Friday, August 12 is Opening Night.
Season VII of the Grip’N’Rip Baseball League will start with the first pitch at 6:30 at US Baseball Park.
The game features a rematch of last year’s championship game, the Moon City Mavericks and the Ozark Mountain Ducks, a game the Mavericks won to ring the Howard Bell Trophy.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Henry’s Towing, Opening Night admission is free.
Free, free, free.
For all ages.
The Season VII Opening Night game is only four days before my 48th birthday.
The most famous #3 in baseball history, Babe Ruth – “the great Bambino, the Sultan Swat, the Titan of Terror, the Colossus of Clout, the King of Crash” – passed away on August 16, a mere 26 years before I was born.
Trivia fact: Elvis Presley died on the same date (1977) as did Aretha Franklin (2018).
To honor the home-run-hitting man who said, “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up,” and the always-dancing man who said, “I learned how important it is to entertain people and give them a reason to come and watch you play,” and the legendary-singing woman who said, “I think it would be a far greater world if people were kinder and more respectful to each other,” here are three birthday wishes for the Opening Night game.
Birthday Wish #1 — For 1,000 people to come to the Opening Night game.
For one night, take a break from the chaos of the always-on-the-go culture and come enjoy the sounds and sights of a ballgame. Share stories with those seated nearby. Cheer on the good plays of both teams. Breathe and laugh and relax. The slower pace of a baseball game can be the balm our harried souls need.
More specifically, I’d like for 1,000 people to come to the Opening Night game and cheer on the Ozark Mountain Ducks. I can only begin to imagine the energy that 1,000 people would bring to a baseball game, an energy that would be felt in the dugout and on the field and in the batter’s box. Which brings me promptly to my second wish.
Birthday Wish #2 — At some point during the game, I’ll step into the batter’s box, wearing #10 on my back and tall socks paying tribute to #42. When my video comes up on the jumbotron, celebrating my sponsorship from Ozarks Literacy Council, I’ll walk up to the plate to the rousing theme from How To Train Your Dragon.
My second birthday wish is purely for the sake of ego. As I walk up to the plate, taking a deep breath, making certain no sweat will drip in my eyes, my wish is that the stands would erupt in cheers and applause as if I were a famous ballplayer.
A purely selfish wish, I know. Some wishes are like that.
Most of the time, when I’m writing stories or dreaming baseball dreams of throwing out a first pitch and playing catch with the Royals, it’s just me in conversation with the soundtrack in my brain while a dog lays at my feet and waits for me to take her on a walk. No music or background noise. Just a quiet thinking, trying to make sense of life, searching for the right words, looking for signs of heaven breaking into earth.
I honestly don’t know how I’d respond if the stadium truly erupted in applause. I’d want to acknowledge the friends in the stands by tipping my helmet. I think I’d start laughing, but there’s a chance that I’d start blinking back tears, neither of which are ideal for preparing to make contact with the ball. And since it’s my birthday wish, I’d get a first pitch, middle-middle, batting-practice speed fastball, and barrel it to the gap. I’d then “race” around the bases and end up on second with a stand-up double. I would strongly consider asking for a pinch runner.
I recently went to the batting cages and had the following conversation.
Kid (about 8): You’re going to hit in the fast cage?
Me: I am.
Kid: Do you think you can hit it?
Me: I do.
Kid: Can I watch?
Me: Sure.
The first pitch came in high. It probably wasn’t a strike. But I paid a nickel for that pitch and I came to get my swings in, so I took a hack. I fouled it off, straight back, making very minimal contact with the actual ball.
Kid: You did it! That’s awesome! Way to go!
In that moment, I wanted to hire that kid as my personal motivator for the rest of my life. That perspective is hard to teach and is contagious.
Life lesson: Encouraging people are a gift to all of humanity.
Actually, I want this kind of over-the-top response for all of the Ozark Mountain Ducks. And for the Moon City Mavericks, too. And when they play, I want it for the Showmen, and the Locos, and the Mets, and even the arch-rivals of the Ducks, the Suckers.
In his book Together, Vivek Murthy wrote, “Given that our connections with people are both our greatest source of fulfillment and also the ultimate performance enhancer, it is incumbent on technology companies and a new generation of humanistic entrepreneurs to imagine and design technology that intentionally strengthens our connections with each other instead of weakening them, that prioritizes quality in our interactions over quantity, and that supports a healthy and engaged society…A helping hand and a friendly word – coupled with the recognition that we all have more in common than meets the eye – can make a life-changing difference.”[1]
We live in a divisive culture that is quick to criticize and point out shortcomings and failure.
“People are both our greatest source of fulfillment and also the ultimate performance enhancer.”
Maybe, instead of technology companies designing devices and software to improve relationships, the world of sports could teach and remind us about the joy and power of being human, of sharing life together.
Celebrate and support “the man in the arena.”*
Begin to see that there are “arenas” all around us, not just in the world of sports, but in music and art, in math and science and business, in schools and churches and hospitals and gas stations and fast-food establishments and banks and anywhere and everywhere there are people.
Birthday Wish #3
It’s here that I’m supposed to wish for more wishes, or wish for a W for the Ducks, or wish that a scout from the Royals would attend the game and sign me as an Official Catch Partner for the KC Royals. Those are all perfectly acceptable and understandable third birthday wishes. No one would blame me if I wished for any of those things to become a reality.
But my real wish is this: I want the 1,000 people who come to the game to be inspired. I want the joy that comes from playing a game to find its way to the stands so that everyone is encouraged to find ways to incorporate play into their lives. When the 1,000+ fans go home, I want them to have the courage to dream their own big dreams of bringing joy and wonder and hope and whimsy into their arenas.
Like Nelson Mandela said, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.”
This is my wish not only for Opening Night, but for all of Season VII of the GRBL – that these games of baseball inspire, bringing people together, creating an environment where joy and wonder are expected.
Now, it wouldn’t be a birthday celebration without gifts. And getting new books is one of my favorite birthday gifts. So, to celebrate my birthday and honor the amazing work of Ozarks Literacy Council, I’ll be giving away gifts after the game, including some of my favorite baseball books.**
If you want a chance at winning one of the gifts, you better bring a glove to the game. I know some professional announcers think that fans bringing gloves to the game should be left to the kids.
I think doing those things that help us to stay young at heart should be highly encouraged.
Throughout the game, ten numbered baseballs will be distributed.
Maybe a teammate will throw out a ball into the stands after an inning.
Maybe I’ll have a couple accomplices in the stands giving away baseballs to unsuspecting fans.
Maybe I’ll throw a ball into the stands as I walk up to the plate for my AB.
The numbered baseballs will have a note attached to look for me after the game.
Since I wear #10, there will be 10 gifts given away.
Gifts like:
*42 DVD and Blu-Ray and a Jackie Robinson HOF postcard
*Field of Dreams DVD and Moonlight Graham baseball card
*Filip Bondy’s The Pine Tar Game and George Brett baseball card
*Tom Dunkel’s Color Blind book
*An official Ozark Mountain Ducks #10 jersey
Friday, August 12 is Opening Night.
Season VII of the Grip’N’Rip Baseball League will start with the first pitch at 6:30 at US Baseball Park.
And it’s free.
Invite your friends, bring your glove, and let’s have a party.
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*On April 23, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. One famous portion of the speech is referred to as, “The Man in the Arena.”
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
**Ozarks Literacy Council provides free literacy tutoring to anyone who needs help. Free, free, free. For all ages. Learn more about OLC here: https://ozarksliteracy.org//
[1] Murthy, Vivek H. Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. HarperCollins, 2020. pp. 119, 120, 128.
