THE MANY FACES OF
Spring training
A Q-Tip bucket thing*
Paradise
Where everybody wants to be
Or at least see
Spring break
Backed up traffic-miles
Glad to park
In St. Pete for a week
THE GAMES
Mets versus Tigers
Vernal equinox at
easy-to-access
Lakeland’s Joker Marchant
Stadium
New renovations fresh
Big names rest
But we’re up close and in
the shade
Tigers win, the best
Busing back
Waylaid
By an angry serpent-
-ine belt
Moderate snafu
Responded to
By a 7-11 with restrooms
And parking shade
Clockwork Orange?
Dystopia?
Canterbury Tales a better
fit
We rallied and shared
stories with our travelers
Game two
Travel to
Tampa’s Steinbrenner Stadium
Red Sox beat the Yankees
A first for me
No recognizable Yankees’
names
Highlight
Grounds crew acting out “YMCA”
Dragging the infield, mid
game
Game three, Port Charlotte
Yankees visit the Rays
Game tied, end of the ninth
End of game
Spring rules
What’s up, NYC?
Many Mets and Yankee fans in
our group
Disappointed
Special find
An official spring training
baseball
Hiding near the entrance grass
Check your Easter basket,
Blake
THE COACH
Recruiting baseball hopefuls
Bill Matthews must convince
moms
Their sons will get a good education
At Eckerd College
And . . . the sons . . . to
pursue one
The chances of making it to the
majors
Slim or none
Equipment
Evolves
Wooden bats, those used by
the pros
Now hollowed, lacquered and
scientifically designed
But may not last more than
one swing
Ceramic ones for the amateurs
Expensive but guaranteed for
a year
A lively batting experience
Too dangerously so for the
pros
Rules and equipment both
evolve
Making sliding into defender
with spikes
Pretty much a thing of the
past
Ethics and Baseball
Signs get stolen
Batters get thrown at
As do umpires
Intentionally?
Rarely
But no case can be made for
it
Recruiting, stealing
players, poaching
Always a concern for the ethics
of baseball
All get modeled for kids
Batting order strategy
Speed first, hitting power
second
Then a place
For those whose job it is to
defend
Was that a hit or an error?
Wild pitch? Passed ball?
In seconds, Bill Matthews
must define umpires’ calls
And be immune to the
controversy
That comes with being the
Rays’ official scorer
THE LAWYER
Michael Allen, baseball fan
And law school dean:
Baseball and the law learn
from each other
Each contain basic elements
and required sequences
First, second, third and
home
Bases
Passed in that order
To score a run
Legal tort law
Duty, breach, causation,
harm
No legal harm without each
Judges and umpires
Are needed to make decisions
When the application of
rules is ambiguous
And “the game” must be
advanced
In a number of arbitration
and anti-trust cases
They have made decisions
That actually altered “the game”
Umpires are a part of the
game
Not the ones people come to
see
But are needed and committed
to advance the game
Judges, too
Become involved in people’s
lives
And are equally as passionate
about their work
THE UMPIRE
Retired ump, Rich Garcia
Does not like the visual
technology
Used to define strike zones
That home plate square you
see on TV
Is two-dimensional
And cannot show the path of
the ball over the plate
Nor are radar guns accurate
Operated by non
professionals
They are easily compromised
by interference
And do nothing to help the
batters
Getting to know coaches and
players
Helps umpires anticipate and
understand their behavior
In the past
Fraternizing with the other
team
A taboo
Today most players know each
other
And make so much money
It’s what friends do
OWNERSHIP
Dick Crippen
PR man for the Tampa Bay
Rays
And former sportscaster
Gave us a tour of Tropicana
Field
We saw the new infield being
installed
Then went behind the scenes
To see
Press boxes
Scorers’ tables
Workout rooms
Executive clubs
Even the loading dock
With its stored crates for opening
day
Viewing baseball’s history
on display
At the Ted Williams museum
Ended our tour
The message
Stadiums are like cities
And must produce more than
baseball games
Diverse needs must be met
To accommodate a variety of
fans during the games
And an external presence
must be made
In the community
Through charitable,
education and welfare programs
FROM THE MINOR LEAGUES
Imagine the challenges
Operating multiple teams in
different cities
And Caribbean Academies
To meet the developmental
needs
Of professionals at
different levels of ability
While maintaining a consistent
training program
Throughout
Moving players across
country
Their equipment and families
Often on a moment’s notice
Advising players on
Equipment contracts
Nutrition and sleep needs
ESL and culture classes
Life skills planning,
laundry and budgeting
All a part of baseball
HEADING BACK
Paradise
Put on hold
Linda at home in Georgia
Naylor near Valdosta
Making pre-op preps
For back surgery next week
Chance to get reacquainted
with nephew Philip
His wife Nichole and their
two charming daughters
Braylin and Ryleigh
Billy and Jo at the farm in
Lax
With Howell and Tish
Fellowship and a Polaris
tour --
Renovated ponds and buildings
Sent home with a baked chicken
recipe
HEADING NORTH
Enjoyed the redbud
Traveling through
Tennessee and Kentucky
Target -- Hilltop Farm
Bedford, Kentucky
Try to find it without GPS
Somewhere along Ralston Road
Betsy, Charlie and son, Jeff
Share eighty acres of woods
A clearing containing two
homes
Auxiliary buildings
And numerous gardens
Spectacular long distance
view
Overlooking the Ohio River
A multi decade review
Of careers and retirement
years
Long overdue
Silversides Plus One
Charlie’s guitar and voice
Resurrected in retirement
Now performing duets with a
friend
At nursing homes
When he is not writing
For the local newspaper
Engaging his Rotarians
Or parading kids in his
Thirteen-barrel kiddy train
Betsy, an only daughter
Immersed in sorting several
lives
Of acquired family heirlooms
FINAL PUSH
Back roads through southeast
Indiana to Fort Wayne
Avoiding rainstorms
To return home a day early
DRK
Road Scholar Trip
3/15/17 – 3/28/17
* Some Floridians refer to
senior citizens as “q tips”
