Hello Baseball Fans,
What is a ball field? A ball field is many things. A ball field is the perfect diamond. The green grass. The reddish-brown clay. A ball field is the welcoming, yet protective wall. The chalk of the batter’s boxes. The perfectly straight foul lines. A ball field is the confined dugout. The ball bag. The bat rack. A ball field is the salty sunflower seeds. The sweet bubble gum. The bright red seams. A ball field is the oiled leather. The hardened maple. The sharp spikes. Indeed, a ball field is many, many things.
What is a ball player? A ball player is many things. A ball player is the perfect athlete. The quick hands. The hand-eye coordination. A ball player is welcoming, yet serious. The blazing foot speed. The perfectly fitted jersey. A ball player is heavily armed. The flamethrower. The slugger. A ball player is salty and sweaty. The sweet swing. The bright red cap. A ball player is oiled with sun block. The hardened callouses. The sharp edge. Indeed, a ball player is many, many things.
What is a kid? A kid is many things. A kid is the perfect pal. The engaging eyes. The everlasting energy. A kid is welcoming, yet busy-bodied. The clanging cartoons. The caked, muddied clothes. A kid is heavily armed. The yearn to learn. The games and toys. A kid is sweaty. The slides and swings. The bright red crayons. A kid is oiled with sun block. The hard lessons. The sharp tones of laughter. Indeed, a kid is many wonderful things.
In a land where the ball field is forever as plush and green as though a fresh, early summer rain has just felled its turfs anew, making it glisten like the greenest gem of all gems, lives a ball player most fantastic and extraordinary. And a ball kid (i.e. baseball fan) that is equally fantastic and extraordinary. The ball player is fit for dominance at any position the ball field offers. Batting. Throwing. Slugging. Pitching. Running. Fielding. The ball kid is fit for any situation the team gets themselves into or out of. Spring. Summer. Afternoon. Night. Slug-fest. Pitcher’s Duel. The ball player holds a complete set of skills that are worthy of being the ball-playing hero for kids both big and small in age and stature. The ball kid holds a dedication, passion, and knowledge worthy of being the envy of any fan young or old. But surely, the ball player’s impressive caliber could, or should, only exist in the young child’s imagination.
What is a child’s imagination? A child’s imagination is many things. It is conscious. It is purposeful. A child’s imagination is magic. And it is bound by nothing. To wonder without question is the magic. Without wonder, acceptance of one’s limits is defeat without contest. In a high-paced world, adults hardly exercise, or even possess, such magic. For they are often too quick to perceive limits of possibility and thus fade toward a confinement of convenience. Endless schedules misdirect toward the finite and acceptance of the dull. However, youths push upward to shatter ceilings. Efforts and limits and schedules be damned. Indeed, the young child possesses a desired magic that is many, many things.
The ball field is magnificent in its architecture. The round and robust columns along the outside of the left and the right fields. The towering and brilliant red brick for the all-encompassing atrium behind home plate. The bustling small village of vendors and shops beyond the outfields and bullpens. And the ball field has a breath-taking layout set adjacent to a seemingly never-ending park of fields and playgrounds on the boulevard alongside the meeting point of the swift and cooling waters. Indeed, the ball field is a site to behold.
The ball player is of massive size and strength as well as blazing speed and quickness. Tall, at six feet and three inches, yet surely not the tallest. A towering shadow is cast by the heavily muscled two hundred and twenty all-so-useful pounds, yet not the biggest, of course. Contained within the sleek silhouette are the skills and instincts that were otherwise only known to exist in the repertoires of the game’s legends. Plus, the ball player is the perfect blend of size and strength, which maintains a superior flexibility and agility. For a moment, imagine all the dominant attributes of the greats bestowed upon just one. A player previously unseen.
The kid is a magnificent and massive fan. A fan of the ballpark. A fan of the ball player. The kid is a fan of the outing that is baseball. The sights and smells of the pre-game batting practices and long tosses and tasty snacks blur themselves together as the ball park’s tenants on both sides of the protective netting ready themselves as game time approaches. The kid is young for sure, yet robust enough to watch for nine innings. And with focus too, even when extra innings require extra effort. For evermore, the kid longs for more. Indeed, the kid is dedicated and a true fanatic in the best senses of the term. A world champion of fandom.
Alas, the ball player’s skill set, in affirming both the possible truisms of a child’s imagination and in defiance of what was thought possible, is no figment. The ball player can bat with amazing efficiency; equipped with twenty-ten vision. As such, the so-called ‘wipe-out’ style slider that mockingly tails down and away from a batter as well as the ferocious up-and-in one hundred mile-an-hour fastball are regularly driven safely into play. Or OVER the field of play entirely. There is plentiful power to pull or even push the ball over the fence from foul pole to foul pole. There is the timing, the quickness, the knowledge, and the speed required to swipe the second sack. And the third sack. The ball player can even swipe the cherished home plate as needed late in a tight game. The ball player can field up the middle; making the long throws from the hole or the quick-as-a-flash flips to first to complete crucial inning-ending double plays. Locking down center-field all the way from its gaping gaps and back to its well-anchored walls is done with both confidence and grace. For the ball player has no weakness in the greatest of games.
The ball field, ball player, and ball kid are made for each other. As pre-game festivities wind down and the first pitch approaches, they are united as one unit. Each dons one’s role in a supportive sense of purpose for the other two. The strong and beautiful ball field at once provides a security and something worth protecting, a home. The humbled star ball player brings about glee and astonishment. The mile-a-minute energy and excitement of the ball kid is innocent and inspiring.
Alas, the crowd is armed with the day’s lineups and score books and concessions of choice. The practice swings and grounders and fly balls have all been taken. The fastballs and off-speed pitches have been dialed in. For it is time for the first batter to dig in and the pitcher to get the sign atop the mound as the umpire yells ‘Play Ball!’ at sunny Free Rein Field at Public Park as center-fielder/shortstop Ryland Ryfislar leans in and lays his glove low while the young Lincoln Libermann stands at his seat and makes a fist to pound his own glove ready while eagerly awaiting the first pitch…..
…..Until next time, Later Baseball Fans.