Today’s blog
Lynn Murphy Mark
They’re back!
I am flat out jealous. Rose, my baseball buddy, is in Jupiter, Florida, for a Spring Training outing. Her nephew, Ralph and his wife Kim, make it a habit to go every few years. Knowing how Rose feels about the game, she is a part of the trip each time. She was at a game yesterday, seated behind home plate, and in the shade. That, plus a game where the good guys win, is a fabulous combination.
She gets to see the new players on the team along with some of the regulars that we so admire. It must have been strange not to see Yadier Molina behind the plate, but we have a catcher who came from the Cubs. He promises to be the right person to fill those giant shoes. There is a wealth of players to choose from because there are 34 guys vying for 26 spots. This means that some of the best new prospects will be placed on the Triple-A Memphis team for now.
Rose and I have yet to sit down with our calendars and pick one game a month where we journey to Busch Stadium and enjoy a game in person. Those days are sacrosanct. I did get an offer postcard from the Birds for an all-inclusive ticket. Periodically they provide opportunities for different work groups to attend a game at a reduced price. April 18 is a “health care worker” game where we will be in a party room. The food and drinks are free, which, at Busch, is a money saver. I got us tickets.
As an aside, the 18th is one week after we attend another sporting event: we have tickets for April 11 to watch the US Womens Soccer Team take on Womens Team Ireland at the new stadium downtown. Soccer is not something I follow closely, except for Ted Lasso’s team on Apple TV. But the prospect of seeing the stellar US women in action is pretty exciting.
Being Rose’s friend comes with a lot of benefits. One of them is that she has been following sports most of her life because she had two older brothers who schooled her. Even from a secluded early life in the convent she was involved with sports. Apparently the young nuns formed two softball teams and would play on a field behind the convent. They were still wearing habits then, so they would have to somehow shore up the heavy cloth so they could run the bases.
Watching sports with her is an education. She knows most of the rules of football, baseball, basketball, and hockey, and can call out a foul before the announcers know what happened. If I know anything about baseball it’s because I learned it from her. When we are watching in our respective homes we often have a text string running between us with commentary and some curse words included. If it’s really a big deal we will call each other for a moment of phone sports.
March 30 is opening day in St. Louis. We won’t be in the stadium but we will be watching the game together with another baseball fan friend of ours. We’ll have popcorn and peanuts and diet soda – all those things that are not so good for us, but are a requirement when watching a game together. We’ll get to see the Clydesdales make their majestic rounds of the field, something that always makes me tear up for some unknown reason. Tears are temporary, and soon enough the RedBirds will take the field and start the magic!