Randy Smith: Baseball...It's Almost Here

With college and high school basketball seasons winding down, it means just one thing; baseball season is upon us. For college teams the season is already here (unless you live in Chattanooga where there is no major college team) as teams brave the cold rainy weather in late February. Baseball and spring have always gone together as the weather warms, grass and flowers begin to grow and the leaves start turning green again. It's like a new, fresh beginning following a cold, harsh, or in our case a cold damp winter.

As I have written many times before, baseball has always been very special to me mainly because it was always special to my father. Right after the Christmas holidays, once the new year had begun my dad and I would start playing catch. As the weather got warmer, we would go to the park and he would pitch for countless hours allowing me to take batting practice. We usually had just a few decent baseballs so after I hit them all we would gather them up again and he would pitch them to me...again.  

Later when I had a son and a daughter who enjoyed softball, when the weather warmed up enough we would go to the park and I would pitch to them just as my dad had done for me. My son has continued this tradition as just this week he took my two grandsons to the park and he pitched to them as well as hit them ground balls. As far as doing things with your kids, there is nothing better.

I know there are parents who are as passionate about soccer, tennis or golf as I was and my son is about baseball, and I think that is wonderful. As long as you love an outdoor sport and you can take the time to pass that love on to your children and grandchildren you are a special person.

When I was in college I began umpiring when it became apparent to me that I would never be a major league baseball player. I continued to play slow pitch softball or "beer belly ball" as we called it back then. It wasn't baseball but it was the next best thing for us. One of my early mentors, the late Monte Hale in Murfreesboro use to say that "baseball is the only game" and he was deadly serious. Monte had been a good pitcher in his day and had a tryout or two with some major league teams. I always tried to copy his passion for the game. In fact when minor league baseball returned to Nashville in the late 19'70s Monte became the first "Voice of the Nashville Sounds." 

I know that we still have about a month left of winter weather, but regardless of that fact, we also know that baseball is upon us and to me there is nothing finer.