Baseball is back

Football may have supplanted baseball as the current modern pastime, but for my money, baseball’s opening day is still king. After a winter spent playing Dominican winterball or fishing with family and friends, major leaguers have spent the early spring shaking out the cobwebs. Opening Day was Monday and the season is underway. It is too early to judge, but some players look red hot while others look like they are still mired in the cobwebs.

Baseball received a double black-eye over the past few seasons. Rampant player salaries and the steroid scandal drove some fans away, but the game remains and very little in this world beats some Cracker Jacks and a day at the ballpark.

I have enjoyed the following books recently:

Ball Four (Jim Bouton)
Bouton’s infamous “day in the life” found him blacklisted by the baseball establishment. Only recently has he been welcomed back into the fold. Bouton reveals the pranks, the camaraderie, and daily grind of a season.

Fair Ball (Bob Costas)
Costas discusses the greed that nearly killed baseball and resulted in the players’ strike of 1994.

Pitching in a Pinch (Christy Mathewson)
Mathewson remains one of the greatest pitchers of all time. Written after he retired, Pitching in a Pinch provides a fascinating account of what baseball was like in the 1900s and 1910s.