THE MANY FACES OF SPRING TRAINING

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”