I have mentioned before that I am not known for my athleticism. Yes, I am the best in pool volleyball at the OFH but only because I am the youngest on the team by a decade. However, I am completely ignorant of the rules of the games of soccer, baseball, rugby, boxing, basketball, anything nuanced about football and so on. No, wait, there has been a change. A MAJOR change. A seismic change in my knowledge of one sport - and it is all because of my next trip. Get ready. This one is hard to believe. In 3 hours I am getting on a plane to join a college course (Whittier College 16 students, 6 adults) on Baseball: A Caribbean Religion. And guess where it is taught? In San Juan, Puerto Rico! I am off to San Juan.
Since signing up for the class I have been reading everything baseball. I started with the professor's book - Rounding The Bases. Now, there is a connection here. The professor (and author), Joe Price, is my cousin Bonnie's husband. I travelled with them to Kentucky last May. The book is all about baseball and religion and I really enjoyed it. That led me to 2 novels discussed in the book (Shoeless Joe Jackson - on which the movie Field of Dreams is based - and The Brothers K ) Loved both. Then I read Watching Baseball Smarter (I think that was the title) and I was hooked. I had no idea of the strategy of baseball. I just saw it as the slowest game on the planet. Now I get it. And I wanted MORE.
So then I took on The Field Guide to Baseball - yep, a discussion and analysis of the rules of the game. And I loved it. I only allowed myself one short chapter a day as I read with a mixture of awe, amusement, and incredulity at the width and depth and breadth of the rules. I love the examples - "a runner going from second to third purposely shoves the shortstop" - what? Why would he shove a shortstop? Or the pickiness - if a fielder, when catching a ball, falls into the dugout . . . And then it goes onto describe where his feet have to be to have it count (they better not be in the dugout). It is
all quite amazing.
The problem is that I am reading all these books with a very limited knowledge of the actual game. I attended a Giants game in Candlestick Park when I was in high school but, must admit, I was bored throughout - I couldn't figure out what was going on. I have been in the room when baseball was on TV but pretty much ignored it. Now I can't wait to get to San Juan and get out to the ballpark. We will be attending 4 games - the winter season in Puerto Rico ends in January.
I have packed the Field Guide and intend to study it on the plane. I am ready. Bonnie, Joe and I are flying in 2 days early. We will meet the students on Friday and then off to the dorms. Two weeks of college life, 4 baseball games, and tours around the island. I have one baseball cap packed (kindness of Joe) but will buy my own when there.
By the time I get home in late January, direct any questions you have about the sport (and how it relates to religion) to me. I will be an expert. A baseball cap-wearing expert.
Ah the things you learn in retirement!!!
Since signing up for the class I have been reading everything baseball. I started with the professor's book - Rounding The Bases. Now, there is a connection here. The professor (and author), Joe Price, is my cousin Bonnie's husband. I travelled with them to Kentucky last May. The book is all about baseball and religion and I really enjoyed it. That led me to 2 novels discussed in the book (Shoeless Joe Jackson - on which the movie Field of Dreams is based - and The Brothers K ) Loved both. Then I read Watching Baseball Smarter (I think that was the title) and I was hooked. I had no idea of the strategy of baseball. I just saw it as the slowest game on the planet. Now I get it. And I wanted MORE.
So then I took on The Field Guide to Baseball - yep, a discussion and analysis of the rules of the game. And I loved it. I only allowed myself one short chapter a day as I read with a mixture of awe, amusement, and incredulity at the width and depth and breadth of the rules. I love the examples - "a runner going from second to third purposely shoves the shortstop" - what? Why would he shove a shortstop? Or the pickiness - if a fielder, when catching a ball, falls into the dugout . . . And then it goes onto describe where his feet have to be to have it count (they better not be in the dugout). It is
all quite amazing.
The problem is that I am reading all these books with a very limited knowledge of the actual game. I attended a Giants game in Candlestick Park when I was in high school but, must admit, I was bored throughout - I couldn't figure out what was going on. I have been in the room when baseball was on TV but pretty much ignored it. Now I can't wait to get to San Juan and get out to the ballpark. We will be attending 4 games - the winter season in Puerto Rico ends in January.
I have packed the Field Guide and intend to study it on the plane. I am ready. Bonnie, Joe and I are flying in 2 days early. We will meet the students on Friday and then off to the dorms. Two weeks of college life, 4 baseball games, and tours around the island. I have one baseball cap packed (kindness of Joe) but will buy my own when there.
By the time I get home in late January, direct any questions you have about the sport (and how it relates to religion) to me. I will be an expert. A baseball cap-wearing expert.
Ah the things you learn in retirement!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment