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It Appears that the 2020 MLB Season will Take Place After all

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After months of playing a game of will they?, or won’t they?, that would even make the lead actors in an ‘80’s sitcom say, “just get together already,” it appears that there will in fact be a 2020 Major League Baseball season kicking off next month in the middle of a global pandemic.

While the length of the season has not been officially announced, according to a report in USA Today, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, is expected to announce a 60-game season that will run from late July to late September, with the players receiving their full prorated salaries based on an agreement reached when Spring Training was canceled back in March. As part of that schedule, players would resume Spring Training at their home Ballparks at the beginning of July.

The Toronto Blue Jays shut down their spring training facility in Dunedin, Fla., after a player exhibited COVID-19 symptoms.
Photo R. Anderson

The news comes as MLB training facilities from coast to coast were shut down this week to undergo deep cleaning due to outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus among players and staff who had been working out at the facilities.

One may recall that the COVID-19 virus was the very reason that Spring Training was cancelled in the first place.

The fact that the MLB is even considering kicking off a season while the virus is at even higher numbers, (based on an increase in the percentage of people testing positive, and not due to an increase in the number of people being tested), than it was at when it was deemed too dangerous to Play Ball in March is to put it kindly, tone deaf.

I am running out of creative ways to say that the 2020 MLB season should not be played. So, I will just say that the 2020 MLB season should not be played in the middle of a pandemic that has led to the deaths of over 120,000 Americans.

MLB is not alone in trying to squeeze their eyes together really hard and wish the virus away. After declaring Texas open in three gradual phases beginning in May, and seeing COVID-19 cases in the state rise up like a bottle rocket nearly every day since reopening, the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, noted in a June 22 press conference that, “COVID-19 is spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas,” and that, “We must corral it.”

After declaring Texas open in three gradual phases beginning in May, and seeing COVID-19 cases in the state rise up like a bottle rocket nearly every day since reopening, the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, noted in a June 22 press conference that, “COVID-19 is spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas,” and that, “We must corral it.”
Photo R. Anderson

COVID-19 was pretty well corralled in Texas before, despite not meeting the guidance set forth by the Centers for Disease control for reopening, the state started reopening in May. So now, instead of a corralled virus, state hospital districts are sending up warning flares that if the upward trend in hospitalizations continue, they will likely run out of hospital beds. For the record, Texas is home to two MLB teams who would be playing ball within this hot zone and inviting other teams to join them.

Two other COVID-19 hot spots are heating up in Florida and Arizona, which play host to three MLB teams.

If one wants to corral a hot spot one of the best ways to accomplish that is through wearing masks and socially distancing. Masks, and social distancing work. Some well-respected doctors with decades of experience working with infectious diseases used to tell us that every day from a podium in the White House before the official messaging out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue switched to open the economy up and pray the virus away.

It didn’t really work out then, and it is not really going to work for MLB either.

I have said it before, and I will say it again, I miss baseball a lot. I wish they were playing baseball. However, I do not miss baseball to the point that I need to see it played in empty ballparks in the middle of a raging pandemic just so some owners can pat themselves on the back and say, “hooray, we had a baseball season.”

In many ways, it would be easier to think of COVID-19 like a wildfire. If, heaven forbid there were wild fires encroaching on Dodger Stadium people would not say, “well, looks like a good day for a ballgame, I hear Clayton Kershaw is pitching today, as they walked over the flames racing through Chavez Ravine.”

Instead, they would say, “look at those flames, there is no way it is safe to be playing today. Let’s focus our efforts on putting the fire out, and think about playing when it is safe to do so.”

COVID-19 is not as visible as the flames of a wildfire, but it is just as deadly, and should be taken just as seriously.

In many ways, it would be easier to think of COVID-19 like a wildfire. If, heaven forbid there were wild fires encroaching on Dodger Stadium people would not say, “well, looks like a good day for a ballgame, I hear Clayton Kershaw is pitching today, as they walked over the flames racing through Chavez Ravine.”
Photo R. Anderson

To that end, the MLB players will be given a 67-page manual that gives them the dos and don’ts of what they can and cannot do when playing baseball in the middle of a pandemic in fan free Ballparks. Such tried and true techniques include, no high fives, no spitting, and staying socially distanced in the dugout.

Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun and totally worth the risk of catching a potentially fatal disease just to play baseball for the sake of playing baseball.

Of course, not all players will be part of the season this year. Players who are considered high risk can sit out the year with pay, while other players may decide to sit out the year with no pay. After all, each player has to take a look at the long term, versus the short term.

Despite the pending announcement of a season, I am still hopefully optimistic that once players report to Spring Training all parties involved will come to their senses and decide once and for all that the risks outweigh any benefits of playing ball.

Unlike the NBA plan that has all of the teams sequestered in a single location for the duration of the season, the MLB is using a regional approach where teams will travel from state to state, or as the case may be, from hot spot to hot spot rolling the dice on catching the virus as they go.

A perfect storm scenario, that I am sure no one wants to see, would be a season that got started, and then had to be cancelled before a World Series Champion could be crowned due to a resurgence of the COVID-19 virus in the fall. Of course, at this rate, there will not be a second wave of the virus in the fall, since it is highly possible that we will still be in the first wave come September and October.

So, if a very real possibility exists that a World Series Champion cannot be crowned in 2020 anyway, why even risk player’s health for a shortened season?

Dodger Stadium, and the 29 other MLB Ballparks, will likely start hosting MLB games in late July for a shortened 2020 season.
Photo R. Anderson

Just call it over, and the sides can go to their corners for the contentious labor negotiations that will follow the end of the 2021 season.

If the owners and players of MLB really wanted to do something productive this season, they could flood the airwaves, and social media channels with a message of social distancing and mask wearing.

Setting an example of respecting the virus, and doing their best to stop the spread, would be so much more important than trying to see who can be crowned champion of a shortened season that runs the risk of tainting the game of baseball for generations to come.

I am sure there are people who jumped up and down at the news that baseball would return in some form this year. I certainly do not share that joy.

It looks like there will be baseball in Mudville this year, I just hope the mighty Casey does not get struck out by the even mightier COVID-19.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to partake in one of the new hobbies I have picked up with all of the spare time I have now that I am not watching baseball games.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson

Sugar Land Skeeters Form A League of Their Own to Play Ball During Global COVID-19 Pandemic

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The Sugar Land Skeeters, of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), recently announced their intention to form a four-team professional baseball league at Constellation Field, beginning July 3 and running through Aug. 23.

The idea of a four-team quick summer league sounds great on the surface. Of course, as one peels back the layers of the onion, they are reminded of the fact that we are still in the middle of a global pandemic caused by a virus with no known cure or standard treatment.

The news of the league comes as the number of COVID-19 cases in Texas continues to rise to record numbers on a daily basis. As a result of the rising numbers of cases and hospitalizations, some businesses that had reopened, like bank lobbies, are starting to close again.

The Sugar Land Skeeters, of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), recently announced their intention to form a four-team professional baseball league at Constellation Field, beginning July 3 and running through Aug. 23.
Photo R. Anderson

With that in mind, the team ownership noted when they announced the league that they would be working with local and state health officials to provide as safe of an environment as possible for fans, staff and players.

Among the steps being taken is following the guidelines from the state of Texas as well as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in regards to stadium capacity and social distancing. Players will be tested for COVID-19 at least once a week, as well as prior to their arrival in Sugar Land.

In regards to fans in attendance, the plan calls Constellation Field to allow up to 25 percent of its 7,500-seat capacity to be full for each of the planned 56 games in the season.

According to a press release from the Skeeters, there will be a total of seven games played at Constellation Field each week from the Opening Day on July 3 through the conclusion of the season on Aug. 23. The schedule is subject to change, but single games are anticipated to be played on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and doubleheaders will be played on Saturday and Sunday.

The names for the four teams have yet to be announced. In the spirit of helpfulness might I suggest such timely names as, the Pandemics, the Social Distancers, the COIVD-19’s, and the Doc Faucis.

The four teams will be managed by Skeeters manager Pete Incaviglia, seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens (along with his son Koby), and former Cleveland Indians pitcher Greg Swindell. The fourth team will be led by a manager to be named later. It should be noted that both Roger and Koby Clemens played for the Skeeters.

Former Sugar Land Skeeters player Koby Clemens will manage one of the four teams in the Skeeters Summer League alongside is father, Roger.
Photo R. Anderson

Open tryouts for the league are scheduled to take place at Constellation Field on June 24. It is expected that the teams will consist of former Major Leaguers and an assortment of professional players who’ve appeared at affiliated minor league levels as well as independent leagues.

Despite the best efforts of social distancing and testing, it is extremely likely that there will be people associated with the league who contract COVID-19. In the event that occurs, team officials have noted that the show will go on as the league takes the posture of accepting a certain level of risk in order to play baseball.

This is the magic question faced by all sports leagues, and in fact all individuals, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. How much risk is one willing to take in order to do the things that were done in the olden days of pre-March 2020?

The answer depends on the individual’s level of comfort, as well as whether the individual involved belongs to one of the identified high-risk categories of greater susceptibility to the virus.

Years ago I saw this sign at a Pensacola Pelicans game. It is unknown whether the tickets to the Sugar Land Skeeters Summer League games will include small print waiver language stating that fans in attendance assume both the risk of getting hit in the head by a foul ball, as well as assuming all risk if they contract COVID-19 at the ballpark.
Photo R. Anderson

It is unknown whether the tickets to the games will include small print waiver language stating that fans in attendance assume both the risk of getting hit in the head by a foul ball, as well as assuming all risk if they contract COVID-19 at the ballpark.

I can picture the wording going something like this, “Sorry folks, you can’t sue us for getting sick. The lime green mosquito up front should have told you that.”

The Skeeters are not alone in trying to find creative uses for their Ballparks this season. According to the ALPB, the High Point Rockers, Long Island Ducks, and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are working with several professional baseball clubs, towards finalizing a 70-game schedule of play that would begin in mid-July and wrap up at the end of September with a five-game championship series.

Other ALPB teams that are not able to host baseball games due to crowd size limitations in their regions are hosting movie and music festivals in their Ballparks as a means to generate revenue.

And of course, Major League Baseball is still trying to hammer out an agreement to play baseball without fans in attendance for the 2020 season.

Personally, I would love to see baseball at all levels sit the season out. I do not believe the short-term gains of unfurling those Opening Day banners in 2020 outweigh the long-term risks to player health, as well as overall league health.

The last thing anyone should want to do is have a short term pebble drop ripple turn in to a tsunami with unforeseen consequences down the road. One should not sell their soul for a shortened season.

And just because a Ballpark is open, it does not mean that fans need to go to it. If the movie Field of Dreams was filmed in the era of COVID-19 it is likely that the voice heard in the corn field would tell Ray Kinsella to “build it and they will come after the threat of the COVID-19 virus has been eliminated by the invention of either a vaccine or a therapeutic treatment.”

After all, those players may have been ghosts, but they were certainly in a high-risk category based on their ages. Speaking of that Iowa corn field, the New York Yankees and Chicago White White Sox are scheduled to play each other at a temporary ballpark adjacent to the field from the movie on August 13. It is unknown whether the game will be played, and if it is whether the people will be allowed to come, or if only the corn will have ears to hear the game.

Baseball, and the rest of life as we knew it in the golden days of pre 2020 will hopefully return next year. We will reach the other side, and when we do, the Ballparks will once again be full of fans and games of dizzy bat. Until then, teams and leagues will continue to seek creative solutions to “go the distance” as they navigate uncharted waters like a 21st century Lewis and Clark to ease our collective pain.

Now if you’ll excuse me, all this talk about shortened summer baseball leagues has me in the mood to watch Summer Catch.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson

Looking Back at Some Historic Long Balls Tainted by the Lens of Revisionism and Hindsight

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The other day I watched the 30 for 30 documentary Long Gone Summer on ESPN. The film chronicles the 1998 battle between Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, and Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs as they battled to break the Major League Baseball (MLB) single season home run record set by Roger Maris of the New York Yankees in 1961.

I always enjoy the 30 for 30 series, and this entry was no exception. As I watched the documentary, I was taken back to the excitement of the battle between McGwire and Sosa during the summer of 1998. I was also reminded of the minor role I played three years later when Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants tied the record of 70 home runs that McGwire set in 1998.

On October 4, 2001, I saw my first baseball game at Enron Field (now modern-day Minute Maid Park). Aside from being my first visit to what was then a National League Ballpark, October 4, 2001 was also the day that Barry Bonds tied Mark McGwire’s home run record at 70.
Photo R. Anderson

On October 4, 2001, I saw my first baseball game at Enron Field (now modern-day Minute Maid Park) when the Houston Astros hosted the San Francisco Giants.

The game had originally been scheduled for September, but was moved to October after a week of games was cancelled following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Aside from being my first visit to what was then a National League Ballpark, October 4, 2001 was also the day that Barry Bonds tied Mark McGwire’s home run record at 70. Bonds hit the record tying homer in the ninth inning off of Houston Astros rookie left-hander Wilfredo Rodriguez.

The home run came after Bonds was walked eight times, and hit by a pitch once in 14 prior plate appearances in the series against the Astros. After Bonds was intentionally walked, the over 40,000 fans in attendance booed Astros manager Larry Dierker. It is not every day that the home team manager is booed for walking an opponent.

Perhaps not wanting to be booed again, Dierker allowed Rodriquez to pitch to Bonds the next time he came to the plate. When the ball left Bonds’ bat, the stands erupted in cheers as that record tying homer sailed over the wall. Of course, it is not often that a home run hit by the opposing team gets such a response, but this was history in the making. Or at least it was history tying in the making.

Bonds made two curtain calls following the home run, and the world of baseball was truly united on that one evening a little under a month since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 shook the nation to its core.

The same thing happened when Sosa and McGwire were battling for the record in 1998. Fans of baseball put aside their team partisanship and rooted for Sosa and McGwire as individuals for the greater good of the game. This fact is even more amazing when one considers how bitter the fan bases of the Cubs and Cardinals can be to each other.

It would be nearly 10 years to the day before I saw the Giants play the Astros again after my first trip to the Ballpark. The return game occurred three years after Barry Bonds last played, and lacked the record setting buzz, and the crowds of my first trip to the Ballpark.
Photo R. Anderson

Fast forward to that 2001 October night in Houston, and fans were once again cheering for a player from a hated rival.

Bonds very well may have broken that record as well during the same game that he tied it were it not for Dierker deciding to give Bonds an intentional walk in a game that the Astros had very little chance of winning.

I recall writing at the time that the history denying intentional walk was not in the spirit of competition. Instead, by walking Bonds, Dierker was manipulating records by not allowing the at bat to proceed organically without the interference of a manager refusing to let his pitcher throw to the batter.

At the end of the 2001 season, Larry Dierker was no longer managing the Astros after another early playoff exit. I have often wondered whether his actions of committing a sin against the baseball records played a part in the decision of the team to go in a different direction.

If memory serves, at the time, Dierker called it shameful that the Astros fans had dared to cheer for Bonds the way they did. I guess he just did not understand the gravity of the moment. Or, perhaps he did, and wasn’t swayed by it.

As an aside, it should be noted that Rodriquez, the other key Astros player that night, had only appeared in two games prior to giving up the home run, and he never pitched in an MLB game again after Bonds tied the record against him.

Before going any further, it is important to acknowledge the elephant in the room. In the years since 1998 and 2001, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Barry Bonds have each, to varying degrees, had their career accomplishments overshadowed by whispers of how much of a role performance enhancing drugs (PED) played in their record setting achievements.

Each of the three men are currently on the outside looking in of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, along with many other players from that era who have been tied to suspicion of PED use.

As I have noted many times before, players tied to the PED era should be allowed in the Hall of Fame. I am in the minority opinion in that issue, but I have not wavered in my resolve. The Baseball writers who elect the members of the Hall of Fame have a duty to enshrine the best players from an era. Unfortunately, some writers feel that they can act as the morality police and ban players in order to make a political statement.

This approach can ring shallow since it is entirely possible that players already in the Hall did far worse things on and off of the field than the players being punished for PED use. That is not to say that I condone PED use. I do not. Players from that era should be enshrined with an asterisk by their numbers stating that it was during the era of PED. That way, fans can decide for themselves how much that impacted a player’s ability on the field.

Time will tell whether the tide turns to allow players from the steroid era of baseball to be enshrined in Cooperstown, or if they will fall victim to voters who feel that the inclusion of tainted players would hurt more than a steroid injection in the butt.

Barry Bonds went on to break Hank Aaron’s career home run mark. Steroids or not, when one does that a collectible is made in their honor.
Photo R. Anderson

Personally, I would much rather see a player in the Hall, who may or may not have used PEDs, than a player who was tipped off on every pitch by a tell-tale trash can. Talk about a performance enhancer.

In addition to breaking the single season home run record with 72, Bonds also broke the career home run record with 756. Both records have detractors who question their validity. However, both records will stand until another player breaks them.

While I did not get to see history made, getting to see history tied while visiting only my second Major League Ballpark at the time was a pretty cool way to spend an October night.

With the hindsight of the nearly 20 years since that October 2001 night, I have often wondered whether the experience is tainted at all by the accusations against Bond that followed. Given the chance to be there again for that night, I would do it all over again and would probably have cheered even louder.

Now if you’ll excuse me, this trip down memory lane has me craving some nachos.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson

Sacrifice of D-Day Still Resonates 76 Years Later

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June 6 marked the 76th Anniversary of D-Day, which is the name given to the World War II battle involving over 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landing on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region in one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history.

With all that is going on in the world today, it can be easy to forget about things that happened so long ago. However, it is during times like these that the need to remember, and learn from history, is even more important. History does not happen in a vacuum, and failing to learn from it can lead to serious consequences.

On June 6, 1944 Allied forces invaded the beaches of Normandy in what would become known as D-Day.
Photo R. Anderson

Led by Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower, D-Day consisted of the Allied forces storming beaches at Normandy code named Sword, Juno, Gold, Utah and Omaha.

The storming of the beaches was met by German machine gunners and artillery who tried to hold back the invasion force. The German forces almost succeeded at Omaha, costing the Allies more than two thousand casualties in the opening hours of the battle.

For an idea of just how gruesome this type of frontal beach assault is, one need only watch the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan. It is easy to forget in this era of drone attacks and smart bombs, that war was once much more hand to hand, leading to much higher casualty rates among its participants.

In total, the Battle of Normandy lasted from June 1944 to August 1944 resulting in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. The battle has been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.

Allied troops used boats like this one at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans on D-Day.
Photo R. Anderson

During the D-Day invasion, all scheduled Major League Baseball games were canceled marking only the second time in MLB history that games were cancelled league wide.

The first cancellation of MLB games happened on the day U.S. president Warren Harding died in 1923.

The third time was when Commissioner Bud Selig stopped play for six days from Sept. 11-16, 2001, following the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Although the start of the 2020 MLB season has been delayed by two months and counting, technically the games have not been cancelled, and are merely postponed.

Two future MLB Hall of Famers, Yogi Berra and Leon Day, participated in D-Day. According to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, 35 Hall of Fame members, including Ted Williams, and more than 500 MLB players served in World War II.

Unfortunately, the time to thank a World War II veteran in person for the sacrifices they made on those beaches over 70 years ago is vanishing rapidly.

According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, 389,292 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II were alive in 2019. The United States Veteran’s Administration estimates that a World War II veteran dies around every two minutes. With each death of a WWII vet a piece of history is lost.

The COVID-19 virus effects the elderly at a disproportionate rate, meaning that the loss of WWII veterans could be sped up. Thankfully, there are stories of WWII vets who have made full recoveries from COVID-19 proving that they really are members of the “Greatest Generation.”

Unfortunately, even the greatest generation cannot win the battle against time over the long run. By the year 2036, the VA estimates, there will no longer be any living World War II veterans. For comparison purposes, the last World War I veteran, Frank Buckles, died in February 2011.

When Uncle Sam called them, Members of the Greatest Generation answered. Unfortunately, even the greatest generation cannot win the battle against time over the long run. By the year 2036, the VA estimates, there will no longer be any living World War II veterans.
Photo R. Anderson

Thanks to the efforts of organizations like the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, the stories of the veterans of WWII have been captured to ensure that they can be told long after the men and women who fought to free the world from tyranny are no longer with us.

It is likely, and hopeful, that the world will not see another war of the scale of World War II. While there will always be a need for a certain number of boots on the ground, advancements in technology have greatly reduced the number of boots required to conduct modern warfare.

But while the number of soldiers needed to protect freedom will continue to decline in the coming years, that does not minimize the level of sacrifice made by each of the soldiers who wear the uniform.

The example of D-Day shows us what happens when men and women from all walks of life unite against a common foe in order to seek an outcome that improves life for everyone. Every inch of sand that was captured on the beaches of Normandy involved a sacrifice the likes of which the world will hopefully never see again.

But, when they were asked to make that sacrifice, the soldiers on the front lines charged ahead for the greater good. That united we stand, and divided we fall outlook on life can be hard to see at times, but it is in the DNA of each and every one of us.

Thanks to the efforts of organizations like the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, the stories of the veterans of WWII have been captured to ensure that they can be told long after the men and women who fought to free the world from tyranny are no longer with us.
Photo R. Anderson

Sadly, many images on the news the last few weeks have shown both unity for a cause, as well as armed resistance against the cause.

Television screens have been full of images of protests for social justice, and law enforcement entities clashing in cities across America. Now more than ever it is important to cling to the ideals of finding common ground and working together versus battling against each other.

So, take some time before the start of the hustle and bustle of the weekend to remember the sacrifice made on D-Day that helped maintain freedom, and reflect on the high cost of freedom paid by each generation that has gone before.

And by all means if you happen to see a World War II veteran, or any other veteran for that matter, be sure to thank them for their service and their sacrifice.

And, wear a mask when you see them as a show of respect for that sacrifice when you are out and about. The veterans of World War II are already dying at a rapid rate, the last thing any of us should want to do is hasten their demise by infecting them with COVID-19. Storming a beach when people are shooting at you is difficult. Wearing a mask to honor the people who charged when the bullets were flying is a very simple thing to do.

Honor their sacrifice by honoring them and protecting them. They showed they would do the same for each of us when they secured our freedom one inch of sand at a time.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a museum visit to plan.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson

Social Experiment on Value of Social Distancing to Face Biggest Test as Sports World Watches

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Throughout the worldwide timeout brought about by the COVID-19 virus, there have been two main schools of thought related to the value of people social distancing to avoid spreading the virus.

One school of thought, let’s call them science, maintains that the best way to mitigate the spread of a virus, that has no cure, and no proven treatment, is to stay six feet apart, wear masks when around other people, wash hands constantly, and avoid touching the mouth and nose area.

The other school of thought, let’s call them Sweden, believes that the virus that has killed over 109,000 Americans, and over 330,000 people worldwide, will go away on its own, and that people should just roll the dice and go about their lives as if a huge global pandemic was not hanging over their heads in an effort to establish herd immunity equipped with the knowledge that one has to break a few eggs to make an omelette.

There are of course nuggets of truth to each side’s position, since no one really knows for sure how this brand-new virus will finally ramp down. Team science is right in saying that smaller gatherings of people mean less opportunities to spread the virus. At the same time, team Sweden is also right in saying that one cannot stay isolated forever.

While the two camps differ on the value of social distancing as a whole, one thing that both sides should be able to agree on, is that minority populations, elderly populations, and populations with underlying health conditions should take extra precautions related to how they respond to the threat of COVID-19.

To a certain degree, each and every one of us is free to decide which camp we want to belong to, sort of like the people of Los Angeles have the choice between rooting for the Angels, or the Dodgers. One team wins a lot, has a storied history, and has their own unique hot dog. The other team is the Angels.

To a certain degree, each and every one of us is free to decide which camp we want to belong to when it comes to social distancing, or not social distancing during the time of COVID-19, just like the people of Los Angeles have the choice between rooting for the Angels, or the Dodgers. One team wins a lot, has a storied history, and has their own unique hot dog. The other team is the Angels.
Photo R. Anderson

Starting today, the two COVID-19 camps are likely to see which approach to social distancing was the right call. The data points come courtesy of 14 days of coast to coast protests acting as a major case study in what happens when thousands of people occupy the same space for extended periods of time in the midst of a pandemic.

Although many people have been seen wearing masks during television coverage of the protests, there are also many people who are not wearing masks. Additionally, with additional law enforcement and media members on the street in close proximity many cities are facing the equivalent of filling several Ballparks multiple times each day.

The widely agreed upon incubation period for COVID-19 is around two weeks. So, with today marking the 14th day since the protests began, any wide-spread outbreaks of the virus should start to materialize any day now, and will last for up to two weeks after the last protest. There are very few historical data points for what happens when one protests during a global pandemic, so a lot of new ground is being plowed on both the social justice front as well as on a medical front.

This is where the world of sports will be sure to take notice as they try to determine when, and how to reintroduce players onto the field, and fans into the stands. If team science is right, the numbers of infections will spike as a result of the proximity of protesters, and a lack of adherence to social distancing guidelines. This would show to the sports leagues around the world that the risk of bringing fans into the stands is still very high.

If team Sweden is right, cases will not spike and calls to open everything up the way they were before the middle of March 2020 will grow louder. Of course, the wrinkle to solely relying on visible symptoms of COVID-19 in determining a path forward is that many of the cases of COVID-19 do not lend themselves to outward signs of symptoms. So, even if there is a widespread outbreak, it would likely not be revealed unless people partaking in the protests were tested for the virus.

With several professional and collegiate sports teams reporting COVID-19 cases after players have started returning to practice, it becomes clear that there is risk even without fans in the stands.

Scott Dixon, shown following the 2013 Grand Prix of Houston, won the first race of the delayed 2020 IndyCar season at Texas Motor Speedway. Although fans were not at the race in Texas, series officials have said that fans will be in attendance when the crown jewel Indy 500 is run even if that means delaying the race beyond the current August time frame.
Photo R. Anderson

The desire of professional sports leagues to pack as many fans into the stands as quickly as possible is both a financial need, as well as a psychological need.

Although the Indy Car Series returned to action for the first time in 2020 this past weekend with a fan free race at Texas Motor Speedway, series officials went on record as saying that the Indianapolis 500, which has been moved from May to August, would be delayed again in the event that fans cannot attend an August race.

The message being sent is loud and clear, the Indy 500 will not happen without butts in the seats, even if that means there is no Indy 500 this year.

While the Indy 500 is a significant race, allowing some races to be held without fans in order to generate revenue, but saying that the INDY 500 is too important of a race to run without fans seems like an insult to the other races on the schedule.

That would be like Major League Baseball saying that the Yankees are too important to the history of the game to play in an empty Ballpark, so fans can pile into Yankee Stadium, but the other 29 Ballparks need to remain empty.

The Indy 500 is the largest single-day sporting event in the world, and with room for over 400,000 spectators, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is often recognized as the largest sports venue in the world. It is hard to imagine any scenario where 400,000 people are going to be allowed to congregate anywhere, anytime soon during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even at 25 percent capacity, an Indy 500 with 100,000 people seems like a bit of a stretch and would be something that would certainly make team science cringe. On the other hand, team Sweden would likely say, “och förarna startar dina motorer,” or roughly translated as “drivers start your engines.”

That is why the infection rates coming out of the weeks of protest will be so crucial in planning the next front in the battle against the COVID-19 virus.

Sports and science are both driven by statistics. The near-term future of professional and collegiate sports is very likely to be determined by what the rate of infection looks like over the coming weeks. It is a case study that no one could have envisioned at the start of the pandemic when the world of sports shut down one league at a time. Now that it has happened, the numbers cannot be ignored, just as the issues behind what led to the protests will also need to be addressed in the sports world, as well as the world as a whole.

COVID-19, as well as the protests for social justice that are occurring in the middle of a pandemic will both shape the direction of the world both in the short-term, as well as the long-term. There is no question that history is being written. Time will tell what those history books end up saying when all is said and done.

Now if you’ll excuse me, all of this talk about team Sweden has me wanting to build an armoire using a tiny wrench that can also double as a meatball skewer.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson

 

Asking the Hard-Hitting Questions About Bobbleheads in a Ballpark

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Here at the gigaplex news desk we like to tackle the big issues from time to time in honor of our days as a hard-hitting news reporter pounding the pavement in search of a scoop.

We do this, because ink runs through our veins, in addition to doing it in order to keep those journalistic skills sharpened in case this whole sports thing falls apart, and it is back to days of covering school board meetings, investigating pet crematoriums, and interviewing families living on lead tainted land.

There are so many stories to be told if one just stops to listen, and asks the right questions to get the answers that need to see the light of day. Good journalism brings those stories to the masses.

So, it is in that spirit of hard-hitting investigative journalism that we find ourselves asking the question that is no doubt on everyone’s mind. If a bobblehead falls in an empty ballpark, and no one is there to see it,  does its head go up and down?

In warehouses and store rooms around the world there are boxed bobbleheads waiting for a chance to be given away once fans return to Ballparks.
Photo R. Anderson

I mean, the simple answer is that if you ask the bobblehead, they will no doubt say yes. This should not come as a surprise to anyone, since literally the only answer a bobblehead can give to any question is yes. Because, you know, the whole fact that they are a bobblehead whose one job in the entire world is to nod up and down.

Of course, wearing our hard news hat, we were not going to just take a bobblehead at their world. I mean can you really trust a yes bobble? At least a Magic Eight Ball has the decency to tell you, “Reply hazy, try again,” if it is not ready to answer a question without just always answering in the affirmative.

So, once it was determined that a bobblehead could not be trusted to answer truthfully, the investigative issue became how best to get to the bottom of answering this bobbleheaded conundrum that has no doubt caused numerous philosophers to at least give it a minor bit of thought.

We could be sitting on a huge conspiracy theory, that is about to blow the head bobbing lid off of the entire thing. Either that or we could just be sitting on a big pile of cardboard boxes.

Perhaps that is why Major League Baseball is still at an impasse related to whether to start the season. People were getting too close to the truth and they needed more time to hide the answer along with the Illuminbobbleati.

The question on everyone’s mind is what did the bobblehead know and when did he know it?
Photo R. Anderson

(Mental note, stop binging X-Files into the wee hours of the morning, it is making you paranoid. Who said that?)

Just think about it. Right now, Ballparks across the country are likely filled with boxes of bobbleheads that were set to be given away to fans during games this year. With no fans, and no games so far, the bobbleheads are just sitting in a store room in the bowels of a promotions closet haphazardly stacked there by an intern who quite possibly can’t believe that they are getting college credit to stack boxes of bobbleheads.

Of course, it is also possible that thanks to the impacts on international shipping, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, that the nation’s 2020 bobblehead inventory is sitting in a warehouse somewhere in China, and that the intern never had the chance to stack them in that aforementioned promotions closet. After all, the gloves I ordered from China three months ago still have not arrived, so there is definitely some shipping delays on the slow boats from China.

What really goes on inside a bobblehead’s box when no one is there to see it?
Photo R. Anderson

In the big picture, with no games and no fans in the Ballpark, it does not really matter whether the bobbleheads are stateside, or still in their country of origin since they won’t be getting passed out any time soon.

So, with this new wrinkle of the nation’s supply of bobbleheads potentially being trapped overseas, we sought to go right to the source and really explore the issue with the full resources of our entire Action News Team of one.

We then realized that international travel is kind of hit and miss right now, so, flying to China to witness how the bobbleheads are made was probably not the best thing to do.

So, with travel to China ruled out, we did the next best thing and asked Google how bobbleheads were made in an attempt to see whether something in that process would tell us whether they would indeed bobble after a fall in an empty ballpark. Google basically told us that the most common bobbleheads are made from resin and plastic and that they involve a spring.

Dodger Stadium has an impressive display of bobbleheads but it is still unknown whether a bobblehead falling in an empty Ballpark nods its head up and down.
Photo R. Anderson

I am not sure what additional details I was expecting Google to have given me, but the response was entirely underwhelming. I mean I can look at a bobblehead and know that it is resin and plastic with a spring. Worst of all, now my browser and Gmail are clogged with ads telling me about the bobbleheads I can buy, and I am no closer to answering the question that started this all.

On a side note, if anyone is interested in commemorating the Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter of COVID-19 I did learn that they can order bobbleheads of infectious diseases experts Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx.

In our investigation into bobbleheads we encountered some bull.
Photo R. Anderson

In the end, it was determined that the world may not be ready to learn the truth of what happens when a bobblehead falls in an empty Ballpark.

For now, it shall remain an open case, just like the age-old debate pertaining to how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. I never did trust that Mr. Owl. I just know he is hiding something underneath those big glasses of his.

While I failed to get to the bottom of my investigation of bobbleheads, to all of my fellow journalists out there working tirelessly day and night to tell the stories that need to be told, keep up the good work.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to watch some more X-Files. I really hope the Smoking Man is in this one.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson

Pondering What My Dream Ballpark Would Look Like

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The other day I was asked to describe what my dream Ballpark would consist of, if money were no object, and I could include anything that I wanted inside it.

I have always hated questions like that. Not because I do not have a vivid imagination; I can dream big along with the rest of them. No, I hate questions like that because it usually involves a scenario where one ignores reality and instead focus on a utopian vision of what could be, without first providing a plan to address what is.

Dodger Stadium is the third oldest MLB Ballpark. Instead of getting replaced for something shiner, it is undergoing renovations to ensure that the view from the ravine remains intact. If only they could do something about the drive to the Ballpark.
Photo R. Anderson

Too often Ballparks are torn down, or abandoned in place in the prime of their useful life because an owner wants to add some new luxury boxes, or other revenue generating avenues, instead of trying to make the Ballpark they were dealt with better.

That is not to say that money should not be spent to maintain Ballparks. Money will always be an object, but just throwing money at a situation does not make it better, since the root cause of the problem is always there just below the surface.

Ballparks, like life, are messy. They involve many moving parts and elements. Each element is fine by itself, but when they are joined together for a single purpose, they are even greater.

Take for example a hot dog. Hot dogs are tasty just about anywhere, and are one of my guilty food pleasures. But a hot dog inside a Ballpark is always just a bit more enjoyable.

Over the past five years I have had the privilege of eating many Dodger Dogs. You know if you are going to erect a statue to the dog, it must be good.
Photo R. Anderson

So, in my dream Ballpark scenario, hot dogs would be affordable for everyone, regardless of whether they were rooting for, or against, the home team. And of course the condiments to put on the hot dog would include everything one could think of.

Of course, fans would need a safe place to eat that hot dog. So, in my dream Ballpark every seat would include a folding airline style seat tray.

Seriously, how has no one ever thought of this? Ballpark seats are getting about as small as airline seats, and the average time of a game and flights are pretty similar. So why not include a tray for eating?

The seat back tray tables would serve another purpose besides providing a flat surface to eat on and keep score on. Much like the tray table on an airplane deters people in the window seat from crawling over the other two people in the row to form a line at the lavatory, the Ballpark trays would force people to actually sit and watch the game.

Baseball has parts that are hard to watch, and people like shiny objects and can be easily distracted. But you came to a Ballpark to watch a game, so sit down and watch the game until the captain turns off the fasten seat-belt sign.

One of my biggest pet peeves at the Ballpark is people who talk the entire game and pay very little attention to what is going on between the foul poles.

I highly recommend the King’s Hawaiian Dodger Dog.
Photo R. Anderson

Inside the confines of my dream Ballpark it would be well known that while sports can provide a distraction for a few hours, along with tasty, reasonably priced hot dogs, they cannot replace the need for real dialog around the water cooler outside of the Ballpark on a variety of issues gripping the world.

From a sports perspective, many people dig in their heels and consider their team to be the best, and despise people who wear a different uniform than their beloved home team. This attitude can be tricky to maintain when someone’s favorite player gets traded to one of those dreaded other teams. Does one suddenly turn on the player that they cheered for until they grew hoarse just because, through no fault of their own, they were sent to another team? Or, do they remember the good times and realize that we are more than the uniforms we wear?

So, in my dream Ballpark, all of the fans would be given special glasses that made all of the uniforms on the field look the same. This way, people can just enjoy the game without worrying about who is wearing what uniform, and whether they hate that player just because they wear a uniform different from their own. The glasses would also cut down on the heckling and harassing of fans of other teams inside the Ballpark since all of the clothes in the stands would also be the same color through the lenses.

In my dream Ballpark, all of the fans would be given special glasses that made all of the uniforms on the field look the same. This way, people can just enjoy the game without worrying about who is wearing what uniform, and whether they hate that player just because they wear a uniform different from their own.
Photo R. Anderson

By seeing the game through the same colored lens, the man-made differences and barriers disappear and suddenly everyone is the same and can enjoy the ball game together. If only the glasses were able to work outside of the Ballpark as well.

Even if baseball resumes this year, it is going to be awhile before people are back inside Ballparks. So, my recommendation is that now would be a good time to listen to your neighbor and see what the world looks like from their perspective, even without the special Ballpark glasses. Really take the time to listen to them, from a social distance due to COVID-19 perspective, but not from a social distance from an empathy point of view.

Throughout my career I have been fortunate to interview many people from all walks of life, and can safely say that from my experience we are all way more similar than we are different when one takes the time to really listen.

Over the past few months, I have been thinking a lot about the Native American story of the two wolves. There are several variations of the story. My favorite version is noted below.

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Pondering about dream Ballparks is certainly a distraction from the current state of the world, but deciding which wolf to feed is a much better use of one’s time and effort. May each of us always strive to feed the right wolf as we await the return of some semblance of normalcy, while also knowing that we have much work to do on numerous fronts when the world reopens.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a wolf to feed. I wonder if he likes hot dogs.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson

Pomp, Circumstance, and Some Words in Between for the Class of COVID-19

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Tis the season when new graduates of all shapes and sizes will enter the world. Some will enter the workforce and start the task of paying off student loans, that are in some cases are way more money than what their incomes of their chosen fields will cover.

Others will continue adding to those student loans by going to graduate school, or culinary school, or any other thing with school in the title, in order to delay the clock on paying off those student loans.

For others, this is the time to graduate from high school and start the journey to college and the accumulation of those aforementioned student loans.

It is the time of year where students of all ages will be sporting graduation bling like this medal.
Photo R. Anderson

While the season of commencement occurs every year, at every level of education, graduation for the Class of 2020 will be unlike anything witnessed in modern times thanks to the COVID-19 virus.

While graduations of olden times, say like last year, included such things as large gatherings of family and friends to celebrate what should be one of the happiest days in a graduate’s life, many high school and college seniors were robbed of that face to face celebration. In many cases, the graduating seniors were also robbed of the last two months of in person school, and all of the activities that go along with that, as school were forced to transition to remote learning.

As part of the move to remote activities, schools have gotten creative in how they honor their graduates. In Texas, one principal drove to the house of each of the graduating seniors to deliver the diploma directly to the graduate. Some NASCAR tracks even opened up to allow socially distanced graduation ceremonies with graduates spaced six feet apart on the track.

Texas Motor Speedway, shown here back when the world was open, hosted socially distanced high school graduations for the class of 2020 during the time of COVID-19.
Photo R. Anderson

Other schools went forward with their usual graduation plans, albeit with fewer people allowed in the audience to witness the pomp and circumstance, and to hear the commencement address.

Several television networks even banded together and aired a celebrity filled graduation ceremony to help usher the graduating Class of 2020 into their new socially distanced, unsure what the future holds, massive unemployment, and massive student debt lives.

Although it is the season for commencement addresses, for some reason no one asked me to give a speech to any graduating classes this year. Of course, truth be told, that has been the case for many years, but that is certainly not for lack of trying on my part. I guess schools thought that Tom Hanks, and Barrack Obama were better choices. While I cannot argue with that, I did hold out hope that this would be the year that I got the call.

Ever since my high school graduation I have thought that it would be nice to help send a graduating class off into uncharted waters armed with my words of wisdom and encouragement.

Commencement speakers hold a special place in the memories of graduates and I have wanted to add my name to that fraternity of memorable speakers.

My high school and college graduation ceremonies were both held in a smaller building behind the one pictured. I did take pictures with my family after both ceremonies outside on what would now be considered center court of the new arena.
Photo R. Anderson

Why I remember my commencement speaker in college just like it was yesterday. I mean, I remember what he looked like, and some of what he said. I am sure if I dug up my commencement program I could even find his name.

So, I wanted to be that person that students look back on with fond memories of inspirational words.

During my career working at a college I attended many graduations. I served as the official photographer for several of them. I even attended graduations inside a state prison which I must say is a rather interesting occurrence, as one might expect. Still despite my waiting in the bullpen to step up if the speaker had to cancel for illness, or inability to fit into their cap and gown, my number was never called.

In the event that my number was called, I envision a typical conversation of people reflecting on those inspirational words going something like this.

Chad: Boy, that was such a good speech that old what’s his name gave at our graduation.

Tad: We had a speaker at our graduation?

Okay, so the commencement speaker is not remembered by everyone. I think part of that has to do with graduation caps cutting off blood flow to the brain. I have no proof of this, but it is a pretty logical explanation if you ask me.

Still, despite the short-term memories of graduates, I thought for sure that this would be the year that I would get the call to share my insights with graduating seniors. I mean I could zoom right in, give a little speech, and zoom right out. I wouldn’t even have to wear pants under my gown.

As a side note, to this day, not being able to wear shorts under my gown when I graduated both high school and college in Florida still doesn’t make any sense. I mean gowns are not made out of the most breathable fabrics and some of those speakers can just go on and on. But I digress, now, where was I?

Oh yes, despite my willingness to throw a gown on over my shorts, alas the phone did not ring, and I was left with a speech and no audience to hear it.

Across the world, the Class of 2020 has seen many traditional in person milestones like a large graduation ceremony on the 50-yard line of a football stadium transformed into remote experiences thanks to COVID-19.
Graphic R. Anderson

No worries though, I will just share a version of my remarks dedicated for pomp and circumstance here. Of course, this is the abridged non honorary degree conferring version. I need to leave something out just in case I get called to the big time. Oh, and please excuse the parenthetical notes in my rough draft.

So, without further ado here goes:

Students you are to be commended for your efforts in reaching this momentous occasion of (high school, college, preschool, clown school) graduation.

Looking out at all of your caps and gowns I am reminded how silly people look in caps and gowns. I mean seriously who came up with the idea of dressing up like Supreme Court justices as a way to commemorate graduation? But, at least unlike Supreme Court Justices, you only have to wear those things once.

This day marks the end of one chapter of your life and the beginning of another chapter. Albeit a scary journey into the unknown. But I am sure you will figure it out, if not we have another graduating class coming next year. (wait for laughter from audience, and delete this from future speeches if no one laughs)

Now is the time of your lives where you can have experiences that will last a lifetime. (Or at least last until the big asteroid comes and destroys us. Mental note, whatever you do, do not mention the asteroid. These graduates have been through enough without putting the fear of Bruce Willis in an orange jumpsuit into them. Mental note part two, did you see that Bruce Willis still fits in his jumpsuit from that movie that foretold of Armageddon, what was that movie called again?)

Don’t be afraid to step out on limbs occasionally and try new things. While the limbs will sometimes break, they will usually just bend.
Photo R. Anderson

Don’t be afraid to step out on limbs occasionally and try new things. While the limbs will sometimes break, they will usually just bend. (Except if the limbs are hit by an asteroid, I mean that sucker is just going to destroy everything in its path, just ask the dinosaurs. Oh, that’s right, the dinosaurs are gone because of a giant asteroid so they aren’t around to ask. Dude, seriously, enough about asteroids, focus.)

Never say, “I’ll never go to Graduate School, so it doesn’t matter what my GPA is.” Graduate School shows up when you least expect it, and yes, they do care about grade point average.

So, hats off to the graduating class of (insert year and school name).

In conclusion remember that life is a highway, and you want to ride it all night long. No wait, those are the lyrics to a really bad song.

Let me try again. Life is like a box of chocolates…no that isn’t quite right either. (I bet they would have laughed if Tom Hanks had said that line.)

In closing, I definitely do not envy the Class of 2020, and the new world that you are facing. Of course, it is out of this very adversity that great things can come. So, try new things, and get creative. Remember that your social distancing, and wearing of masks, saves your life, and the life of those around you. Take time to take care of yourselves, and each other. And no matter how dark the skies appear, remember that this will pass. (Unless the skies are darkened because a giant asteroid is heading our way.)

Think of it as your chance to usher in an enlightened Coronaissance. Whatever you do, do not think of those student loan payments that will start rolling in six months from now and blindside you like an asteroid hurtling down from the heavens.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go check in on my sourdough starter. I named him Doughy.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson

Editor’s note: No actual asteroids hurtling towards earth were observed during the writing of this column.

Many Situations in Life Would be Better with Walk up Music

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Go to any baseball game from Little League to Major League, and odds are that when a batter is coming up to the plate, they will be serenaded by walk up music.

The type of walk up music selected varies depending on the player. Players often alternate their walk-up music between the guitar driven hair band standards, as well as pop music depending on their moods. Other players may even select country music or hip hop for their walk-up theme.

During the Washington Nationals’ 2019 run to the World Series Championship, Gerardo Parra, united a team, and a fan base, by walking up to the song ‘Baby Shark.’ Nats Nation took the Baby Shark craze to extremes with fans dressed up in shark suits in Nationals Park. An engraved shark was even included on the Nationals World Series Championship ring as a tribute to the role that baby shark, mommy shark, and daddy shark played in bringing the title home to Washington D.C.

During the Washington Nationals’2019 run to the World Series Championship, Gerardo Parra, united a team, and a fan base, by walking up to the song ‘Baby Shark.’
Photo R. Anderson

Whether the music selected is hard rockin’ or bubble gum poppin’, it serves a key purpose when it comes to the battle between the pitcher and the batter.

Or as Ebby Calvin ‘Nuke’ LaLoosh from Bull Durham would say the players use the music to, “Announce their presence with authority.”

Granted it would be hard for a batter to announce their presence with authority by walking out to the pop styling of Carley Rae Jepson’s Call me Maybe?, but it could be a good call maybe if it made the pitcher laugh so hard that he couldn’t throw a strike.

As with everything in baseball, there are rules to the walk-up music. The songs chosen need to be family friendly and the music is supposed to stop once the player enters the batter’s box.

Of course, a really good walk up song can lead to players lollygagging their way to the batter’s box to hear more of their “theme” before facing the pitcher.

A few years back while catching a Blue Wahoos game in Pensacola, FL, I had the pleasure of watching the home plate umpire make sure the plate was spotless so that more of Neil Diamond’s, “Sweet Caroline” could serenade the people in the grandstands. I must say, that it was so good, so good, so good.
Photo R. Anderson

A few years back while catching a Blue Wahoos game in Pensacola, FL, I had the pleasure of watching the home plate umpire make sure the plate was spotless so that more of Neil Diamond’s, “Sweet Caroline” could serenade the people in the grandstands. I must say, that it was so good, so good, so good.

While there is not an exact Archimedes stepping into the tub and shouting “Eureka” moment when it comes to the invention of walk up music, most baseball people point to the 1993 Seattle Mariners as the fathers of the walkup.

While certain individual players had used walk up music before, the Mariners are widely credited with being the first team to come up with a song for each of their players in the lineup.

It seems fitting that the city that brought flannel and grunge to the world of music would also be the city to bring music to the batter’s box.

An idea that some felt was stupid turned contagious in 1993 when the city that brought the world grunge music brought walk up music to Major League Baseball when the Seattle Mariners became the first MLB team to have walk up music throughout their lineup. Soon the idea was in bloom throughout all levels of baseball.
Photo R. Anderson

After the Nats claimed the World Series title in 2019, the Seattle Mariners became the only MLB team to have never appeared in a World Series. Still, despite never appearing in a World Series, the Mariners can at least lay claim to being the champions of the walk up.

Of course, theme music is not limited to batters. Pitchers, especially closers, have also gotten into the act of having music introduce them.

Retired New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera famously walked out from the bullpen to the sounds of “Enter Sandman” from Metallica.

And of course, who can forget Charlie Sheen as Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn walking out to “Wild Thing” in the Major League franchise.

The cinematic walk up music predates the Mariners walk up trend by about five years, and is also often pointed to as being instrumental in the evolution of walk up music.

The Ballparks of the world are mostly silent now thanks to the COVID-19 virus. Or, put another way, as John Candy’s security guard character told Clark Griswald in National Lampoon’s Vacation, “Sorry folks, park’s closed. Moose out front shoulda told ya.”

Of course, just because the Ballpark is closed, it doesn’t mean there can’t be walk up music in other areas of life. Just think how much more exciting life could be if all of our big moments were preceded by music.

Just picture the boardroom scenario where someone says the following. “Now up to present the quarterly earnings report, Joe Smith” (cue the music).

After a few bars of (insert song here) Joe knocks the earnings report out of the park while his coworkers serenade him with Queen’s “We are the Champions” and fist bump each other on the way out of the conference room. (Editor’s note: fist bumping may be changed to socially distanced air bumping to avoid contact in the post COVID-19 working remotely world.)

Of course, different situations in life would require different music.

While some situations might call for some Pearl Jam, others may require heavy organ sounds of Bach. Others situations might even find people moving their hips and nodding their heads like yeah.

Pearl Jam and Walk up music are two Seattle originals still going strong for over two decades and counting.
Photo R. Anderson

Just cue up the appropriate song for whatever situation comes up and one is ready for anything that life throws their way.

Your curbside grocery pickup order didn’t have any missing items? Well, that calls for some “Back in Black” by Def Leopard as you drive past the people still waiting for toilet paper.

While it is unlikely that the walk-up song idea outside of the Ballpark will catch on any time soon, it is certainly something to think about the next time you’re listening to the radio, or filling out that dreaded TPS Report before video conferencing with your boss.

In the spirit of promoting everyday walk up music, I guess my walk-up music in this new era of COVID-19 would be the Kenny Loggins classic “I’m Alright” complete with dancing gopher from Caddyshack.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a strange urge to listen to some Neil Diamond while brushing away invisible dirt with a tiny brush.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson

Remembering our Heroes (Past and Present) on Memorial Day

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Today is Memorial Day. I say that with confidence after checking a calendar to confirm my suspicions. Normally, I would have no trouble at all remembering that the last Monday of May is set aside as a day of remembrance, and a time to honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.

However, in this newfound time when one day can just roll into the next and be called MonTueWedday, it never hurts to check a calendar for guidance as society charts new territory. This potential side effect of not knowing what day it is comes as much of the world is sheltering in place and honoring the calls to social distance as we unite as one in the battle against the COVID-19 virus which has killed nearly 100,000 Americans.

Large flags and camouflage hats mark Memorial Day across Major League Baseball each year.
Photo R. Anderson

In the past, Memorial Day weekend acted as the unofficial start to summer and involved packed beaches and an overabundance of sports to watch. The weekend also lent itself to copious amounts of meat to cook over an open flame.

While I enjoy baseball, beaches and barbecue, for me, the highlight of the extended Memorial Day weekend has always been as the announcer used to say “Sunday, Sunday Sunday.” I would awake before the sun to catch the Monaco Grand Prix, and then switch over to the Indianapolis 500 before ending my day of nonstop auto racing with the Coca Cola 600.

The times that I was not watching racing, I could catch numerous baseball games from coast to coast.

As a sign of unity during troubling times, the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, and the Air Force’s Air Demonstration Squadron, the Thunderbirds, flew over several U.S. cities to honor front line workers.
Photo R. Anderson

That all changed this year. Thanks to COIVD-19, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 were not run Memorial Day weekend.

The Coca Cola 600 did take place yesterday, but the stands were empty of the thousands of fans who usually soak in the action. Additionally, there is no joy in Mudville since baseball is still sidelined by the virus.

The NHL and the NBA suspended their seasons in March with no set timetable on when they will return to action. There will be increased drum beats in the coming weeks for sports to return. Leagues are hemorrhaging money and will want to try to recoup as much revenue as they can.

Owners will say that they are doing it for the fans, but many surveys have noted that a lot of sports fans will not feel comfortable heading to an event for a while. Athletes are also becoming more vocal in their opposition to returning to play until they can be assured that it is safe to do so.

So, it is on this Memorial Day that instead of rooting for one’s favorite team, the world has a common enemy to unite behind. The world is at its best when it works together, and there has perhaps been no greater battle than the one it currently finds itself in. Millions of Americans are working from home, alongside children who are learning from home.

Millions more Americans have lost their jobs and are questioning when things will return to the good old days known as before March 2020. It is entirely possible that the good old days as we knew them are years away from returning.

Veterans with underlying health conditions, and the Navajo Nation whose language was used as an unbreakable code in World War II are being hit especially hard by COVID-19, so it is fitting on this day of remembrance that we not only remember their sacrifice in time of war but that we pray for their safety in this battle against the virus.

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was commissioned in 1921 as a memorial to veterans of World War I.
Photo R. Anderson

States are starting to ease restrictions on what people can do in an effort to spark the economy. There will no doubt be temptation to push the limits and go out and have as normal of a Memorial Day as possible, and just hope for the best in terms of avoiding infection from COVID-19.

Some politicians will call this the need for people to exercise pent up demand to get out and do normal things. Other politicians will call such actions reckless and an endangerment to others around them. Countries that have reopened early have seen their number of cases go up in some instances. There is no magic formula for deciding when to roll out a “Mission Accomplished” banner.

Throughout all of this, it is crucial to remember that the power resides with individuals to decide when they want to rejoin the economy. Just because something is open, it does not mean that people are forced to go there. COIVD-19 is a relentless scourge that takes no notice of a person’s sports affiliation, political leanings, or any other factors in its path of destruction.

Uncle Sam knew back in World War II that the world needed more moxie. While it may have been a soda slogan back then, today the need for moxie is stronger than ever as the world tries to fight a common public health enemy.
Photo R. Anderson

In past challenges that are remembered on Memorial Day, like World War II, citizens rallied to do all they could to defeat the common enemy.

My grandmother built battleships in Georgia, and my grandfather fought at Pearl Harbor, among other battle sites. My grandparents, and millions of other people’s grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters have done similar things when called to duty.

Memorial Day reminds us that Americans owe their freedom to the sacrifice made by countless individuals who came before us, and to the people who are currently serving in the armed forces. The sacrifice of those who came before us who we remember on Memorial Day made us who we are. Sacrifices people make now to contain the virus, is a gift we can leave for the generations that come after us.

The COVID-19 virus has shown us that a pair of scrubs, a retail vest, or an apron can be just as heroic as camo. Sports on Memorial Day will return, but this year on this day of remembrance instead of complaining about a lack of live sports, stop to think about the health care workers, the police officers, the fire fighters, the grocery store workers, the meat packers, the restaurant cooks, the warehouse fulfillment workers, the delivery drivers, and every other person across the globe who is doing their best to keep the world going.

Many of us are taught as kids that super heroes wear capes and masks. That is true, but the capes are invisible lest they get in the way of the work being done by the people on the front lines, and the masks are there to both protect the identify of the super hero, as well as to protect those around them. Lucky for us our modern day heroes are working on Memorial Day, and every other day keeping us safe from enemies seen and unseen.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go pick up some groceries curbside and thank some front line workers.

Copyright 2020 R. Anderson