Man, do I love baseball. I am still extremely excited to watch the game and team (Pirates) I love.
I recently had to buy a belt for a suit I was going to wear at a wedding six hundred miles away from home. I found a local men’s store in the town where the wedding was being held. As I was walking out of the store with my new fifty-dollar belt, a strange thought entered my head: Is this the last belt I’ll ever buy?
I mean, my belts back home are at least twenty years old. I am fifty-three. That is going to be cutting it close. Seventy-three is a ripe old age in my family. I hope I will need to purchase another one someday. I quit smoking ten years ago in the hope that I would live a longer life.
Then, another thought hit me: Have I seen the last of the Pittsburgh Pirates making an appearance in the playoffs? I certainly hope not. There is nothing more exciting than being a baseball fan and having your team, the one that you have loved since you were born into the fandom, go on a playoff run.
Unfortunately for us Pirates fans, it has been a veritable “dust bowl” landscape here in Pittsburgh.
Photo courtesy The Guardian
Well, there WAS a fresh, green shoot that popped up in our all-but-dead garden a few years back. On October 1, 2013, the Pirates played and beat the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card game. That victory sent the Battlin’ Bucs to their first Divisional Series in twenty-one years.
Exactly one year later, the Pirates faced the San Francisco Giants in the 2014 NL Wild Card game. The Giants were victorious and advanced to the Divisional Series. A little over a year after that, on October 4, 2015, the Pirates would, for the third year in a row, host the NL Wild Card game, this time against the Chicago Cubs.
The Bucs’ loss in that game marked their final appearance in the playoffs up to and including this season. “Ten Years Gone.” That was a Led Zeppelin song. And that is how long it has been since the fans last had a drought. I say “for the fans” when I really mean everyone in any way associated with the organization. Everyone longs for those crisp, autumn baseball games.
My surrogate team? (photo courtesy At Bat)
So, how does a baseball fan survive such trying times? Well, to be honest, we do not. What I try to do is keep baseball alive. As I’m writing this, it’s October 1st, and the MLB Playoffs have started. I picked a few teams to ride with, since, well, my Pirates have scattered to the beaches of the world.
So, this past October, I had to pick a playoff team to follow. I figured it would be best to choose a team from a city like mine, Pittsburgh. Blue collar. Salt of the earth people. We make the steel and ship it to Detroit to make cars. Ok, then I figured I’d be a Tigers fan. Then I got to thinking a bit more. Cleveland is also remarkably similar to Pittsburgh. Ok, so I am an Indians fan for a bit. But Milwaukee is home base for one of its favorites, Bob Uecker, the legendary broadcaster/actor/philosopher, and exceedingly funny man.
Everyone quotes his famous line from Major League. You know the one. Vaughn (Charlie Sheen) throws a pitch about twenty feet outside the strike zone, and Euck says, “Juuuuuust a bit outside!”
For me, the funnier line comes directly after that one: “He tried the corner and missed.”
Good memories, but I digress.
I started rooting for a team I could see playing for our city. Also, there are players who worked hard for the Pirates but were either traded or placed on waivers, like Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who now plays for the Blue Jays. He will get my support. I loved watching David Bednar as a closer for the Pirates, but now he’s a Yankee. (Sorry, Dave. I just CAN’T!)
I guess what I’m saying is, man, do I love baseball! Keep that alive in your heart!
