Reflections and Opening Day

Sox/Yanks.  CC/Beckett.  On paper the matchup is just another game.  One of the 162 everyone signed up for.  Still, the first one means more.  I personally can’t wait, and my eyes will be glued to my TV from the first pitch until the last.  This Opening Day is a little different for me, though.

This is the first season in which I will be enjoying the game as nothing more than a fan and friend of the game and the people in it.  Prior to this season I was still somehow involved in the game, as either a player or a coach.  The thought of what the game means to me now – and what I should mean to it – are quite prominent in my self-reflection nowadays.  Truthfully, I don’t think I have ever cared as much about the game itself.  One thing about being personally removed from the competition inside the gates is that I have no personal ties to any particular team.  Sure, I still root heavily for all of my friends still playing at college as well as all the kids I coached in either high school or club ball, but my fix can no longer be satisfied by anything that I can actually do on the field.  I think that is the primary reason that Arlo and I started this blog.  He is in the same boat I am and has the same love and longing for the game that I do.

My guess is that like me, he sees the game as much more than just a game and much more than just a thing to do.  I still feel as though I have some kind of responsibility to the game, much the same way a player grabs an extra lift in August or takes a few extra cuts in the cage after an 0-for day.  Baseball is a part of my life, and I feel as though I owe it something.  Maybe that something is simply paying the ticket price to watch a high school game or playing in a fantasy league with old friends, or anything really.  The responsibility we all have is simply to care.  Deep down I feel as though the game in many ways brought me my opportunity in dental school, many of my closest friends, and greatly improved my relationship with my father, among countless other things.  It never asked for anything in return except that I care.  I’m endlessly fortunate to have the game.  We all are.

So let’s all tune in Sunday with hope for the season ahead.  Even if you can’t stand either team, realize that their roles in the game are unique.  These two organizations drive the baseball economy, and everyone benefits from them as a consequence.  Personally, I am rooting for the Sox all season because of the one-day contract they gave Nomar so that he could retire in the uniform he was meant to.  Nomar was my favorite player growing up, and as a fan, that gesture meant an awful lot to me.  Unfortunately, I have never and likely will never meet Nomar, but the game taught me to care about and believe in something bigger than any of us.  It’s nice when the people actually in it show us how much they appreciate our love and admiration for our heroes.  Thanks, baseball.