Tom Finneran - Play Ball!

Friday, July 10, 2020

Tom Finneran, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

The predictable and infuriating nonsense of the 2020 Major League Baseball season has turned me into a grouch. It will be a hard sell to get me to buy a ticket ever again.

I’d rather watch little kids running the wrong way in T-Ball games than give a moment of time or attention to the whining of the owners and players.

That said, the game itself is full of strategy and constant adjustment. Is there anything better than watching a dominant pitcher face a fearsome hitter in a clutch situation? Forty thousand people are on their feet, as silent as churchgoers and as tense as a tiger on the hunt. The final pitch is either a hit or an out and the stadium explodes in pent-up emotion.

Not quite able to let go of the game, I’ve spent some time putting together an All-Star squad with a heavy tilt toward the old-timers. Sorry Albert Pujols. Sorry Mike Trout. Sorry Mookie Betts. You guys are good, but these guys are gods. You’ll very likely join their group someday.

FIRST BASEMEN: Here I’m taking Lou Gehrig and Eddie Murray, with a heart-breaking shrug of disappointment to old Double XX, Jimmie Foxx;

SECOND BASEMEN: My second basemen are Joe Morgan and Rod Carew; it’s hard to imagine but Roberto Alomar and Rogers Hornsby did not make the big club; I’m starting to think that the guys left off of my squad would be a heck of a team;

THIRD BASEMEN: My third basemen are Mike Schmidt and George Brett. Brett has more hits, more homeruns, and a higher average than the legendary Brooks Robinson; sitting next to Brooks on the outside looking in are Chipper Jones and Eddie Mathews; all three are Hall of Famers;

SHORTSTOPS: Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter make the cut; yet every pitcher who ever played would love to have Ozzie Smith, Barry Larkin, or Robin Yount out there patrolling the left side;

CATCHERS: Johnny Bench and Yogi Berra are easy calls Roy Campanella waits in the wings;

PITCHERS: I might have to expand my roster because I’m taking nine pitchers on the squad; good luck entering a key four game series against these arms---Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez, Warren Spahn, Jim Palmer, Greg Maddux, Tom Seaver, and Mariano Rivera;

OUTFIELDERS: Here we have a true embarrassment of riches. My outfield has Ted Williams in left field, Willie Mays in center field, and Babe Ruth in right field. Consider the guys on the bench---Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and Joe DiMaggio. As noted, the second string is a fearsome group of utterly formidable ballplayers.

When healthy, Mantle might have been the best of all time. His 1956 and 1957 seasons are the stuff of legend. He had no injuries to speak of in those two seasons and his self-destructive behavior had not yet taken hold. One of the great joys of childhood was to go out to Fenway Park early on gameday and watch the Mick take batting practice and I was not alone. Every single major leaguer on the field watched in awe as he destroyed baseball after baseball and this was after injuries had crippled him in pain.

Thanks for the memories Mick. You were a young boy’s hero.

Now let’s play ball! Or, as Hall of Famer Ernie Banks would say, “Let’s play two”!

Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the House in MA

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink

Tom Finneran - Play Ball!

Related Articles

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Most Popular Articles

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast