The past two months have been inarguably miserable as the coronavirus gut-punched the world and left those of us who were fortunate enough to survive wondering when or if it is ever going to end. But the other evening I found a brief respite in the gloomy cloud hovering over us.
In the first place it was a lovely early evening with a cloudless sky and the temperature in the low 80s as my wife and I made the brief trip from Wheeling to St. Clairsville and then turned onto an unfamiliar dirt road. All at once the road opened up, and I drove onto the edge of a baseball outfield.
I stopped the car near where one of the pitchers was warming up, and I felt a brief chill when I heard the baseball THWACK as it hit and then nestled into the pocket of the catcher’s mitt. The next sound I heard was the unmistakable metallic CLUNK as a ball and bat collided during batting practice.
This was it! Opening Day for the St. Clairsville Red Devils, our youngest grandson’s baseball team, and as I watched the players warm up on that beautiful little field, suddenly I was in another world as the memories I had of the game I so loved as a boy cascaded through my mind.
I recalled the thrill of seeing my first Major League game at Forbes Field when I was just 11 years old. Talk about getting chills! I will never forget walking up those concrete ramps accompanied by the increasingly pungent aroma of freshly popped popcorn and roasted peanuts blended with the smell of cooking hot dogs. At the top of the last ramp, I made a quick left, walked three or four steps, and there it was in all its majestic glory – Forbes Field.
The Ballfield
The freshly dragged and meticulously lined infield gave way to a spectacular sea of plush green grass comprising a massive outfield (457 feet from home plate to left center) partially enclosed by an ivy-covered red brick wall and a huge hand-operated green scoreboard topped by an enormous Longines clock. Although I visited Forbes Field many times throughout ensuing years, I never tired of the first glimpse of that legendary field every time. Nor could I ever get enough of watching Roberto Clemente (RF), Bill Virdon (CF), and Bob Skinner (LF) patrol that outfield with grace, speed, and flair.
Nothing could quite match seeing Virdon glide effortlessly across that green carpet to run down a deep fly ball and make a difficult catch look effortless. And then of course there was awe-inspiring play in right field by “the great one,” Roberto Clemente. Many an unsuspecting player who made too wide a turn at first base after a single to right saw his base hit turn into an out as Clemente launched a rocket behind the runner to the first baseman for an easy putout. Clemente also…
“PLAY BALL interrupted my reverie, as the home-standing Red.
The Field.
Devils took the field, and starting on the mound for them was No. 15, Roby Hanna. Our grandson. Roby pitched two very fine innings before subsequently taking a turn at both centerfield and first base.
After the second or third inning the Red Devils turned the game into a rout, and I actually lost track of the score. But that really didn’t matter. What did matter, however, was that for about three hours my wife and I became so immersed in the game that we were able to forget what a mess the world is in and experience some sense of normalcy.
No, watching a little league game obviously wasn’t like seeing the Pirates play in Forbes Field, but, oddly enough, on this particular evening it was even better than that. Sitting in the warm sunshine, we were able to see something that had been stolen from us up to this point in the spring – a baseball game. Of course it wasn’t the Major Leagues, but still it was baseball. The pitchers pitched, the catchers caught, the fielders fielded, and the batters batted.
As we sat there during the game, we remembered last summer and watching games like this when things were somewhat normal in the world. Normal. This is what normal felt like. Will we ever feel it again for good? Who knows, but one thing I do know is this: Sitting out in a perfect evening and watching someone you dearly love play the game that I too loved back when I was Roby’s age was beyond special. It was a ray of sunshine piercing the dark cloud hovering over a very troubled world.
And I can’t wait to do it again!
