Silly Boy, Baseball is for GIRLS!

My goodness, where do I start?

I’m a die-hard baseball (and football) FANatic. I can rattle off stats, recall line-ups, scream, cheer, boo and hiss with the best of them, do the 7th-inning stretch in my sleep, catch a hard-hit line drive, get a base hit off of a decent non-pro pitcher, can tell you the definitions of balk, line drive, 6-4-3 double play, unassisted triple play, a come-backer, and on and on - and, oh yeah, I’m a woman.

I’m a single mother of six - 4 boys and 2 girls. All of them play or have played baseball/softball and my ‘baby’ (he’s 16) is my last one in youth baseball.

I’m seriously wondering what on earth I’m going to do when he’s grown and gone, I’m liable to have some serious withdrawals. I’m sure I’ll still go to Little League, Babe Ruth and Legion games just so I don’t get out of practice screaming like a madwoman at a baseball game!

Baseball (and yes, football) in our house, is simply sacred. The neighbors can hear me whoopin and a hollerin when one of my teams (The Reds, The Rockies, The Broncos) do something worth a cheer. The kids walk softly when there’s a game on because all of them know that game time is NOT the time to distract mom!

In 2007 when our Rockies made it to the World Series I think most of us were suffering from cheer exhaustion and heart palpitations by the time it was all over. In 1990 when my Reds won the World Series over the A’s, I racked up a terrifying phone bill talking to my mom back in Ohio during every game - from the first pitch to the last out.

I became a baseball fan in the early 70s and the 1975 World Series between the Reds and Red Sox was the first occasion my parents let me stay up past 10 - being able to watch the televised games in their entirety was a good enough reason for my parents to not shoo me to bed, it seems.

1975-1976 Big Red Machine - Champs My hatred of the Red Sox (sorry Sox fans, can’t help it!) began with Luis Tiant - that weird (but good) pitcher who talked to himself on the mound. That series ingrained in me a life-long deep dislike for the “other red team”. But, on the bright side, my team won and the Big Red Machine became my world.

By the time we got to the 1976 series I was a die-hard fan. I had made scrapbooks, collected baseball cards and asked for (and received) a shiny new clock radio for Christmas on which I could listen to Marty Brennamen and Joe Nuxall give me the play by play. I often drifted happily to sleep to the sound of “And THIS one BELONGS TO THE REDS!”

I drove my friends and family nuts with my passion for baseball. Besides the fact that no one, via teasing, threatening or cajoling, could get my Cinci ball cap off my head, I also could go nowhere without my little red transister radio on which I listened to the games.

If my friends and I went to the pool, I wouldn’t put a toe in the water until a commercial break between innings or a pitching change. I was constantly shushing my talkative girlfriends for making me miss crucial commentary on my beloved Reds.

And yes, I can still name the starting line-up of the Big Red Machine - duh!

My love of baseball didn’t wane with age. I managed to stay a baseball nut throughout my teen and early adult years; and quite frequently embarrassed males of our species by shaming them with a significantly greater knowledge of baseball - a domain that is SUPPOSED to be for the men (eye roll).

I was faithfully watching my Reds on September 11, 1985, (cradling my 4-month-old son in my arms, whom I nearly dropped when I got excited over the game) when Pete Rose smacked hit number 4,192 to break the great Ty Cobb’s record. It was the same day I got a baby raccoon. The raccoon’s new name? Well, Petey, of course!

In 1988 I moved out of state and one of the things I had the most difficult time adjusting to was I couldn’t get the Reds games locally - on neither TV nor the Radio. But, after 5 years of relative baseball silence in my world, here came the Rockies!

What can I say? I don’t love the Reds any less, but, I’ve loved the Rockies since they were a ‘baby’ team and I’m quite sure I’ll still love them on my deathbed.

So, now my love of baseball encompasses two very special teams - and if you’d like to know how special - just read their histories here on this blog. The Reds have a long, rich and amazing history and the Rockies, well, there’s that 2007 season - ’nuff said.

I love all of baseball - even with my intense dislike of the Red Sox lol and if there’s a game on, I’m watching it if at all possible. About the only broadcasts I miss are when I’m being a baseball mom and cheering for my own son at his games.

Oh, and btw, the Red Sox sweep of my Rockies in the 2007 World Series sure as heck didn’t endear them to me any further! (flippin Manny Ramierez! lol)

I hope you like this site and I also hope you bookmark it and come back often. I promise that I’ll keep it frequently updated with anything and everything baseball - from youth up to the Majors.

Rounding third and heading for home plate….

Dee