I love being near an outfield right after it has been mowed. The stripes and designs in the grass. The allergy-inducing aroma. Every blade practically perfect.
There were a couple of occasions when I worked for the Springfield Cardinals that I ran out on the fresh cut outfield grass for one task or another. As ridiculous as it sounds, I walked as softly as I could and tried not to leave tracks.
Wyatt and I were the first to make tracks on a perfectly snow covered Fassnight Field. Wyatt’s in his last semester as a journalist student at MSU. He wrote one of my favorite baseball stories in 2017 about an 80-hour charity baseball game. I really wanted to play in that game.
Wyatt’s a Cubs fan from south of Chicago with a dream of covering the football Bears instead of the MSU Bears, though he’s written some pretty cool stories about the MSU baseball and basketball Bears, too. He’s already doing a job he loves with the Springfield News Leader which eases some of the real world anxieties of graduation.
Today’s catch was still cold. A single digit wind chill, though at least it was on the positive side. Thankfully, the sun was out, making the snow-blanketed field look quite beautiful.
We tamped down two snow circles in our game, then retreated to vehicles to warm up cold toes and fingers.
Thanks so much Wyatt, and keep writing great stories!
And happy birthday Mom!
