still. Little by little, the static in my mind f...

The Silent Grid–Part Two

In this episode, The Silent Grid – Part Two Sirens split the night as Greenwood went dark. Marvin knew instantly—the blackout wasn’t an accident. It was a warning. In this quiet town, where life once unfolded at a predictable pace, a sleek, intuitive smartphone—a so-called gift from the future —has arrived. But it’s no tool for connection. It’s a silent force, erasing individuality and turning neighbors into something less than human. Marvin Gellborn, a man who values independence, sees the truth. His device isn’t helping; it’s testing him, watching him, and quietly embedding itself into the life of Greenwood. Welcome back to On the Fly . In this week’s episode of The Silent Grid , GridBot tightens its grip. After a hopeful community gathering, Marvin and his robot companion, Norman, notice a troubling absence—the very generation they hoped to reach has vanished into the neon glow of The Signal Box , a youth tech hub pulsing with digital obsession. When Greenwood’s lights vanish, Marvi...

The Pessimism Aversion Trap

In this episode, The Pessimism Aversion Trap Picture this: a room full of bright minds nodding in agreement as a bold new strategy is unveiled. The slides are polished, the vision is grand, and the future, we're told, has never looked brighter. Everyone beams—because who wants to be the one to say, "Um… this might not work"? Heaven forbid someone spoil the mood with a dose of reality. Better to smile, add a buzzword or two, and march confidently toward disaster. That's how the Pessimism Aversion Trap works. Even now, I can still hear the sound—a high-pitched shriek and a digital hum, followed by the slow, rhythmic clatter of data pouring from a 5¼-inch floppy disk. It was the late 1980s, and my makeshift home office (our living room) was dominated by what felt like a marvel of modern engineering: a used Tandy 1000 PC with not one, but two floppy drives. To top it off, we purchased a 'blisteringly fast' 300-baud modem—which, for the uninitiated, could downloa...

History Isn’t a Museum

✨ In this episode, History Isn't a Museum—It's a River . . . History isn't a museum—it's a river, and like it or not, we're already swimming in it. Its waters carry timeless lessons forward, flowing through each generation, waiting to be rediscovered . This profound realization struck me while reading Marcus Aurelius's Meditations . Imagine: a Roman emperor and philosopher two thousand years ago, writing notes that sound like advice from a modern mindfulness coach. When he says, "You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength," it feels like he's speaking directly to us. The water may change, but the river is the same. Examining this writing with a fresh, childlike perspective and a wealth of experience, I realize how consistent human nature remains over time. Every generation faces familiar challenges, marked by frustration, peace, courage, faith, baseball, and the search for meaning across the ages...

On The Fly

Search This Blog