Now, batters seem to have one thing in mind, and that is hitting the ball far, and usually to their pull side. They could look for balls away and take them to the different fields. Years ago, the players who stood further from the plate were primarily interested in and capable of hitting balls to the opposite field, so standing off the plate was OK. But, maybe it’s my TV, I do not like what seems like more of the trend now of players standing far from home plate. I understand that good pitching will beat good hitting a majority of the time and it’s been cold, never fun to bat in that weather. The three “person” broadcast I should say, in deference to ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza, often seems like a competition between the analyzers, which annoys me. They do not catch everything but no one does, and I prefer a two-person booth to the three. I often, turn the sound off during games and just watch, but I have not even noticed the broadcasts, which is a good thing. Maybe I became spoiled by the one of a kind, Vin Scully. I am a harsh critic when it comes to baseball analysis, as I cannot listen to many of them. The Announcers: I know some people do not care for Joe Buck, but I am not one of those, and I enjoy John Smoltz analysis.
Such is the life in the big leagues, where pranks and joking around are constant and necessary. Bert after waving his hands to get everyone’s attention, proceeds to yell when all were looking, “Lary, Lary, this is where that ball landed,” referring to the ball hit by Jerry Martin the previous day off of Indian’s pitcher Lary Sorenson.
How he got on the roof in the first place is not known, but having the bravery to go to such heights was impressive. Yes, maybe the biggest-of-leagues manager in the sky had arrived? Unfortunately, it was only one of our ace pitchers, notorious prankster and now Hall of Famer, Bert Blyleven (not God) standing on top of the left field roof. With players looking everywhere, someone was pointing way up beyond the left field stands.
Was this the voice of God, perhaps with a message for how to get to the World Series, I wondered. The following day during batting practice, a voice from high above came preaching. In a game against the Kansas City Royals at home in cavernous old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Jerry Martin of the Royals hit a titanic shot completely out of the stadium, just foul. However, I will say a bad day or two or many as was the case in my Indian days, was still better than any day in the minor leagues. It had nothing to do with my play there, as the good moments I had would cover a half of sentence at most. In honor of one of my former teams playing in the World Series, the Cleveland Indians, I will begin with one of my favorite stories from my days there. How is that for riding the fence? Higher than the 2016 World Series? The Indians may not, so I will not be disappointed if they win the 2106 World Series. Having said all of that, I believe the Cubs will have many opportunities to win it all in the next few years with all that young talent. The young ones play hard, the older ones have a lot of class, and all are a reflection of an inspiring manager. I will say that the Cub players are extremely likable. Ultimately, my answer is that I want the best team to win and if that is the Cubs, so be it I will be happy for them. Then, I played for the Dodgers and the Indians, so there is some allegiance with them. Not really, I was only with the Sox for a short while, and they released me pretty quickly, so no great allegiance there, although I love my kids and they happen to be Sox fans. I played for the Chicago White Sox so I cannot root for the Cubs. I answer that I am for the team that begins with a C, I mean the team in the blue jerseys, and the team that hasn’t won a World Series in forever. I’ve been getting asked a lot lately, as most Chicagoans are, I suppose, if I am for the Chicago Cubs to win the 2016 World Series.