“It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it the most, it stops.”
From “The Green Fields of the Mind” – A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett Giamatti
Well, the 2022 MLB season ended last night with the Houston Astros beating the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 4-1 and taking the World Series crown 4 games to 2. It’s what ends each season, the crowning of the World Series Champion and the presentation of the trophy by the commissioner to the owner or representative of the winning team. It either would happen last night or tonight. It was going to happen no matter what. I look forward to the Series and I dread it at the same time. This year, perhaps just a little bit more.
I was rooting for the Phillies, but only by default because I couldn’t bring myself to cheer in any way, shape, or form for the Astros. As they say, I didn’t have a horse in the race, but that has happened for years. I choose either the underdog, the American League Champ or as in this case, the lesser of two evils. This year I really didn’t like either organization or fan base. But I cheered on the Phillies.
The Astros won. My congratulations to them. But please spare me all the MLB “company” lines of, “this a story of redemption”, “the players and the city deserved the win after all they went through” and all the other such nonsense. I just don’t want to hear this, nor do I buy into it.
The 2017 Astros were 100% caught cheating, they were completely unapologetic and basically suffered zero consequences. Yes, they were fined 5 million dollars, the manager and general manager were fired, they lost a couple draft choices, but they kept the WS championship, and no players were punished. No players ever apologized (as far as I’ve ever heard), they discounted the female reporter that spoke the truth and have gone on their merry way. And yes, only five players from 2017 remain on the roster, but I see no need to “move on” since real punishment never occurred. Just my two cents.
Did the Astros winning spoil the season for me. No, despite them winning and my beloved White Sox finishing as a .500 team, I really enjoyed the season. It’s baseball, how could I not? Aaron Judge hitting 62 home runs breaking the American League season record and being in the race for the triple crown. Exciting. It also exposed newer fans to Roger Maris (and his career) who held the record for 61 seasons. Albert Pujols hitting his career 700th home run, finishing his career with 703. Shohel Ohtani showing everyone that a pitcher CAN hit while playing the outfield and DHing in between pitching starts. Diving catches, infield hits and just the day-to-day ordinary games, brighten my spring, summer, and early fall. Routine and spectacular blend together throughout a season. It’s a special combination.
I’ve written and talked about this before but right after the conclusion of the World Series I experience a period of slight depression, a “blue funk” if you will. It normally lasts a couple weeks. Part of it is the shortness of the days, but more of it is the end of the games, the routine that I find so special, the disappearance of the box scores, the discussions that spring from the games we have watched. Something important is missing and I get lonely. Baseball doesn’t cease to exist, it takes a break and the trades, signings and other “hot stove” activities don’t completely fill the void. My first love is gone for a while. I must wait until February 14, 2023, to hear those magic words, “Pitchers and Catchers Report”.
Bart Giamatti really captured it perfectly with the partial passage I quoted above. I usually share that on social media as well. It sums it up so well, my heart truly breaks, just like the hurt feelings of my childhood, the crushes of my teen years and the full-blown relationship break-ups of my twenties. But baseball will be back, it always returns. The heartbreak isn’t lessened by the knowledge of its return, it doesn’t soothe the loneliness or fill the void of time that I invest in the baseball relationship, but the certainty is still there.
“Comments From Coach Mike” will of course continue throughout the lonely winter months. A variety of topics will be discussed. I know my view of the White Sox hiring of their new manager will be out shortly. There are new rules going into effect next season. Trends in the “new age” of managing, players stories, records, my votes for the Hall of Fame Class of 2023, reminiscence of my childhood, and other subjects. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please voice them.
(Found on the internet. Assuming Public Domain.)
One thing that happened last night that I purposely waited up to see was the crowd loudly booing Rob Manfred as he was introduced to make the presentation of the Commissioner’s Trophy. As with so much of baseball, it’s the little ordinary things that give me pleasure.
~ Coach Mike
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Looking forward to the new posts🤗👏🥳
Wishing you a great day🙏🙏🙏
I know you’re feeling sad about baseball
ending but your posts will keep us entertained until the season begins‼️ Really enjoy reading and looking forward to more of your posts🤗