I enjoy going to the occasional game, but I'll never watch one on TV unless it's a pivotal playoff game. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I pay more attention to the backstory of the game than I do the actual playing of it. I find things like the steroid issue, team dynamics, individual characters, the A's and Moneyball, and insane fans who storm the field to beat up an umpire to be more interesting. You could say that the sociological study of the game is more my bag of chew.
I think a lot of my lost interest when it comes to following specific teams or players on a regular basis has to do with a loss of innocence in regards to professional athletes. I'm forming a jaded opinion of them, and it's not a pretty one. My reasons are fairly cliched, naively generalized, and definitely don't take into account the fact that no rational person alive would turn down the opportunity to be paid millions to play a game, so I won't rehash them.
On that note, a few days ago, a former professional baseball player died in his home, for as-of-yet-to-be-determined causes. Rod "Shooter" Beck seemed to epitomize the exact opposite of my ignorant opinions. My friend Alan summed it up much better than I ever could, so to quote him:
"A guy like this will probably never come along in baseball again. For starters his nickname was 'Shooter.' He had a mullet, and handle bar mustache, and the build of a Harley mechanic. He looked like the hood ornament of a Mack truck, but had a high pitched squeaky voice. He was kind to everyone, even the media. After games he would often sit around in the clubhouse with a few other players smoking cigarettes, drinking beer and talking baseball. I guess you could say he had a bit of John Daly in him, and, really, what's wrong with that?"Not to mention that he was an incredible pitcher. Sounds like a guy I would want as my little league coach, and a guy who makes me wish there were more of, so I could enjoy the professional game as much as other people do.
I hope Alan's wrong.
1 comment:
I hope I'm wrong too.
By the way, since I assumed everyone had already heard it, I left out the best Shooter story and probably the one that most epitomized him. In 2003, after being a major leaguer for 11 years, Rod was sent down to the Cub's AAA team in Iowa. I gotta tell you, I probably would have quit, but Shooter packed up and drove out to Des Moines, Iowa to try to pitch his way back to the big leagues. He parked and lived in his RV in the parking lot behind the ball park and often entertained fans and fellow players with free beer after the games. This story from ESPN tells it best.
Look at this guy!
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