My dad played it in his youth. Family lore is that
he had a try-out with the Yanks at 19. That was in 1927
and we all know that year well. Dad wore glasses and
the lore says it wasn’t till Dominick Dimaggio came
up was a player with glasses in the big leagues.
And then there is my brother. He was another
ball player through and through. I remember his name
in the Jersey Journal when he was a freshman who pitched
with the varsity. And I remember he was a great hitter
and fielder as well.
The flower on this long family stem, however, is my older
son John. Well, to be fair, the two flowers on the stem
are both my sons. Both of them natural athletes who excel
in all sports. John could even play tennis lefty and righty.
Naturally, he was a switch hitter until some little league manager
convinced him to bat only righty. At last this is how I remember
it. I could be wrong, you know, because I coached him in little
league for seven glorious years.
And then, Eric, who went out for his college team
after several years away from the sport and ended up
making the conference All Star team.
And so, yes, I remember baseball.