Baseball Seams Company gives baseballs a second chance. Baseballs that are waterlogged, scuffed, lopsided, with torn laces or covers are given the opportunity to become something new — art, keychains, necklaces, cufflinks. I’ve carried around my keychain for more than two years, tracing the laces with my fingertips whenever I’m standing in line at the grocery store or bank. These second chance creations are filled with nostalgic beauty and profound meaning, echoing the words Paul wrote to his friends. The old is gone, the new has come.
My first baseball game, at the age of 4, George Brett hit for the cycle and the Royals won in the bottom of the 16th inning. Since that game, I dreamed of playing baseball for the boys in blue on the fountain-lined field. I gave up on my dream at the age of 16, mostly because I had yet to hit my growth spurt. It took me a long time to realize how much I missed playing the game.
Thanks to the Grip ‘N’ Rip Baseball League, I got a second chance to play. The fourth-oldest player in the league, with some parts of my body scuffed and torn and replaced, I got to be a kid again. It was a taste of heaven. G.K. Chesterton was right.[1]
Mike Matheny is getting a second chance to be the manager of an MLB team. A little more than a year after being fired from his position with the Cardinals, Matheny will be wearing blue, working with players at the highest of levels. Ned Yost got a second chance in KC after learning from his past mistakes and it led to the World Series twice, along with an insightful education into space exploration.
There’s about 101 days until Spring Training starts. Here’s hoping Mike Matheny makes the most of this second chance. I’ll be pulling for him.
[1] “The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground.”
