Cages

“The human hand is made complete by the addition of a baseball.” ~ Paul Dickson

As reported earlier in my last post, spring training camps have now opened, and now games have begun. Friday, I hurried home from the gym to watch the White Sox / Cubs spring training game, on Saturday I watched the Mariners / White Sox. One might believe the weekend couldn’t get much better, but Sunday, I drove 16.3 miles to journey back to my childhood love.

It wasn’t a person I was visiting; it wasn’t even a place I went to as a child. It was an activity and as you probably guessed, it involved baseball. I drove to Willowbrook Sports Academy at 7850 South Quincy Street in Willowbrook, Illinois to participate in batting practice with the 60 and over wooden bat baseball league team that I play with, the Naperville Yankees. Now back in the 60s, we didn’t use indoor batting cages, I’m reasonably sure they didn’t even exist, we just went to practice up at McKinley Park.

It was our first team “practice” of the 2024 season, and it went well. I drove over listening to my baseball playlist (CLICK HERE to see my post on this subject) to psych myself up. But once inside the academy, I was transported back to a simpler time and place. Seeing and catching up with teammates (although, not everyone was there), warming up, then throwing for a bit, before taking my rotations in the cages. The world is a better place when the only thing you must be concerned with is the ball coming at you and trying to make solid contact. The bat connects with the ball, you feel the vibration in your hands, you hear the crack of the bat, and the ball is launched, well most of the time anyway. Was I raking the ball? Not consistently, but I was connecting and enjoying myself. In between my turns, we talked baseball. The time passed much too quickly, but we are scheduled to do it again next Sunday. Of course, once the weather cooperates, we will have outdoor practices, followed by our Opening Day and the season (hopefully with playoffs to follow).

What to do after this? Well, several of us headed to Stats Bar and Grill, 7201 Kingery Highway in Willowbrook for some more conversation coupled with some burgers, beer, and soft drinks. Then headed home. Perfect.

This is the beginning of my 59^th year of doing this in some fashion or another. It has been a lifetime pursuit. It has given me much pleasure (with some disappointments thrown in), some long-standing friendships, physical exertion and an escape from the realities that weigh us down. I’ve never been a “star”, I do okay (opinions vary), but I can’t imagine not playing. For me, for my well-being, it was well worth the drive.

More to come.

~ Coach Mike

Author’s Note: Congratulations to Chris Chelios of the Blackhawks on having his #7 sweater number retire. Well-deserved and thanks for the memories.

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