Play Ball
I’m getting a late start today. Stayed up to listen to the Astros and Phillies game. Our boys won with a combined no-hitter. That’s pretty special. It’s only the second no-hitter in World Series history. The first was a perfect game thrown by Don Larsen of the Yankees against the Dodgers in 1956. I was ten. And I remember the game. October 8. I was a Dodger fan. But I probably didn’t watch it on TV because I was in school, and they played the game in the daytime. Imagine that.
I’ve had a hard time finding the current series on TV. I cut the cord a while back. My over the air channels are all digital and the local Fox affiliate isn’t one of them. I should probably get a better digital antenna. I moaned about it to my oldest and he helped me find the game. I downloaded the Major League baseball app and signed up to get the audio stream. It’s inexpensive. Radio. Old School. I got the Houston station, too. It was nice. It gave my imagination a workout, and the five run fifth inning was magic. I’ll probably use it next year. A summer of baseball on the radio. I think that would be fun.
The series is even now. Two games apiece. We’re going back to Houston for sure. I hope we go back with a one game lead, but the Phillies are no slouches, and they’ll probably react badly to being no hit. Obviously, I’d like the Astros to claim their second title and I’d like them to win in classic fashion, with maybe a Mazeroski style home run. But baseball has a funny way of breaking your heart and for every winner there’s a loser and you better get used to it. Ask Bill Buckner and the Red Sox.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver's Tale