| Show More Thoughts From the Baseball Purist By Matt Baldwin Staff Writer The Salt Lake Buzz recently J a embarked on a season-long season 12 day J road trip throughout the great d Southwest and Canada Therefore in inthis in III inthis this issue I will attempt to reach deep within my cavernous mind of baseball purity and pull out some worthwhile thoughts to imp impart on the game I 1 both love and cherish Despite the temporary vacancy at Franklin Quest Field I recently had hadan hadan hadan an experience that reminded me baseball will continue to flourish throughout time despite the temporary temporary tempo tempo- absence of live Buzz Baseball r Late one evening following work I stopped by a friends friend's house for a quick visit Upon arriving Joe v informed me he had something to show me something that only I could fully appreciate That day marked his little brother Bens Ben's first fast career T Ball T-Ball game As we entered Bens Ben's bedroom the scene I beheld froze me in my shoes as if I was looking down at a Greg Maddux breaking ball Ben lay pe peacefully in his sleep still wearing his mit and lovingly cradling a baseball much like a stuffed animal His entire countenance was overwhelming the expression on his face looked as if he had just hit his first four-bagger four or had stolen second for the first time I Iwas Iwas Iwas was witnessing first hand the look F Y N iF R Iii XIii X- X k Ui TL 6 L y f Z z Photo by y Matt MatI Twenty years ago the Baseball Purist dawned his first baseball uniform Now the Purist poses with Ben Coles in his first uniform of a child who had completed his first organized game of baseball I Iwas Iwas Iwas was witnessing for the first time the love of baseball taking root deep within the psyche of a young child My heart melted deep within my chest As I stood silently looking upon this striking scene words from the movie Field of Dreams continued to echo throughout my mind The one constant through all the years has been baseball America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers Its It's been erased like a blackboard rebuilt and erased again but baseball has marked the time This game is a apart apart apart part of our past It reminds us of all that once was good As I stood there quietly I was once again reminded of what baseball was in my youth I recalled many a hot spring and summer afternoon spent in the friendly confines of my bac backyard hitting pop flies to my older brother and attempting to field those returned in friendly fire Then final final- ly came the unprecedented moment of hitting that first ball over the previously previously previously pre pre- pre pre- unreachable fence which marked the gateway to the vast unknowns of the neighbors back back- yard I also recalled the horrific memory and cloud of impending doom that hung over the head of my brother and I following the first line drive shot that landed somewhere in inthe inthe inthe the basement living room Amid the broken glass and the fear of parental retaliation there was still present a sense of pride and accomplishment found in a well hit ball Finally I was reminded of the day that I first tried on my T-Ball T uniform Although I put the leggings on upside down I modeled the uniform uniform uniform uni uni- uni- uni form as a seasoned veteran My step was propelled by an unseen energetic energetic energetic ener ener- getic power emulating deep from within the individual polyester fibers of that red and white Mets Met's uniform I recall a similar transformation taking taking taking tak tak- tak- tak ing place each time the uniform was put on a small boy became something something something some some- thing bigger than life life life-a a baseball player Ben Coles may never be mentioned mentioned mentioned men men- in the same sentence as Lou Gehrig Willie Mays or Ken Griffy Jr He may never experience notoriety notoriety notoriety ety or fame as a baseball player nor would I heap such tremendous expectations upon the mind of a child After all my illustrious career as a baseball player never quite sur sur- sur- sur faced However there is something that Ben and I will always share with millions of other Americans both past and present present present-a a certain sense of connectedness with the game of baseball Baseball has provided an escape a source of peace it is an author of memories Despite immense gaps between generations despite America being swiftly overrun with constant change baseball has effectively effectively effectively marked the time Baseball is a magnificent window through which one can peer peer- and relive all that once was good Ben Coles provided me with such a glance an opportunity to look upon what baseball once was in my past while reminding me of what baseball continues to be today |
