Baseball 27

BY KEVIN KERNAN

There are many ways to experience the joy of baseball. In this edition of The Story, heading into the pre-Winter Meetings of Juan Soto’s 24/7 Excellent Free Agent Adventure, here is a guide to 27 fun and easy ways to connect with the game.

Why 27?

As the Yankees learned in the World Series against the World Champion Dodgers, 27 outs must be reached. Do not dare give away outs. In a sport that is oversaturated with needless numbers, the most important number to remember is three – the number of outs in an inning times nine – equals 27.

Here you go.

1. Play catch: It all starts here. Go out with a friend or a family member and play a simple game of catch. As Mickey Mantle once told me, his championship Yankees made playing catch a priority. It was not just a game of catch where you tossed the ball to your teammate, each throw must be aimed and arrive at the chest. Achieve that and you will be on your way to success.

2. Attend a high school baseball game. Stay away from those selfish showcases. Go to a nearby high school and catch a game. It will remind you why baseball was once America’s Game.

3. Make it a doubleheader. Attend a high school softball game, too. They usually play at the same time on adjacent fields. If the softball teams have a competent pitcher, the game may remind you of how baseball used to be played. And while you are at it, for the young softball player, give them a copy of sports psychologist Dr. Curt Ickes’ new book: Softball Secrets! Solving the Mysteries of the Mental Game. Take a slow deep breath is always one of his keys to releasing stress. When you make a mistake, and mistakes will happen, grab a handful of dirt, and throw it away.

4. There is one more local stop. Go to a Little League game just to be reminded that the game is for children of all ages. If you coach, teach some respect for the game along the way but be sure to take the team for ice cream or at least the snack stand, win or lose.

Read a baseball book. There are so many good ones to choose. It is better for you than watching TV or the time suck of TikTok videos or any form on (anti) social media.

5. Jumping to the major leagues now, and this is important advice for all fans. Stop railing on the Dodgers for spending money to acquire talent. Don’t you wish all teams tried their best to get talent – I’m looking at you, Pirates. The Dodgers won the World Series in five games, mastering the Yankees in arts of the game big and small. Money and coaching can take you a long way and here at BallNine, it is admirable that the Dodgers are going all out to try to win back-to-back World Series for the first time in their long history. From 1955 to 1965 they did win four World Series, but never in back-to-back years, something that has not been done in the major leagues since the 1998-99-2000 Yankees.

6. Read a baseball book. There are so many good ones to choose. It is better for you than watching TV or the time suck of TikTok videos or any form on (anti) social media.

7. Make it to a local college game (baseball or softball) during playoff season. You will not be disappointed, and you need to be reminded it is not always about the money, even though NIL is changing college sports.

8. This one is so easy and is a must. Listen to a major league game on the radio at least once a week. You will not be slaughtered with too many velocity numbers and statistics. You will hear interesting information from the clubhouse and a story or two. Right, Howie?

9.  Visit Cooperstown in the offseason. No crowds, and here is a pro tip, no teams from those local massive Cooperstown tournaments. It’s you, and baseball memories. The town has other things going for it as well, a good Italian restaurant right across the street, an old-fashioned diner, a wonderful coffee shop and multiple museums. Make it even more fun by taking a day to see the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Take the guided tour, limited to 25 people; book in advance and you may get baseball aficionado Dan Carubia as your guide.

10. Take time to condition your baseball glove. Better yet, teach your children or grandchildren how to do it. Pick up a can of Pecard Glove Conditioner, made in the USA since 1902. Simple to use. Apply a light coat with a clean, soft cloth. Allow time to absorb. Remove excess, if any and gently buff. Your glove will thank you for it.

11. Go out and hit some fly balls. Buy a fungo bat, Akadema Ash is a good way to go. Teach someone how to play Three Flies Up. Again, it is better than TikTok.

12. Find a ballfield, even a Little League field, run to first base. If you have the energy, come back to home plate and run to second. It is not as easy as you think but it is better than running a boring treadmill. Pro tip: Not only hit the inside corner of the bag with your right foot but make sure to turn your shoulders toward second base at the start of your turn, otherwise you will drift around the bag.

13. On a chilly day, watch a baseball movie. Any baseball movie.

14. This goes without saying, but when you go to a game, especially a Little League game, eat a hot dog. Make sure it is well done. There is something about a hot dog at a ballgame that makes it right. Like Humphrey Bogart once said, “A hot dog at the ballpark is better than a steak at the Ritz.’’

15. As a fan, focus again on traditional stats. Wins and losses and ERA for pitchers, batting average, RBIs and runs scored for hitters. Don’t let the Nerds fool you, these are all important and tell a story.

16. Get back to reading the box scores if you can somehow manage to get through all the pitching lines. In some ways we have become a country where critical thinking has been lost. Start reading box scores and put 2 plus 2 together. When newspapers stopped printing box scores, that was a sign they no longer cared about the reader.

17. Remember what pitcher/third baseman/manager Bucky Walters, the 1939 NL MVP once said: “Hell, if the game was half as complicated as some of these writers make it out it is, a lot of us boys from the farm would never have been able to make a living at it.’’ Walters won 27 games that 1939 season with a 2.29 ERA and pitched 31 complete games and 319 innings. He kept it simple.

18. Here is another quote to remember, this one by the one and only Reggie Jackson; relevant today because of the way the World Champion Dodgers are spending money, like $74 million for utility man Tommy Edman and $182 million on lefty Blake Snell: “I have a hard time believing athletes are overpriced,’’ Reggie once said. “If an owner is losing money, give it up. It’s a business. I have trouble figuring out why owners would stay in if they’re losing money.’’

19. The game and careers go by quickly as the great Vin Scully once noted: “It’s a mere moment in a man’s life between the All-Star Game and an old-timer’s game.’’

20. I find it appropriate that in the same year I was born, 1953, David N. Mullany invented the Wiffle Ball in Fairfield, Connecticut. It became the game for all of us Baby Boomers and I think you are never too old to go out and play a little Wiffle Ball. Especially against the grandkids.

21. Buy a pack of older baseball cards and a new pack and compare the differences between the two.

22. A bit of advice for my baseball writing brethren: If a team wants to trash talk, especially after winning the World Series like the Dodgers did and especially when the opponent, the Yankees, failed miserably at the fundamentals, let them. There is nothing wrong with building up a rivalry and pointing out the other team could not get the needed outs at the most important times. Leave the Be Kind stuff to someone else and why are you taking the Yankees side? It is the major leagues. And just maybe the Yankees will get motivated to be better.

23. Find some baseball lectures on Zoom or better yet, find one in your area and attend. Hear some stories about the game, laugh a little and learn a little.

24. Don’t overlook independent baseball. It is a great night out, it is reasonable, and you will be surprised how nice some of the ballparks are in independent leagues like the Atlantic League, the American Association, the Frontier League, and the Pioneer League. Like they say in the American Association: “We play for the love of the game.’’ There are leagues all over the country and worth visiting.

25. Make an effort to go to one ballpark this year you have never visited in the minors or independent leagues: Here are two suggestions. Visit Bosse Field in Evansville, Indiana, which opened in 1915 and is located on 23 Don Mattingly Way – isn’t that great – and is home to the Evansville Otters of the Frontier League. It was one of the ballparks used in the filming of A League of Their Own. As for a minor league team, you can’t go wrong visiting FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading, Pennsylvania, home to the AA Fightin Phils of the Eastern League. Scouts tell me it is one of their favorite venues and has been around since 1951. There is music before and after games, making it a fun night at a historical ballpark.

26. This is for coaches and parents. Teach the kids how to play pickle, it develops all kinds of skills for runners and fielders, and you can join in on the fun, too. Pro tip: use a tennis ball.

27. This last one is for both minor and major league teams: Bring back on the field batting practice for visiting and home teams before games. This was a staple growing up and to see it a couple of hours before the game when the gates opened was a treat. The game has become too individually based now. BP fosters good bat to ball skills, teamwork, hitting to all fields, base-running, and competitiveness. Not to mention the fans get a kick out of it. I was there for the Great Home Run Chase in 1998, and the Mark McGwire batting practices were legendary. But I also remember the simple batting practices of my youth -and those were special too, and the BPs during my time traveling with major league teams when writers were allowed to stand at the cage. I remember once Jack Clark was so upset that pitcher Eric Show was not doing his fair share of shagging fly balls – back when pitchers and not clubhouse employees ran down baseballs during BP – Clark ordered the BP pitcher to throw a round of balls on the outside corner. Show was in right-field kibitzing with fans and was suddenly under attack with line drive after line drive coming his way. The message was sent, and Show went back to shagging fly balls with his teammates. Bring Back BP. Hitters can still do individual extra work in the indoor cages.

That’s it, 27 fun ways to better enjoy the game; if you have any extra innings suggestions let us know at BallNine.