Today, the Major League Baseball (MLB) season opens.
Seems too early to me.
Growing up, I never tried out for a baseball team in the community or at school.
Yet, baseball consumed me.
I purchased baseball cards.
Waited for the afternoon paper to arrive to check the box scores.
And at night, my AM only transistor radio could pickup the broadcast of the New York Yankee games.
I was a Yankees fan.
I listened to those games.
I could reel off with no hesitation the starting line-up for the Yankees.
Of course, Mickey Mantle was my favorite player.
At home in the backyard was my father’s large garden plot. Behind the garden was a barren field.
The kids in the neighborhood turned it into our “field of dreams.”
We played non-stop— girls and boys.
Bats were cracked, baseballs lost, and sometimes egos were bruised.
But, we always came back the next day to play.
My love of the Yankees faded.
My wife’s relatives converted me to a Red Sox fan.
When our oldest daughter lived and worked in Chicago, my allegiance shifted to the Cubs.
To tell you the truth, now that the Red Sox and the Cubs have each won a World Series, I barely pay attention to baseball.
At my age, I’m a natural born whiner.
So, I whine about the ridiculous salaries.
According to Sportico, “ the 15 highest-paid MLB players will earn an estimated $718 million overall in 2026.”
I was an English major in college, and even I know that’s a lot of money—just shy of $50 million dollars per each of those 15 players.
And with baseball still being our so-called “national pastime” I chuckle that Venezuela defeated the United States in the first ever World Baseball Classic.
Let’s get the disclaimer out here, I’m no expert about baseball. However, I sense that all players must have good eyes.
It is essential for hitting, and so many other taken for granted pieces of the game.
In David Halberstam’s book “The Summer of ’49,” I love the story about Ted Williams being called out on strikes.
Ted Williams was known for his remarkable 20/10 eyesight.
Being called out on strikes really agitated him.
For this game, the agitation continued in the dugout where teammates teased him about being called out on strikes.
In his bellowing about being called out on strikes, Williams asserted that—“home plate was out of line,” and that was the reason he was called out.
The next day, the Red Sox manager, Joe Cronin went out to measure home plate. Ted Williams was correct. Home plate was out of line.
In my aging, I have become more aware and sensitive about my vision. Cataract removals and two corneal transplants have made me more protective of my vision.
For sure these medical improvements have helped my eyesight, but I wonder have they helped me to truly see the world in front of me.
In the movie about baseball titled “Moneyball,” I appreciate the conversation between Peter Brand, the Assistant General Manager for the Oakland Athletics, and General Manager for the team, Billy Beane.
Using player data and computer analytics, Peter Brand is charged with finding value in players “that no one else can see.”
Mr. Brand states that “people are overlooked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws—age, appearance, personality.”
How many times in my life have I failed to find value in people because of my “biased reasons” and their “perceived flaws?”
How about this place called church? How many times has the church failed people for the same reasons?
How many times have I been exactly like the person in the scripture from Luke 6:42: “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
If good vision is essential for a baseball player, it is also essential in the real world too.
As a confessed whiner, I’m also skilled at worrying.
I worry about my country.
I love my country, but at this very moment— I don’t understand my country.
Yes, I am worried.
I think about this quote from Helen Keller: “Better to be blind and see with your heart, than to have two good eyes and see nothing.”
In the time I have left in this weary old world, I can no longer afford to see nothing.
I need to become better in finding the value in people that
“no one else can see.”
I need to become better at seeing with my heart.
might be baloney 