Beezball has been berry berry good to me! For those that don't remember, those were the words of Garrett Morris on Saturday Night Live as he role-played a Latin baseball star. But, with the Braves success in The World Series, I have been thinking of what baseball has meant to me.
As a young child, Baseball was THE sport. Not the NFL, not NBA, not even College Football. Every kid had a favorite team. My brother, Alan loved The Yankees. In fact, as part of a bet, he convinced our grandfather to send him to the Series in New York to see his beloved Mickey Mantle when he was 8 years old. I liked any team that was playing the Yankees but especially the Pittsburgh Pirates of Bill Mazeroski fame.
In backyard games, we could recite the full lineup of the teams (Especially The Yankees). Our collections of baseball cards would be worth a fortune today if Mom hadn't tossed them out with the trash! Dad would take us to Atlanta Cracker minor league games. I especially remember that we would go to opening day for a number of years. And, of course, we played Little League. I was not very good at baseball, but was still out there every season trying to climb the ladder of leagues...Sally League, Southern League, International League and The Majors. I never got further than The Southern League, but Alan was an International League catcher. I remember his grand slam home run and even retrieved the ball he hit!
Then, in 1966, it happened! The rumors became reality as the Milwaukee Braves moved the team to Atlanta and the recently finished Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium-an $18 million round multi-purpose stadium. The Atlanta Falcons, an expansion NFL team, would share the stadium with the Braves. This was the first major league team south of Washington DC and it became the favorite of everyone living in the Southeast. A few years later, Ted Turner bought the team and beamed the games across the country on TBS and The Atlanta Braves became "America's Team" to those across the country that didn't have a local team.
I was there on Opening Night, 1966. It was a momentous occasion and the stadium and the crowd were resplendent in all its glory. Tony Cloninger, the previous year's 20 game winner was the starting pitcher and his battery mate was Joe Torre. Lee Thomas at 1st, Frank Bolling at 2nd, Dennis Menke at shortstop and the great Eddie Mathews at 3rd. The outfield was Felipe Alou, Rico Carty and Hank Aaron. Cloninger went 13 innings in a loss to the Pirates, but Torre hit a home run. Mathews made a diving stop of a well hit ball, and my Dad turned to me and said, "That's Major League!" I remember it like it was yesterday!
While the 1966 team had a few stars like Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron and Joe Torre, the biggest crowds came out when others teams stars, like Willie Mays, came to town. In spite of having players like the great Hank Aaron in the early years, the team was mediocre and was very infrequently in the pennant race beyond July. I remember going to games as a teenager where there were less than 1000 fans in attendance and we would buy 50 cent general admission and then try to sneak down to the good seats. But, we LOVED our Braves!
Then came the 90's. I had already moved away from Atlanta. but still checked the box scores in the daily paper. (Yes, in those days, we still got an actual newsPAPER delivered to the house) The Braves advanced to The World Series FIVE times in the 90's. 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999. They won the World Series in 1995 against the Cleveland Indians. In either 1991 or 1992, I was in Atlanta because my Dad was having open-heart surgery and it happened to coincide with The World Series home games. Because of my connections, EVERYBODY wanted tickets to a game. Working the phone, I was able to come up with 12 tickets to a game and took brothers, friends and nearly everybody that hit me up for tickets.
Unfortunately, the biggest Braves fan, my Dad, had surgery that day and was just regaining consciousness as we left for the game. As he came out of the anesthesia, and with a breathing tube impeding his communication, he kept ringing for the nurse and pointing to the tv. They finally figured out that he wanted the game to be turned on so that he wouldn't miss an inning. Now, THAT'S a fan! For years, whenever I visited with my Dad during baseball season, he had the Braves Game on the television.
When I think of baseball, I think of my Dad. Baseball seems to enhance the relationship between a father and his offspring. I have fond memories of taking my son to Fenway Park for the World Series in 1986. While he was only 7 years old, I made good on my promise to take him if the Red Sox made it to the Series. And then, I was fortunate to accompany him and his son to Elie's first Baltimore Orioles game in 2013. And, although their team loyalties are somewhat off kilter, I have enjoyed watching my son-in-law and his daughter, Mara, bonding over their love for the Dodgers.
That brings us to 2021. 26 years since The Braves won a World Series and it was not looking very promising mid-season. Injuries to their star outfielder and suspension to another major player and just plain bad luck as mid-summer approached. But their GM went in to action, traded for 4 players, re-constituting their outfield and shoring up their pitching and The Braves posted the best 2nd half of the season of any other team. A 3 out of 4 game dispatch of the Milwaukee Brewers and the Braves found themselves facing the dreaded LA Dodger in the NLCS. Up 3 games to 1, flashes of 2020 appeared before our eyes....this was the same position they were in in 2020 and blew it to the same Dodgers. But, not in the miracle year of 2021, as the Braves vanquished the Dodger and headed to The World Series against the hated Houston (Cheaters) Astros.
And the rest is history! Tuesday night, November 2nd, Atlanta wins the 6th game of The Series to complete their improbable run to The Championship. A total team effort with several great stories...their journeyman manager Brian Snitker, Mr. Brave Freddie Freeman, local boy makes good in Dansby Swanson (who grew up 15 minutes from the new stadium), unbelievable effort from their bullpen and a different star in each game with an unprecedented number of runs coming as a result of home runs. And a fan base that is incredibly excited.
Damn, I almost forgot how much I love baseball!
Braves Win! Braves Win! Braves Win!
And The Journey continues........
