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Monday, February 25, 2013

The Great American Race Versus the Great American Pastime

Since Spring Training baseball games aren't regularly televised this early on and I just can't get into NCAA basketball, I decided to sit down yesterday and watch some NASCAR for the first time ever.  After all, Fox Sports wasn't just televising any old race - it was the Daytona 500 - the Super Bowl and World Series of auto racing (which kicks off the NASCAR season, as opposed to other sports where the important game is played at the END of a season).  And with Danica Patrick in the pole position, who could resist watching such an exciting event?  Well, with all due respect to my NASCAR-fan friends, it definitely was my last time sitting down to watch an almost four-hour car race.

First of all, I had no idea there would be an hour-and-a-half of pregame stuff.  With baseball, you tune in at 7:00 for a 7:05 game, and with the Super Bowl, you tune in half an hour before kickoff to see who's going to sing the National Anthem.  But no, I sat there waiting for the drivers to get in their cars, and that didn't happen for a long time.  I did sit through an interesting explanation of why the cars are designed the way they are (these are Generation 6 cars) and how they're going back to the old-school design that makes Fords, Chevys, and Toyotas easier to identify.  But then they had a ZZ Top look-alike band sing a couple of songs, which were just not my style (OK, time to go downstairs and put some clothes in the dryer).  Then they had all forty-some drivers come out one at a time onto this big platform - that took way too long, though it gave me a chance to see how many good-looking ones there were!

When the race finally began, I realized that I can't follow a sport in which so many things are out of the main athlete's control.  If your curveball doesn't curve, it's up to you to correct it.  If you drop a ball in the outfield, it's your fault.  If you strike out or get into a batting slump, you need to figure out what you're doing wrong.  In auto racing, yes, the driver is ultimately responsible for getting his/her car across the finish line, but you have a whole team of people who can screw it up for you.  Your pit crew can be slow, the guy talking in your ear can tell you the wrong thing, or the guy driving behind you can bump into you and send you crashing into a wall (or another car).  Way too many things beyond a driver's control for my comfort.

One thing I did like was that after sitting in a car for almost four hours, not able to scratch an itch or blow your nose or eat a sandwich, the drivers were very gracious with reporters.  Even after a few of them got into bad wrecks and had to leave the race, they were nice when a microphone was shoved in their faces.  I would not have been in the mood to talk to anyone, and if I had been wrecked, I would not have had nice things to say.  Kudos to the drivers for understanding the importance of coming across as civil and decent (which is probably why Jeff Gordon wasn't interviewed immediately after getting out of his car).  Interview a baseball player after losing an important game and he probably wouldn't be as gracious.

So that's it for my NASCAR experience.  Tonight I'm going to watch a Spring Training game on the MLB Network, which is definitely my thing.  And the World Baseball Classic begins this Saturday - any time I can root for Team Puerto Rico... that is DEFINITELY my thing!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!"

It's official:  Spring Training 2013 has begun!  All pitchers and catchers have reported to their respective camps, and regular players are starting to trickle in as well.  The off-season wasn't so bad - we had Thanksgiving and Christmas, the Ravens won the Super Bowl, my husband remodeled one of our bathrooms, and Tim Lincecum got a haircut.  But it's time, my friends - time for the smell of fresh-cut grass and leather baseball gloves.  Tine for "Take me out to the Ballgame" and the seventh-inning stretch.  Time for overpriced beer and chili dogs.  I know; it may be freezing here in Maryland, but in Florida and Arizona, the players of the Grapefruit and Cactus leagues are ready to play some ball.

So what do we have to look forward to in the 2013 season?  Here's a rundown of what's not to be missed:

  • Before the regular season even starts, the World Baseball Classic will take place in Japan, Puerto Rico, and the US.  Baseball teams from sixteen different countries will be competing for the ultimate World Championship.  First-round games begin on March 2, with finals being held two weeks later at AT&T Park in San Francisco.  These teams feature veterans like Adam Jones and Joe Mauer (playing for Team USA), Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltrán (representing Puerto Rico), and Robinson Canó and Melky Cabrera (for the Dominican Republic), but also include young players who will be getting their first taste of international competition.  Stay tuned to my blog, because I will surely have a lot to comment on during the WBC.
  • The Yankees' Mariano Rivera looks to be ready for his comeback after last year's season-ending knee injury in May.  He is all rehabbed and ready to go, and at 43 years young, he will hopefully be back in pitching shape by the end of Spring Training.  He did say that he will decide before Opening Day if this will be his last season as a Major League baseball player, but since his contract with the Yankees is only for one year and he has always been in pinstripes, I'm sure this will be Mo's last season.
  • Seventy-year-old Davey Johnson, the manager of the Washington Nationals, has said that this will be his last season managing a Major League baseball team.  And with his "World Series or Bust!" attitude, we can hope to see a lot of special moments from our nation's capital this season.
  • Speaking of the Nationals, they have added a new mascot to their Presidents Race.  For those of you unfamiliar with this DC tradition, the four Mount Rushmore Presidents would race around the field at Nationals Park between the two halves of the fourth inning.  Since the Presidents Race began, Teddy Roosevelt would always lose.  Well last year, during the last homestand of the season, Teddy finally won, so the Nationals had to come up with a new gimmick.  After asking fans to vote for their favorite addition to the Presidents Race, William Howard Taft was chosen.  Why?  Probably because he was fat, had a cool mustache, and was the first President to throw out a ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game.  Let's see how the mascot version of Taft does this season.
  • The revamped Toronto Blue Jays are ready to kick some baseball ass.  With new acquisitions to their pitching staff (Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, and Josh Johnson) and offense (José Reyes and Emilio Bonifacio, to name a few), they look very good on paper.  Let's hope they can stay healthy this year - injuries have plagued the Jays for the past few seasons - so they can contend like in the days of John Olerud, Roberto Alomar, and Roger Clemens.

Another thing that is different from last season is that my husband and I opted out of the 5-game "Flex Plan" that we bought last year.  Not only did prices go up (we liked it better when our team sucked and tickets were cheaper!), but the seating choices were lousy.  I'm not going to watch 5 games while sitting in the scorching sun in the middle of the outfield seats nor am I going to be able to see anything from the mezzanine level.  So we're going the Stub Hub route this year, and hopefully we'll go to three or four games at Nationals Park (including a playoff game, hopefully!).  We do have a trip planned to PNC Park in Pittsburgh to watch the Pirates play the dreaded Phillies - can you guess for which team I will be rooting as I wear my Roberto Clemente t-shirt?

And don't forget your local minor-league baseball teams!  We will surely catch a handful of games at Harry Grove Stadium, where our Orioles' affiliate Frederick Keys play.  They may have gotten rid of their Puerto Rican manager, but the games are still fun to watch and still affordable for our family of four.

Now if the weather would only warm up here...

Monday, February 4, 2013

Nerdier Than Thou?

First and foremost, I want to congratulate every Baltimore Ravens fan out there on their team's amazing Super Bowl victory.  I am very happy (and envious) that you were all able to celebrate the perfect culmination to such a good season, instead of dealing with the crushing defeat that 49ers fans are now feeling.  As a baseball fan whose team suffered a heartbreaking, playoff-ending loss last fall, believe me - the off-season will be much more pleasant to deal with when you're floating on cloud nine as opposed to spending your time holding your head in your hands counting the days until the season starts again.

Speaking of being a big fan, as you all know, I pride myself in being a very knowledgeable baseball fan.  I know that Nolan Ryan shares a birthday with Jackie Robinson; I know what "pepper," "can of corn," and "tater" mean in baseball; and I know that the Houston Astros' Craig Biggio hit 51 doubles and stole 50 bases in 1998.  It is because I love baseball so much that I joined the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) last year, and the reason I decided to attend the meeting for the DC/Maryland chapter last week.  I thought, "Hey, I can learn more about the game, spread the word about my blog, and maybe even win a raffle item or two!"

So last Saturday, my wonderful and supportive husband and I set out to the Holiday Inn in Rosslyn, Virginia for the annual SABR Dsy event.  I expected about 100-or-so people to be there - mostly men with calculators and poor social skills.  You see, SABR is the governing body of all things "stats."  If you want to know what Josh Hamilton's batting average is on Tuesdays when there is a full moon out, SABR will tell you.  If you want a list of all players who have hit an extra-inning home run during game 5 of any World Series, SABR will give you that information.  And if you want the starting lineups for the game that was played on May 8, 1931 in Chicago, someone in SABR will let you know.  So of course, I had this preconceived idea that the room was going to be full of nerdy guys with goofy grins and asthma inhalers.  Boy, was I wrong!

Yes, SABR members know a LOT about baseball, and yes, some of them were a bit odd, but most of the 177 people who were at last week's conference were chatty, friendly, and welcoming.  The guest speakers were very engaging, there was never a line to use the ladies' room, and the raffle prizes were great!  I ended up winning a framed picture of Roberto Clemente, an Iván Rodriguez bobblehead, two books, and a pack of baseball cards!

So what did I take away from this conference?  Here are the highlights:


  • According to Paul Dixon, author of over 50 books including The Dixon Baseball Dictionary, there is a 131-page FBI file on Jackie Robinson, who was suspected of being a communist.
  • There didn't seem to be ANY minorities at the event, except for me and my Puerto Rican self.
  • Most of the SABR members present at the conference were AARP-eligible.
  • ESPN's Tim Kurkjian believes that the Nationals' Bryce Harper is "breathtaking" to watch, but I lost my respect for him when he said he voted for both Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in his Hall of Fame ballot this year.
  • Former Phillies' outfielder and current analyst for ESPN's "Baseball Tonight," John Kruk, once shot a deer while relaxing in his hot tub.
  • Buck Showalter does not like players with blue eyes because he says they can't see the ball as well, and he doesn't like drafting high school players with facial hair because they are done developing and don't have any more growing to do.
So as you can see, it was a very enlightening event.  And even though I can't rattle off Sandy Koufax's career ERA, I don't know the dimensions of old Ebbets Field, nor can I name all the teams in the Negro Leagues, I enjoy learning about baseball, I like impressing people with the facts that I do know, and I am proud of being a SABR member.

Now if only I could wait another week or so for Spring Training to start...