Tag: baseball

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KUDOS TO CORA

(FILE UNDER MEN OF COURAGE & MORAL CHARACTER)
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Alex Cora, manager of the 2018 baseball World Champions Boston Red Sox, has confirmed that he will not attend a White House reception with his team this Thursday stating his native Puerto Rico has not sufficiently recovered from Hurricane Maria to celebrate.

“We still have a long ways to go,” Cora said in regards to the state of Puerto Rico. “That’s our reality. It’s pretty tough to go celebrate when we’re where we’re at. I’d rather not go and just be consistent with everything.”Alex Corasmiley 3

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I’m just visiting

 Just another traveler on life’s highway hanging out in the slow lane.  It’s quiet.  It’s peaceful.  Beyond the horizon is rest calling my name.  Green pastures, still waters, my cup overflows.

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“You’re only here for a short visit.  Don’t worry.  Don’t hurry.  And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”  Walter Hagen

If you are like me, you are saying, “Well, who is Walter Hagen and why is his inspirational quote noteworthy?”

Wikipedia informs me that Walter Charles Hagen was an American professional golfer born in 1892 and died in 1969.  He was quite successful in his career, third only to Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in lofty achievements.  Walter Hagen

Without any further research of his write-up on Wikipedia, I can reasonably assume that my only connection with Walter is the appreciation of flowers.  We certainly don’t have golfing in common although I have enjoyed a game of putt-putt in the past.  And possibly one can find a similarity between golf and croquet, one of my favorite games as a child.  Think about it.  Green grass, a piece of equipment with which to hit a ball, a course that the player has to follow, and the camaraderie of grown-ups chasing balls makes the two games rather similar, don’t you think?

Life was much less frantic for Walter and me.  We grew up without the annoyance of television and internet, cell phone and social media.  We walked evenings after dinner for our ‘constitutional’.  We actually stopped by the neighborhood houses to talk to our neighbors relaxing on their porches.  And we enjoyed the fragrance of jasmine or gardenias or roses wafting across the front yard.

There was no need to hurry inside to watch the Nightly News or Fox News.  Our morning and evening newspapers kept us up to date on everything we needed to know.  The only pressing engagement after dinner was the radio broadcast of  the Phillies playing the Pirates at 8 PM.  Mom and Sis had finished the dishes  which were draining to dry aside the kitchen sink.  Mom grabbed her sewing basket and Sis did the crossword puzzle while the household men sat by the radio listening to the game.  No hurry, just enjoying the important things in life.

The Great Depression had ended and life was good.  A chicken in every pot and a new Chevy in the driveway.  Dad’s job at the factory guaranteed he could provide a comfortable standard of living.  He had a great pension plan and was saving for retirement while Mom was doing what most wives did in our neighborhood – staying at home taking care of the house and the kids.  No worries, just enjoying the important things in life.

Okay, okay.  You caught me in my fantasy.  I’ve only read about those great times when life was good, but dreaming is the next best thing to living it.  Times and situations have changed, have they not?  Instantly connected to events half a world away, one thousand and fifty channels on cable to entertain us, neighbors whom we have never met, an exercise bike in the basement to replace the constitutional, and Mom, Pop, Sis and Junior rarely seeing each other as they run out the door to various commitments.

I’m only here for a short visit.  Is there really any reason to worry or hurry?  If there is, then perhaps I have missed the important things in life.  There’s a flower garden out in the back yard.  I think I will go out and smell the flowers before my visit is over.

 

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HEROES – 2018

Just another traveler on life’s highway hanging out in the slow lane.  It’s quiet.  It’s peaceful.  Beyond the horizon is rest beckoning me.  Green pastures, still waters, my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and mercy will follow me.

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Who are your heroes?  Sports celebrities, maybe?  World politicians, social justice advocates, personal friends, maybe a parent?  Why do you think of them as heroes?  Intelligence, money, fame, accomplishments, ethics?  Whatever your criteria may be, your choices are absolutely valid because these are your heroes, not your mother’s, your pastor’s, your teacher’s or those of your spouse.  You measure them according to your code of conduct, your conscience.  You see in them the person you strive to be, the legacy you would like to leave as a member of humanity.

In the world of sports celebrities, Derek Jeter of pro baseball, Tim Tebow of college football’s Heisman fame, and Colin Kaepernick of pro football top my list.  The one common thread with the three, in my mind, is their surrender to a purposeful life superseding their athletic gifts.

Jeter exhibited a wholesomeness of character which presented to his fans a lifestyle worthy of emulating.  Derek did not use PEDs, he did not carouse, he did not create chaos in the sports world. Unlike numerous peers who succumbed to the glitz and glitter of fan adoration, he maintained with innocence and wholesomeness his poster child presence as a man of integrity and ethics.

Tim Tebow was quarterback for the Florida Gators winning the Heisman in 2007 and leading his team to BCS National championship games in 2006 and 2008 seasons.  My most memorable thought of Tim is the 2009 BCS Championship game during which he wore in eye black John 3:16.  Over the next 24 hours that verse generated 90 million Google searches.  In 2010 the NCAA banned messages in eye black.  His visibility as a Christian believer created controversy on the playing field and among the sports pundits.  That high-profile walk in faith probably closed many doors of opportunity in the sports world.  He has been instrumental in numerous philanthropic endeavors.

“Loving others is not an option.  As followers of Jesus, we don’t get to love certain people and not others.”  Tim Tebow

Colin Kaepernick is most notable as the professional quarterback who took a knee during the playing of the national anthem.  In subsequent games, fellow team mates and players across the realm of pro football joined him in protesting a country and an Administration which was not paying attention to the increasing incidence of police brutality against blacks.  The POTUS referred publicly to Colin as an s.o.b. who needed to be run out of pro football.  Sports fans will argue till hell freezes over about the legitimacy of Kaepernick’s protests, but one cannot argue his dedication to his belief in social justice for all Americans.  As with Tebow, this highly gifted athlete has put principles above wealth and fame thus seeing his sports career nosedive.  He is the founder of the Colin Kaepernick Foundation to fight oppression and he hosts the Know Your Rights Camp for youth to get educated on how to interact with law enforcement.

My ultimate hero is Jesus of Nazareth.  Not the God-man as created by church fathers in the 4th century, but rather, the human being who loved his fellow-man so much that he was willing to suffer crucifixion as the penalty for his crime of offending the Jewish powers and inciting the Roman conquerors.  Jesus protested the social injustice, aided the oppressed and poor, lived his life according to ethical principles.  I think Jesus is smiling when he sees Derek, Tim and Colin.

Merely my humble opinion of course because I believe life is like a baseball game.  Got to keep on slugging away for what I believe is right – just like my heroes.

 

 

 

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rain delay in Chicago

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I  am a huge baseball fan.  The Cubbies are one of my favorite teams but I am also a loyal Tampa Bay fan.  It’s a gentleman’s game.  The players appear to be having the time of their lives earning millions (yes, that’s American dollars) for just playing a game.  Opposing team players meet on the field before the game to hug, high five, fist bump and catch up on the latest news.  During the game when a batter gets on base the camera catches the runner and the baseman chit-chatting and joking. Yeah, this is sports at its finest.

Often times the rains move in, the playing field gets tarped, and players are huddling in the bullpens and dugouts to while away the time.  The following video captures the juvenile antics of the professional men during one such delay.

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