The Church of Baseball

While officially it's still baseball season (although my season ended 9/28), I thought I would write about baseball in my life. A good part of the reason I refer to Mike as my LSH (long-suffering husband) is due to baseball.

I grew up with 2 older brothers and a dad who loved baseball. Oldest brother was huge Yankee fan (although, he switched loyalties when he met his 2nd wife and now is a Red Sox fan; said he hated Steinbrenner. Who doesn't)? My other brother was, and is forever, a Dodger fan. Even when Walter O'Malley broke a million hearts moving the team to LA, my bro never waivered. That's loyalty. I decided that the Mets would be MY team.

When the Mets won the '69 World Series, I won $10 from a guy I went to school with. He wasn't a very gracious loser; he paid me with a 1000 pennies in an old, dirty gym sock.

I continued to follow my team through the 80's. However, in the 90's, I admit, I lost my way and turned my back on The Church of Baseball, all baseball, not just the Mets. All I can say is that life got in the way, so to speak.

In the spring of 05, I was flipping channels and came upon a Mets game. For whatever reason, I started to watch and by the time the game was over, I was hooked once again. Now, I always like to have one player on the team that I particularly watch and root for and I don't make this decision lightly. I continued to watch several more games to get to know the team. The only things I learned about the players were whatever Gary, Keith and Ron would say. When I made my decision, I called my brother (the Dodger fan) to announce my selection.

ME: Well, I made my pick.

BRO: Oh, I can't wait.

ME: I have chosen (drumroll please) David Wright.

BRO: Oh, surprise, surprise. You and 1/2 the females in NY.

ME: What are you talking about?

BRO: Oh, c'mon. You only picked him because "ooh, he's soooooooo cute."

ME: I've never really looked closely at him. Honest. I chose him because he's just starting his career, so it will be fun to follow him from the beginning. At GK&R say he and Reyes are the Mets' future, so I assume he's gonna be around NY for awhile.
Well, needless to say, my brother never believed me. But, once we hung up, my curiosity was definitely aroused and I went to the computer. Needless to say, I was VERY pleased with my choice. I loved his background and he definitely wasn't hard on the eyes.

However, I must make one thing clear. As I'm old enough to be his mom, my interest in him is STRICTLY maternal. Honest.

How does this relate to the LSH? We met during my self-imposed exile from baseball, so he had no idea of my "baseball past." He was never a baseball fan, to begin with. You can imagine his surprise when he discovered that baseball had become my passion once again. He has been a real trouper, from going to spring training with me twice, attending I don't know how many games both at Shea and away, even making signs for me. I actually believe he likes baseball now, although he won't admit it. I've even caught him reading the sports page.

One cute story - not far from Tradition Field, there's an ice cream/convenience store called Mets Mart, I think. We passed there and the LSH said very innocently - "Do you want me to stop there? You could ask for a "David" cone." I burst out laughing. He had no idea what he had said. Of course, I've had to tell this story to friends and family and they never let him forget it.