I thought way back in spring training my flagging interest in current baseball would pick up, but no.
I had a good time each time I went to a ballpark, just Binghamton and Syracuse this year, had good weather nearly every game, but it's been a particularly great summer weatherwise. I went only a couple times by myself, better than half-a-dozen with Liviana (with guest appearances by Mellow and Grace who are growing up and moving on), and a pair of games with Soupbone. A highlight of my season was Soupbone saying he was finally getting this game.
A few Saturdays I found myself on the road at Chiefs' game time and I greatly enjoyed following the game as the miles rolled by. I had enough exposure to this year's team to be able to visualize the at bats and the fielding as it was broadcast. The Chief I was happiest about was Chase Lambin. Chase played a couple seasons in Binghamton, I made him cookies, chatted with his parents, and read a large portion of his recounting of his season in Japan. The website, wwww.chaselambin.com, is gone and I really wanted to read the rest of it. There are a bunch of videos from his time in Japan on YouTube, including his crazed fans sing the Chase Lambin Song and one of him dancing on a bar, demonstrating the improv dance he did early in his Japanese season that helped make the fans love him.
Still, it was a season that held little interest for me. A large part, I'm sure, stems from the drastic reduction in the number of games I can attend, 35 or 40 a year versus 12? Going to a game became a rare event instead of my usual weekend plans. Going to so few games, and not being able to turn in the radio broadcasts of either the Chiefs or the B-Mets, means I don't know the players. The familiarity with their abilities and their idiosyncrasies is gone which means the emotional connection is gone. My Guys getting called up doesn't mean anything any more because there is no longer My Guys.
My attachment to the current game faded a great deal in 2009, never to be renewed in2010, and I can point to the moment when I felt that string break. My wallpaper and screen saver on my work PC were people whose careers I followed with great hopes for their futures, but in 2009 I had to admit that their careers were over, that my hopes of seeing them in the majors were totally without foundation. It was with a bit of sadness that I removed Earl Snyder and Ria Cortesio's images from my daily screens.
Another moment in which I felt myself disconnecting was the day I had to turn in my custom plates because I had taken my vehicle off the road (donated it to a public radio station) and could not afford to have the DMV hold them for me for future use. I was literally giving up a piece of my identity, I would no longer be BSBLDIVA, I could no longer claim I was the Baseball Diva.
But, with the coming of fall there's the baseball class and this year, although it's a small class, it's a very lively group. I can't wait each class day to share some of what I know and find out what they know and think and feel about baseball and us.
