“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
The 2023 MLB season ended last Wednesday with the Texas Rangers winning their very first World Series Championship. They beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5 at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona taking the Series 4 games to 1. My belated congratulations to the Texas Rangers organization, players, staff, and fan base.
(Photo found on the internet. Assuming Public Domain.)
It happened sooner than I expected. It was going to happen no matter what. As I mentioned in in my last post, I dread the end of the season and yes, my “blue funk” has started. I was busy, but I found myself just unable to write about the “end”. Saturday night I decided to view a NetFlix documentary which was highly recommended to me (thanks Frank!), “Yogi Berra – It Ain’t Over”. Absolutely outstanding. If you love baseball, check it out. After watching it, I decided I could at least put a few paragraphs down. (Also check my archives for a couple posts on Yogi as well or CLICK HERE for “Teammates” or CLICK HERE for “Yogi-isms”.)
It did my heart good to see two smaller market teams in the Series. As mentioned, I was rooting for the D’Backs. I enjoy their style of play. They played mostly solid defense, small ball (bunts, moving runners, stealing bases) with the occasional home run. They were fun to watch. But the better team, the Rangers, won. They hit the long ball and got hot at the right time.
It also did my heart good to hear the crowd at Chase Field boo the Commissioner, Rob Manfred as he came out onto the field to present the Commissioner’s Trophy to the Rangers organization. Manfred is a joke, but the owners love him. He will never be embraced after he called the trophy “a piece of metal”. He doesn’t understand the game, nor does he have a real feel for it. As with so much of baseball, it’s the little ordinary things that give me pleasure.
Another thing that came out of this World Series (and perhaps some of my “Comments”) is that a lost baseball fan jumped on the Ranger bandwagon, and it sounds like he will follow the game again. Welcome back Mike, you’ve been missed.
Time will pass and I will feel better. The game isn’t gone, it’s just taking a break. The off-season will have trades, signings and other “hot stove” activities which aren’t near as exciting, but it will give hope. Then magically, even though all dates are “To Be Announced”, there will come a day probably between February 13th and the 15th, that we will hear those words that will warm my heart, “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 my baseball relationship, but the certainty is still there.
“Comments From Coach Mike” will of course continue throughout the lonely winter months as well. A variety of topics will be discussed. Look for some new features and the continuance of players stories, records, my votes for the Hall of Fame Class of 2024, reminiscence of my childhood, and other subjects. If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, please voice them; I always like to hear your ideas and feedback.
~ Coach Mike
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Sorry I'm a bit behind🥺 You write so beautifully and I can feel your sadness😞 The good news is we will continue to enjoy your column learning stats, baseballisms, and you sharing precious childhood memories 🤗
Yes, it is "blue funk" time for Baseball Fans! But you keep things alive with your wonderful blogs! It is always interesting to see what you have to say! Keep up the good work! It will help keep spirits up in this bleak season.