40 years later...

My Grandfather loved the statistical side of baseball and even had his own system for determining offensive prowess. His system was referenced in quite a few baseball periodicals over the years including this 1971 article in The Sporting News [click on article for larger view.]

In My Blood

My father used to have a cigar box filled with old family photos. This is one of my favorites from that box. It is a picture (postcard actually) of the 11th US Cavalry Band Baseball Team from 1931. My grandfather is the fourth player from the right. It looks as though he is wearing a catcher's or first baseman's mitt. The 11th Cavalry was stationed in Monterey, California and you can see the field they played on was very close to the ocean. Probably made fly balls quite an adventure.
I found this photo very intruiging as a kid and still do today. It looks like something that might have appeared in Ken Burn's film, Baseball. Anyway, while I didn't know my grandfather very well and understand that he was a bit of an asshole, I really connected to him via this photo. The first time I saw it I think I was around nine years old or so and my Little League uniform wasn't much different than the uniforms in this photo. I thought is was a big deal that my grandfather played baseball in the army, it almost seemed professional to me. I knew I loved the game and it was clear to me that he did too. Maybe that's where I got it from?

Top of the First

Baseball, my favorite pastime. I read about it, watch it, coach it and now, finally, blog about it all the time. This should be cool. Play Ball!