Exciting Nights of Beer League Baseball

When my two siblings and I were growing up, Daddy worked shift work at Dow Chemical. All of us, especially Mama, looked forward to the evenings when Daddy worked days because after supper, Daddy and we young’uns would pile into Daddy’s “work car”—a used Ford Falcon—and head out somewhere so Mama could have a little quiet time. Of course, we jockeyed for shotgun, although as the oldest, I usually had first dibs on it. The Falcon had a three-speed transmission with the gear shift on the steering column. Daddy would let the kid riding shotgun shift while he worked the clutch. When I tired, or was gently encouraged, I let someone else take over shifting duties.

These after-dinner forays frequently started at the Brown’s Velvet Creamery on Plank Road. In these heady days of ice cream after supper, air conditioning was still a luxury, so we rode with the windows down and the warm breeze tickling our desire for ice cream. We each got a scoop. Predictably, I ordered my favorite flavor, chocolate-cherry-almond. Sadly for me, I never found that exact flavor combination in ice cream again. We could enjoy our ice cream in a leisurely fashion, soaking in the air conditioning of the Creamery.

After we finished our cool treats, we headed off into the warm evening to Howell Park to sit in on a beer-league baseball game. We did not know any of the players or other people there. However, it was a fun way to spend a little more time out of the house on a hot Baton Rouge summer night with Daddy. We had fun crawling over the bleachers and people-watching. Aliens could land on the baseball diamond and we would probably miss it.

However, one night, we actually witnessed a memorably clever play. A runner was on second. The batter hit a fly ball. The runner on second yelled, “I got it,” and everyone watched as the ball fell to the ground. Then, of course, the runner took off for third, leaving a red-faced and frantic second baseman and short stop.

These evenings of beer league baseball instilled in me a love of baseball that has extended throughout my life. Football, basketball, hockey, and other sports all have their fans. But if you want a companion for a baseball game, count me in.

Nine Reasons Baseball is Exciting

I have been a baseball fan most of my life, beginning when I was in elementary school and my Daddy would take us kids to watch beer leaguebaseball. Since we kids were too young to drink beer, we found excitement in the game itself. Later, we followed LSU baseball, even before the team built a new field. In grad school in Southern Illinois, I worked my spring schedule around afternoon televised Cubs games before Wrigley installed lights, as well as catching a few of the college baseball games. Without the excitement of baseball, I may never have made it through my doctoral program.

Therefore, I cannot understand those misguided souls who feel that baseball is boring, that nothing ever happens. For their edification, I have compiled a list of nine reasons—since a game has nine innings--that baseball is an exciting sport.

1) Pitching involves a lot of suspense.

If a pitcher throws the very minimum amount of pitches, meaning each batter gets out in one pitch, then fans get to predict 54 times in a game whether the pitcher will throw a curve ball, a slider, or an elevator pitch. Realistically, that scenario doesn’t happen. When batters face multiple pitches, fans get to predict before the call whether the umpire will call a ball, call a strike, or call out for pizza. Fans get to wonder if the pitch will hit the batter, and even if it will be a wild pitch or passed ball. (A wild pitch is one made with a ball that parties too much; a passed ball is one overlooked for promotion.) What does the pitcher do if he has to pee? (Does his cup run over?)

2) Base running is exciting.

When a runner is on base, the pitcher may throw to that base to discourage him from trying to steal the next base, so fans get to predict if the pitcher is going to throw to the batter, throw to the baseman, or throw the book at the base stealer. Fans can also predict if the runner will hold or attempt to steal. If the runner holds, then he could be bluffing--oh, never mind, that’s poker, not baseball! If the runner attempts to steal, will he slide? If so, will he come in hands first, cleats first, or bottoms up? (Although usually drinking is not allowed on the field.)

3) The commentators add color.

If you are watching the game on television or listening on radio, you get more exciting commentary than if you are at the ballpark. Fans will find excitement wondering what kind of interesting or inane things might the commentators say? Did they attend their wives at the birth of their children? “He’s out!” (I actually heard this exciting discussion during a real game!) How frequently will they visit the theatre of the obvious? (Yes, the batsman is writhing on the ground because that pitch really did hurt.)

 4) The mascots provide excitement.

Will the pitcher bean the mascot? Can you tempt the mascot to speak? Is the mascot wearing clothes underneath the costume? Will the team manager substitute the mascot into the game at some point?

5) The promotional games provide excitement.

How willing are people to make fools of themselves in order to win a prize? Will the games involve water balloons and wet clothes? Will someone shoot t-shirts from a cannon?

6) Food at the ballpark is exciting?

Fans can find excitement deciding what to eat at the ballpark—a hot dog, a hot dog, or a hot dog--and then standing in line for the various varieties of hot dog, listening to the announcer. If you are watching or listening to the game at home, substitute your refrigerator for the ballpark vendors in this exciting activity.

7) The 7^th Inning Stretch is fun.

Standing up and singing a song in the middle of the seventh inning of baseball is exciting! Fans might wonder how many other fans will sing along. If the team has chosen “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” will the fans substitute the name of the home team, for example “The Cubbies,” instead of singing “Root, root, root for the home team”? Fans can also find excitement if the team has chosen a song along the lines of “Sweet Caroline” or some other non-traditional 7^th Inning Stretch song, such as “The Chicken Dance.”

Ah, it’s the Seventh Inning Stretch! After seven innings of exciting baseball, I think I need a nap! (Wake me when the game is over.)

NOTE: I received no compensation from any organization involved with baseball at any level to write this piece (although I am open to offers!).

A Taste of Childhood

When my younger sister, brother, and I were growing up in Baton Rouge, our daddy worked shift work in the caustic plant at Dow Chemical. Some evenings when he worked “days,” after supper he would take us kids out for a drive to give Mama some time to herself. Sometimes, we would go to the Brown’s Velvet Creamery for ice cream. There, I discovered my all-time favorite flavor, chocolate cherry almond. Yum!

After we ate our ice cream, we would stop by Howell Park if we saw the lights on for a beer league baseball game. We didn’t know anyone playing, but we enjoyed watching almost as much as the men enjoyed playing. One memorable play stuck in my memory. The batter hit a fly ball. The base runner on second yelled, “I got it!” As the second baseman watched the ball plonk to the ground, off ran the base runner for third.

In the decades that have passed, I have attended any number of baseball games at just about every level of play, from t-ball to college to Cubs games at Wrigley Field. I have witnessed innumerable spectacular plays, including a triple play at the Astrodome, but none has stuck in my mind like that clever play at Howell Park.

While I have enjoyed baseball over the decades, I have never found another brand of ice cream that offered the flavor combination of chocolate cherry almond that so soothed my soul although I have long longed for such a find. I have found chocolate cherry or cherry almond or chocolate almond or whatever, but never chocolate cherry almond.

Recently, I found an oasis of taste bud nostalgia in the form of a Ghiradelli flavor, cherry tango chocolate with crushed almonds. Ecstatic at my find, I bought two bags which I brought back to Home Base!  Sadly, the Baseball World Series was over at the time of my find.  However, I have been content to savor the candy after supper, anticipate the college baseball season which will open soon, and giggle again at the memory of that cunning play at Howell Park!