For The Love Of A Ball

I love this baseball. I still remember the day we got it.  June 18, 2004. The first time that I took my boys to Omaha, NE for a College World Series (CWS) game. I was going through some stuff here at home the other day and I came across it. Seeing this ball took me back to that day. To appreciate my love for this ball, a little background is necessary. If you remember, about a month ago, I wrote about that most awful day in my life – June 18, 1999. In 2004, I was coming upon the 5^th anniversary of that day and I knew I needed to do something to get my mind off it. As part of my efforts to find the thing to get my mind off it, I pulled out an atlas, thinking that getting out of town would help. I started circling Kansas City with my index finger, making bigger circles until I hit Omaha. That’s it! I knew the CWS was coming up, so I checked the schedule, and sure enough there was a game at 1:30pm that day (it was a Saturday). I asked the boys if they wanted to go, and they were all for it!

Saturday the 18^th came and it was a beautiful day and we made the drive up. What I found outside the stadium was just a really neat atmosphere, as there were a bunch of houses set up as party central for the duration of the series. Unfortunately, the NCAA considered this “riff raff” and getting rid of it was part of the inspiration to build the new stadium. But I digress. It was just really cool outside of Rosenblatt Stadium. Rosenblatt itself was a cool stadium. And I was able to score second row seats just past third base. We had settled into our seats to watch the California State-Fullerton Titans take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. The pitchers had warmed up in the bullpen and were heading towards the dugout. As he made his way towards the dugout to get ready to start the game, South Carolina catcher Landon Powell tossed this ball to 7-year-old Brent. The game had not even started and our day was already made!

What a day! Sunny, not a cloud in the sky. No humidity and a high temperature of about 80 degrees. The perfect Chamber of Commerce day! Cal State-Fullerton would go on to win the game 2-0. I found out later that this was the first shutout at the CWS in over 10 years. I hit a home run that day with this trip. Fullerton would go on the win that series. The next year, my alma mater, Baylor, made the CWS so the boys and I had to go see them play. And a tradition was born. I ended up taking the boys to Omaha 8 times for CWS games. These were some of my most favorite and treasured memories of their childhood. I am so glad I got to see 7 games in Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium. Rosenblatt is a quirky, yet charming ballpark. I made one game in the new stadium. It is a beautiful stadium, but it lacks the charm of the old ballpark. For one absolutely perfect afternoon, I got to forget about life for awhile and I loved it.

This game also helped restore some of my lost love for the game of baseball. I had soured on the game after the strike in 1994 and the subsequent decline of my beloved Royals. But watching the way these kids played the game was a joy. All out hustle. They all ran out those ground balls. They sprinted to and from the dugout at the start and end of every inning. Just a lot of spirit in those young men that day. That reminded me of why I had loved this game from the time I was a kid of about 3 or 4 years old. Thank you all for reading.