In this episode – A Catch With Dad . . .
On Thursday, August 12, 2021, Field of Dreams came to life for so many devoted fans of that movie and baseball.
Major League Baseball hosted a mid-summer game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox in Dyersville, Iowa, for the first time in its history.
My fondest baseball memories were not spring training or visiting a major league ballpark; it was not meeting a famous ballplayer. For me, it was learning to catch lighting; and field line drives with my Dad. Major League Baseball was always background noise from an old transistor radio tuned to 720 WGN Chicago as a youngster. Devoted fans chewed over the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals in Cuba, Illinois.
For our family, baseball was something we participated in, not something we paid to watch. My father (everyone called him Doc) was an exceptional underhand fast-pitch softball pitcher for Cuba Merchants, a little-known team in Central Illinois. In those days, every small town had a team, and families gathered on the weekends at the local ball field.
After he enlisted in the Army, Dad was stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia. His commanding officer gave him two choices; tour (pitch) with the Army softball team or deploy overseas stationed in La Rochelle, France. Luckily for me, he chose France. There he met my mother, and they were married; in August of 1956, I made my appearance, and after his tour of duty, he moved the family back to Cuba, Illinois.
Once again, my Dad resumed his craft as a pitcher for a local softball team. As the oldest son, my job was to help Dad warm up for a game. We called it burnout; he threw the ball fast and hard, with pinpoint control.
He would tell me, “You ready - this one is going to curve; stay in front of the ball." It would completely drop off the table or spin away to the left or right; sometimes, the ball would approach in slow motion. He could even make the ball rise, fooled batters every time. I could hear the ball whiz, then a loud clap of thunder as it smacked my glove. "Boy, that one stung," shaking off the pain between pitches.
The local teams always wanted Doc to pitch for them. So, we attended ballgames, home games, city and county, and in 1966, his team won the state championship.
However, it was not just my Dad that played ball; my brothers and I also played daily in the summer. We played ball with the local neighbor kids. During our scrappy yard games, the Heller boys tuned their portable transistor radio to the Cubs on WGN. We imitated Cubs players at bat. Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, and Billy Williams were always favorites.
We joined the little league. And yes, Dad tried to teach us to pitch with absolutely no repeatable results. Strong arms, but no control. We were horrible. But, because of our daily burnout sessions, we could catch and field the ball like a pro. There was no fear; when you’re used to having a softball hurled at you between 60-70 miles an hour, you learn to catch it - or watch out!
During little league, my position was a shortstop; I could stab a line drive with the best of them. There were games the coach played me at first base. I would dive for the wild throws; Dad always said, "Stay in front of the ball." Nothing got by me.
So, baseball was our pastime. Not as couch potatoes but as excited participants in the game. As kids, we never make it to a Major League Ballpark. My fathers’ first visit to a major league park was Busch Stadium in 1998. It was the Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa home run chase to catch Roger Maris.
We were there during that historic season; (Dad, Ronnie, Rodger, and me); we leaped from our seats when McGuire hit number 63 that night. Of course, Rodger was absent from his seat most of the game. When he finally returned, “Where have you been,” asked Dad. “Hanging out in Big Mac Land, trying to catch a home run ball,” but that’s another story.
Whether or not you’re a baseball fan, check out the movie Field of Dreams. And if you still have the opportunity, have a catch with your Dad.
I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. See you in the next episode.
Updated - August 8, 2023
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