Baseball and I: The First Few Weeks

Dedicated baseball fans throughout America realize there’s an intangible contract one signs at the beginning of April. In following one’s favorite team, the signee accepts the prospect of having 162 good days, 162 bad days, or any number in between. The season is long: a half-year jaunt whose push and pull seamlessly seeps into every corner of the fan’s life. For fantasy owners, this effect is even more intense. I’m finding that out now for the first time in my life, as a group of my buddies finally convinced me to sign up for their league. I’ve heard it described that every episode of “Seinfeld” and the “The Sopranos” can serve as a near-factual model for the way American life works, whether they exemplify the battle of the sexes, the tensions and joys of friendships, the need and dismay of romance, the absurdity of life, the power of death, or the pleasure of solitude. For myself, it’s always been baseball, as its mixture of celebration, defeat, and the bizarre seem to perfectly mirror life as a whole. As a write this, Tim Lincecum is off to a rocky start for the year while Tim Wakefield is pitching a no-hitter into the eight inning. Who would’ve thought?

Here are five random observations about the first few weeks of the season…

1. Fantasy Baseball

How anyone could sign up for more than one of these leagues is beyond me. I was under the impression that I would simply have to monitor my team once a week, only having the urge to check the scoreboard every now and then. Turns out, you need to treat your team with the same love and attention you would a girlfriend or a dying pet. Throughout my day I’m checking Yahoo’s GameChannel and Stattracker, yelling at numbers and diagrams on my screen as they are updated in real time. I’m reading the columns by fantasy “pundits;” I’m about to buy the MLB Extra Innings package; I’m contemplating trades, drops, and pickups; friendships hang in the balance each week in our head to head league. And all the while I’m realizing that this at times very complicated critical thinking could be put to better use for something like, I don’t know, NASA. But then who would give J.D. Drew another chance to prove himself as a fantasy stud?

2. Petco Park in San Diego

My dad and I went to the Dodgers vs. Padres game on April 7th in San Diego. Petco Park reminds me of AT&T Park in San Francisco in that it’s one of these newer stadiums that is large but not imposing, modern but also classy. There’s a cool architectural feature integrated which angles all the seats on the baselines towards home plate allowing for a direct view of the at-bat. Also, The Padres organization (perhaps as an apology for putting together yet another lackluster team and the eventual exit of Jake Peavy) has offered one of the best concessions deals I’ve ever seen. For $5, you can get a soda, a hot dog, a bag of peanuts or a box of Cracker Jacks, and a cookie. For $10, you can substitute the soda for a beer. Out of the 15 or so ballparks I’ve visited in my lifetime, I’ve never seen a value such as this. I wish more organizations would wise up and give their fans an all-American lunchbox with this type of price tag.

3. Nick Adenhart

Although I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Dodger fan, it’s virtually impossible to escape Angel news living in the Los Angeles area. Pair that with the fact that I’m quickly becoming a fantasy baseball eccentric and I can’t help but fully comprehend the current plight of the Angels pitching staff. With starting pitchers John Lackey, Ervin Santana, and Kelvim Escobar all on the DL, the Angels looked desperately to fill the void. They found a brief ray of hope in the young Nick Adenhart who started one game for the Angels last week before being killed by a drunk driver shortly thereafter. The Angels and the rest of baseball reacted with due respect and diligence. However, it was Dodgers longtime broadcaster Vin Scully who succinctly put into words every thought, feeling, and impulse we as children, parents, and baseball fans could have concerning the situation:





“If I may speak for every member of the Dodger organization, our heartfelt and deepest sympathies to the mother and family of Nick Adenhart, and to every member in the Angels organization, for the untimely accident and death of young Nick last night at the tender age of twenty-two. Nick, from Maryland, had pitched six scoreless innings and was in a car with three friends, and a driver apparently went through a red light and T-boned the car, killing three of the four, including Nick, and one other member is in critical condition. And if there is one thing I’ve learned in all my years — and I haven’t learned much — but the one thing I’ve learned: Don’t even waste your time trying to figure out life.

Ground ball through for Andre Ethier, and life continues for those who still have it. And with a leadoff single, Russell Martin will be coming up.

But I would say, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a moment and say a prayer in memory for Nick, especially for his parents. What a shock to lose a twenty-two-year-old.

Andre Ethier at first base, Russell Martin the batter, James Loney on deck, and the Dodgers try to strike in the second inning against Kevin Correia.”



Perfect.

4. The Home Opener at Dodger Stadium

Vin Scully, whose spoken baseball poetry can be witnessed above, celebrated his 60th year in broadcasting by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch to Dodgers manager Joe Torre. I had been standing in line to use the bathroom for over fifteen minutes when I heard them calling Scully’s name. I looked at the people behind me and said, “We shouldn’t miss this.” As far as I know, I’m the only one who ran out of line. And I’m glad I did, because watching Scully, a legend in baseball Americana, toss the ball to Torre, another great, kicked off one of the most sublime baseball experiences I’ve ever had. Orlando Hudson, of all people, hit for the cycle – the first time that’s happened at Dodger Stadium and only the second time in L.A. Dodgers history. The Dodgers routed the Giants for an 11-1 victory. My friends and I feasted on $5 hot dogs and $10 beers. We waited almost three hours in traffic to get home. Numerous fights broke out in the stands during the game (one during “God Bless America” in the 7th inning). Apparently, someone was even stabbed. Always the good with the bad. Don’t even try and figure it out.

5. Baseball and Women

The sad part is, if one or the other was never created, I’d have a much easier time. It’s trying to convince the two to get along that’s the problem. I’m a guy who writes about baseball, watches a ton of baseball on TV, goes to as many professional baseball games as possible, and now participates in a fantasy baseball league. Unfortunately — and I’m just now finding this out — women in their early twenties do not find these to be desirable attributes in their men. Funny thing is, these are desirable attributes for myself. Find me a girl that can name the Dodgers starting lineup and I’m ready to take the plunge. Hell, if she knows how many innings there are in a game, I’m interested. I met a girl yesterday at a local restaurant/bar who not only liked baseball but also found the idea of fantasy sports intriguing. Did it work out? No, it didn’t because she’s obviously already taken. So, men, they are out there. And like hitting a Tim Wakefield knuckleball out of the park, timing is everything.