By Jose L. Linares
In these days of the new normal, I miss seeing my kids and my relatives, and I miss hugging my grandchildren. I miss the simple joy of having a beer with my buddies and going to the gym. I miss the one-hour daily commute to the hustle and bustle of the office and the stressful calls with clients. I even miss going to the doctor just to get a routine check-up. However, at the risk of sounding shallow and tone deaf to the realities of today’s horrific pandemic I really, really, really, miss Baseball!!
I miss the smell of freshly cut grass on an early cool spring morning as a bunch of sixth-graders steps onto the field for the first morning practice of the season, when the spring and summer loom ahead full of dreams and expectations of walk-off doubles, bottom of the ninth wins, and sweetly turned double plays.
I miss hearing that special sound when the sweet spot of the bat hits the ball and the cheering of the crowd that follows.
I miss the emotional stirring in my heart right before the end of the national anthem that signals the game is about to start.
I miss the warm feeling of the sun on my face on a peaceful late Saturday afternoon, as I hear the parents cheering and calling out their little heroes in endearing nicknames like “Joe-Joe” “Spidy” “stick” and “worm”, as they urge them to “look it in” or “see it and hit baby”, and the way the kids turn their heads to look at their parents after they make a play, and of course, the smiles that follow.
I miss the look of wonder in a young child’s face when he or she walks into Yankee Stadium for the first time, and the way they look up at their parents as they silently mouth the word “wow.“
I even miss arguing with my son-in-law about Yankees versus Mets and the exhilarating feeling of an “all rise “ home run from Aaron Judge against the hated Red Sox and even miss the unsettling feeling in my stomach before the umpires finally get out from under the hood of the camera and make the final call after an appeal, and man, I tell you, I really do miss my beer, hotdog and peanuts at the ballpark.
I even miss high-fiving and the dare I say “hugging” a total stranger just because Glaybor Torres hit a double in the gap. In fact, I can go as far as saying that I even miss Susan Waldman and John Sterling and his ridiculous calls after home runs such as “its Glaybor day” or “back to back and belly to belly.”
I miss all those days, when we, as a nation, rejoiced in the wonderful game that is our national past time, and all of the wonders of it.
I look forward to a hopefully not too distant a day when I once again, can have a real “Corona” and a hotdog watching the game I love, and when, throughout our nation from our radios, TVs, parks and stadiums we can once again hear those glorious words:
PLAY BALL !!!!!
Jose L. Linares is the former chief judge of the District Court in New Jersey. He’s currently in private practice at McCarter & English.
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