baseball

This weekend I went to my first Yankee game. It's kind of a travesty that I've never been to one before, considering that my father is actually from the Bronx, but that's another story for another day. Yankee Stadium was MUCH better than I thought. Of course, it didn't hurt that my friend has great seats - you feel like you're playing left field.

I used to be a huge baseball junkie when I was a little kid. I remember being four years old and reading the sports page, struggling to pronounce "DeJesus". I played for ten years, going from being the worst kid on the team when I was 11 to the best when I was 15. But when my junior year came along, I realized that I couldn't do three hours of baseball practice immediately followed by three hours of rehearsal for the school musical AND keep my grades up. So I ran track instead (practice for that was only an hour and a half), and the dream died.

It's very similiar to what happened to my father, actually, He played all through high school. The Mets offered him a tryout contract, but my father turned it down because he wanted to go to college. He was all set to play with the college team when the coach came up to him one day. I obviously wasn't around, but, knowing my father, I beileve the conversation went something like this:


COACH: Sandwich, can I speak to you a minute?

DAD: Sure, Coach. What's up?

COACH: Sandwich, I noticed that you've got your major listed as engineering here. Is that right?

DAD: Yessir.

COACH: Well, son, engineering is a really tough major. Those classes are long and hard. Lots of math.

DAD: Yessir. I like math.

COACH: Well, our players generally have a...lighter schedule, so to speak. You should probably look for another major.

DAD: But, Coach, I want to be an engineer.

COACH: Let me put it like this, son. You're either on my baseball team, or you can study your engineering. (smirks) You get my point?

DAD: Loud and clear, sir. (pause) Good luck with your season.



I swear, sometimes I'm so much like my father, it's scary.

Kind of inspired to blog, so there may be a few new posts in rapid succession - especially since I will now be moving into full procrastination mode, to keep from packing...