Perfect match-up!

He just gets it done!

Check out this New York Times story on Rangers' manager, Ron Washington.  Good stuff!

Nothing like fall baseball!

Just something about opening day. . .no matter how bad or good your team

Perfection: Don Larsen 1956

Just for fun and to remember. . .

I'm a confessed and incurable New York Yankee fan.

Grew up on the team in the 1950s and 60s when they aired every weekend on CBS-TV here in Dallas, back before we had a team of our own.

Mantle was my favorite.

Nothing much better than a Yankees-Dodgers World Series.

Just remembering those good days for baseball and for a kid growing up dreaming of swinging for the fence!

A great baseball memory on another July 4. . .

The wisdom of baseball: players who always care

Success in life has been described as the maintained ecstasy of burning with a hard, gemlike flame. the image recurs. In his famous essay on Ted Williams' final game, "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu," John Updike wrote of Williams radiating "the hard blue glow of high purpose." Updike said, "For me, Williams is the classic ballplayer of the game on a hot August weekday before a small crowd, when the only thing at stake is the tissue-thin difference between a thing done well and a thing done ill." Baseball, played on a field thinly populated with men rhythmically shifting from languor to tension, is, to Upkide's eyes, an essentially lonely game. The cool mathematics of individual performances are the pigments coloring the long season of averaging out. Baseball heroism comes not from flashes of brilliance but rather, Updike says, from "the players who always care," about themselves and their craft.

George Will
Men at Work, page 5

An artist, a little boy and enduring community

It's a long story.

And, it means so much to me.

The story begins with Wyatt Toombs, my 5-year-old grandson.

Wyatt loves sports, all sports. On every team Wyatt wears the number 7.

Rewind to 1956 and forward. Mickey Mantle is my number one favorite baseball player and basic, all-round hero. I remember pulling for the Mick against Roger Maris in 1961 when Maris set the home run record. Both players were New York Yankees. I grew up on baseball in the vacant lot beside my house. I grew up on Yankee baseball on the radio and on television.

Naturally, I tell Wyatt that Mantle wore the number 7, too. Wyatt doesn't know who Mantle is, but the connection to the shared number really gets his attention and we enter one of those wonderful "tell me more, grandad" moments!

Now, to the image here.

Rick Timmons, an artist and a friend, painted this amazing oil portrait of Mantle. Rick's brother, Tim, also one of my dear friends, saw a post here of Wyatt playing soccer on a YouTube cut I posted back in April. Knowing my love for Wyatt and my appreciation for Mantle, Tim suggests that Rick give the painting to Wyatt.

The painting comes with its own story. It was painted almost a decade ago. Rick decided that Tim's idea makes more sense than any other he has encountered when it comes to this particular piece. So, now the portrait belongs to Wyatt!

Number 7. So much more to say. But, I'll let it go for now.

Thanks, Rick and Tim.

I love you, Wyatt.

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Ron Washington's Dugout Dance. . .

Anyone see the Texas Rangers' win last night over Seattle?

Defense was superb.

Pitching more than solid.

Josh Hamiltion's return from the minors and the DL with a home run.

And, did you catch Rangers' Manager Ron Washington and his dugout dance?

Excitement everywhere!

Four games over even!

Check this out.

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Baseball at its best!

Baseball is my favorite sport, hands down. I know lots of people who just don't get that, but it's the way I'm wired and it's been in my soul since I was old enough to hold a ball and pick up a glove.

I can remember my dad returning from a business trip when I was about 8-years-old with a catcher's mit for me, maybe the most memorable gift I've ever received.

So, it's no wonder that I get really jazzed when my grandson, Wyatt takes the field for the opening of T-Ball season at the YMCA!

Kids and baseball, the only thing better is grandkids and baseball! Just couldn't resist sharing the video footage. Humor me!

If I had a magic wand. . .

Let me share a dream or two.

If I could direct the funding--and it would take a major public /private commitment to accomplish what I am about to suggest, I would base the redevelopment of South Dallas on a complete renewal of Fair Park.

Fair Park is an historic jewel nestled in the northwest edge of South Dallas. Beyond the Music Hall and the various museums, Fair Park springs to life once each year to host The State Fair of Texas. During that three week period, the park hosts the Grambling-Prairie View A & M and Texas-Oklahoma football classics. Everyone loves the fair.

But, Fair Park could be so very much more than it is today. Shame on us for not taking advantage of this unique community asset.

If I had a magic wand, here's what I'd do (now remember, I said "magic" wand!):

1) Bring a Major League Baseball club out of the National League to Dallas and locate it in Fair Park. My first choice would be to move the Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball Club to Dallas. Of course, there's not enough magic in any wand ever made to pull that one off. So, as a second choice, I'd move the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to the National League, which would mean the Washington Nationals would need to join the American League East. No easy change, but not impossible with the right wand. There are a number of potential owners in Dallas. Or, maybe we could create a very unique franchise that was owned, at least in part, by the public. The Metroplex could support two major league teams. The competition with Arlington would be fun to watch!

2) Build a wonderful new Cotton Bowl. The stadium I have in mind could easily host football games, including the annual fall, State Fair Classics and other special games. I can see Notre Dame playing Arkansas or Texas A & M. Or, how about a USC--LSU match up? We could host two or three special games annually, drawing from any of the major college teams. During baseball season (remember now, that would be 81 home dates, not counting college baseball!), our new team, let's say the Dallas Knights, would play in our new state-of-the-art sports facility, complete with retractible roof system that would make our summers bearable for pitchers. Lots of new jobs, year-round positions, would be created by a baseball venue that could accommodate other sports. Baseball is always better for communities that seek real economic development because of the number of guaranteed dates for the venue.

3) Redevelop mixed income housing on much of the extra parking area that was needlessly claimed years ago from neighbors who weren't consulted, but who were displaced. Town home condos, moderate and larger single family homes, mixed income/mixed use multi-family housing and retail development would be included around the park.

4) Renew the Martin Luther King, Jr. corridor by providing economic development funds to existing business owners and meaningful inducements to new, larger retail outlets. This key corridor out of Fair Park should be a major part of "Downtown South Dallas."

5) Redevelop all of Second Avenue as a shopping, dining, entertainment district to go along with the stadium renewal. This other corridor of the community could become a bustling center of economic and entertainment health.

6) Make sure that Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) developed adequate light rail transportation services to and from Fair Park and down the new development zones. A rail plan linking Fair Park to Deep Ellum, Downtown, and Uptown would be amazing.

7) Coordinate with the City of Dallas a new, aggressive land bank strategy to build out every vacant lot in the area as part of a dramatic, creative in-fill housing initiative. A plan should be devised to bring non-profit and for-profit developers to this important community challenge. The foundation community in Dallas should join with the city in creating a genuine and very robust housing trust fund that could create thousands of new home owners to take advantage of the in-fill housing redevelopment plans.

8) Appoint a special director or "Czar" for Fair Park renewal and expansion to drive the effort every day until it is completed. This special leader would need to be trusted, reputable, visionary and totally committed. He or she would then need to be surrounded by other community leaders who would drive the project forward.

9) Complete the entire project by 2015.

I can see it.

What would it take? Public and political will. A champion who lives and breathes the vision. Private investment. Community involvement, and by that I mean the folks who live around Fair Park would have to be involved in an official and meaningful manner from the beginning. The entire city would need to be sold on the fact that a success in South Dallas would benefit everyone.

And what a difference this would make for the entire city and region. And, just think, a team with pitchers who take their own place in the batting order!

Sunday Thoughts: Baseball

Just the thought of Central Dallas Ministries' Night at the Rangers Ballpark makes me smile. We enjoyed that evening a few weekends ago. It was a fun night with a good turn out from across our team. As always, I enjoyed it immensely!

The club is not playing well. . .yet. I remain optimistic. . . against any semblance of rational thought!

Actually, it is the game that keeps me coming back, not the outcomes of individual games. But, I've said this before.

Baseball is a game of childhood memories.

It is a game of right angles and leisurely conversations among friends, as well as perfect strangers.

Baseball, for me at least, is a metaphor for community life. Team work, surprise, order, strategy, problem solving, overcoming weaknesses, celebrating victories and all-out, slam-against-the-wall effort.

Baseball is the long play. It is the slow down. Baseball allows equally for deep, private thought and/or mindless daydreaming and the banter of silly chatter. Baseball can involve the concentration necessary to fill in a scorecard. Or, it can be a glancing experience, when the people around you are actually why you came to the park!

Baseball is about kids. . .and crazy adults with gloves, just certain that the next ball hit or fouled away will be theirs for the catching!

Baseball is salted peanuts, hot dogs, cotton candy, the 7th inning stretch and "Take me out to the ballgame" and, if you're really lucky, extra innings!

Baseball makes the Texas heat worth it.

I love this game.

It gives me hope, no matter how bad our team is hitting!

Baseball can be cruel, though.

As in a couple of weeks ago when my son-in-law called me from Yankee Stadium during a game against the Rangers just to rub it in that I wasn't there. Where's the justice?

[FYI--I took the photo with my Treo while sitting up in the "cheap seats"--not a bad vantage point to watch a game. But then, there's not a bad seat in this house in my view.]



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Play Ball!. . .At last!!! and thanks number 42

Baseball is back. . .finally!

Though the weather hasn't been totally cooperative (Cleveland had a hard time getting their home opener done thanks to a spring blizzard!), the boys are playing ball again all over the country.

Call me over the edge if you like, but the return of baseball every year provides me a reason to hope.

If you love the game, you'll understand.

If you don't, at this moment you're thinking I'm nuts and there is absolutely nothing I can say to explain or justify my feelings.

Maybe it is about my childhood. Maybe it is connected to the memories. I must admit I can still smell my old glove, the fresh grass and the ball on my hands. I can feel the heat. I recall the sudden excitement of a hot grounder headed my way or the crack of the ball against the bat.

Baseball's back! I can read the box scores again over my Wheaties! I ask you now, could breakfast be any better than that?

It doesn't even matter who wins, not ultimately.

The joy is in the game, and not just the season. That's what makes baseball so unique, at least to people like me. Every game stands on its own. Doesn't matter who is playing. Sure, I yell for the Rangers every time they take the field. But the point is the game. The amazing plays, the strategy, the pitching. The game is about each game and the team.

I confess: I grew up on the New York Yankees. Mantle, Maris, Berra, Ford, Richardson, Boyer, Turley. . .the list goes on and on. I still find myself pulling for the pinstripes, I can't help myself.

So, here's how I see the season ending in the late fall:

American League

East: New York Yankees
Central: Detroit Tigers
West: Los Angeles Angels
Wild Card: Boston Red Sox

National League

East: New York Mets
Central: St. Louis Cardinals
West: Los Angeles Dodgers
Wild Card: Chicago Cubs

World Series

Yankees versus Dodgers. . .Yankees in six!

Hope to see ya at the ballpark!

_______________________

On a more serious note, today is Jackie Robinson Day for Major League Baseball! In every major league park in the nation today fans and players will remember number 42.

On April 15, 1947, Robinson broke the color line for baseball when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers in their game against the Boston Braves. The Dodgers won the game, played at Ebbets Field, 5-3.



The white controlled press paid little attention to this first, historic game.


During that first season, Robinson endured lots of insults, foul language and racially motivated hatred. The Dodgers' first series in Philadelphia against the Phillies proved the worst in terms of racial insults from both fans and players.


It was during that game that Dodgers' second baseman, Eddie Stanky, a native of Alabama, came to Robinson's defense in a tirade that likely couldn't be published, even today!

Branch Rickey, the Dodgers' General Manager who signed Robinson, later said that it was this series against the Phillies that brought the Dodgers together as a team. They came within one game of winning the World Series that year.


Robinson scored a run in that first game to help the Dodgers on to a win. He wrote a column for The Pittsburgh Courier afterwards in which he said, "Whenever I hear my wife read fairy tales to my little boy, I'll listen. I know now that dreams do come true" ( "Breaking the Truth Barrier," Stuart Miller, The New York Times, Saturday, April 14, 2007, A27).


Thank you, Jackie Robinson! The number 42 means a lot to baseball and to the United States today.