Baseball Solstice

In case you were wondering, today marks the halfway point between the last out of the World Series and the first day of Spring Training!

I Love Baseball!

I have loved baseball for as long as I can remember. Some of my first childhood memories are of listening to Phillies baseball games in the summer, most often at my grandfather's knee.  I also remember coming home from the Jersey shore at night, sprawled on a pile of blankets in the back of my father's Ford F-150 truck (remember when this wasn't illegal?), listening to Richie Ashburn call the games on the radio. This was in the 60's when the Phillies were still playing in Connie Mack Stadium, and when they really were awful.

My grandfather is the one who taught me about the game, and taught me how to listen to the game. I have carried this love of the game of baseball through my entire life. Growing up in southern New Jersey, my only baseball option was the Philadelphia Phillies. It wasn't until I went to college further north that I began to pay attention to other teams, as well as the "other" league. While I was still rooting madly for the Phils in 1980, when they went on to win the World Series, I began to cultivate a secret love for, *gasp*, The Evil Empire. Yes, I secretly loved the New York Yankees.

Today I am an unapologetic, diehard Yankees fan. I listen to or watch every game. I yell at the radio or the TV every game. I follow every move the club makes at every level. I try to get to a game or two every year. Over time, my favorite team may have changed, but what has remained a constant is my love for the game and everything about it - the sounds, the smells, the language, the players, the mascots, the ballparks, the food - all of it. Without baseball, I would die a little bit each summer.  If anything, my love has grown stronger because of the internet and the easy access to so much baseball information. And can we talk about the MLB Network??

I've created this site as a place for me to talk about the game I love, and to share baseball related things I've found in my web wanderings. Mostly it will serve as a place for me to put baseball memories I don't want to lose, but if you have stumbled into my midst, say hello, won't you?