Giving Daily Thanks for the Game

By: Mike Carter

I am going to be excessively honest with this post today.

I have been really down in the dumps lately. My beloved Chicago White Sox are thirty games below the breakeven point and the year has not gone very well. The country remains as divided as ever, with so many of us forgetting there is a middle ground in all of this if we can stop yelling at each other and start understanding each other. Turn off the “news,” and talk to your neighbors, friends and families.

Work has been a grind with many long hours preparing for the upcoming school year. We just finished our summer school session last week, and I am trying to enjoy a beautiful afternoon here in the Midwest. I have been far busier than I would like or am used to at this time of year.

For those that don’t know this about me, I also struggle with rheumatoid arthritis and the journey I have been on over the last eighteen months has been a roller coaster for me. Simply put, my body just cannot do the things it used to be able to do. My hands and feet do not function as they should for a man of 45. Getting up and moving in the morning is a painful experience that sometimes requires 15-20 minutes of stretching and coaxing. It can be tough for me to do things I once took for granted; making a cup of coffee, buttoning a shirt, shaving. It’s kind of a silent disease; I don’t look sick, so people assume that I am ok. And I am, mostly, but it’s been a period of adjustment and relearning, and at times, I get terribly frustrated and very down on myself and the world

Why am I telling you this? What does any of this have to do with baseball?

Well, I have certain things that I rely on to boost my mood and kick my ass into gear. And one thing that has helped me so much this summer is my baseball friends through social media. I have never met one of them in person, although I hope to change that. Let me run down what these folks have done for me.

Kelly Byrnes and Josh Randolph invited me to guest write for 9 Inning Know It All some time back. I have been privileged to do it, and they keep inviting me back. Their lives revolve around the game; Josh is working to improve the site constantly while balancing his family, and Kelly is spending much of his free time either going to baseball games or supporting his daughters who play competitive softball on the weekends.

Norm Ordaz entertains me weekly with his podcasts and humor. Seeing his posts about dragging the fields at Jo Dancer every weekend remind me that I have things that I need to get to and to keep moving. He serves his community each and every week of his life without expected repayment.

Jim Campanis and Bill Nahorodny are two former catchers who tell great stories of their experiences and are constantly giving back to the game, their friends, charities, etc. Do you guys know how amazing it is to be friends with people like you? You guys both played at the game’s highest level, and to be let into your circle feels like I am stealing something. I hope you know what I mean, and that you will accept my thanks for talking the fine points of the game with people like me. It’s a privilege.

And then Wayne McBrayer and Rebecca Admire Herman, taking us along on their journey through PNC Park and then Cooperstown this weekend. We are living vicariously through you! These guys attend more games than just about anyone I know in the world, and they document it all to share with us.

There are also my fantasy baseball brothers that keep it interesting all year long. Chris, Michael, Jefe, Ron, Heavy, Scott…thank you guys for your friendship and interesting commentary all year. Of course my brother Ryan and my dad as well…there isn’t a day that goes by without us discussing some aspect of the game, usually how much the White Sox stunk it up that night or waiting for the savior Eloy Jimenez to emerge from AAA.

I name drop these folks because they inspire every day and the common thread with all of it is baseball. The greatest game in the world gives us a shared camaraderie.Thank you to all. You all give me a boost without realizing it!

Now, some other musings.

• I watched the White Sox play the Angels last week. Mike Trout is the best thing happening in baseball right now. He absolutely murdered the Sox. It’s criminal that he isn’t on TV every week for the world to see. I have no idea how to get him out. One of the best I have ever seen, and he may still be getting better.
• Funny tidbit: my son Jack was watching with me when Albert Pujols hit a home run; I had told him to watch as “The Machine” went up to the dish. I told him the nickname, and Jack said, “why do they call him that?” As he proceeded to drive one into the seats, I said, “That’s why.” A shell of his former self, but man, he can still crush it when he gets his pitch, even at 38. Jack now understands.
• The National League should adopt the designated hitter. I don’t want to see pitchers bat anymore. Collectively pitchers have hit .115 this year.  Teams have lost pitchers to freak injuries incurred while trying to hit or run the bases, like Masahiro Tanaka. I pay to see him pitch, not hit or run the bases. The Yankees pay him to pitch. It’s time to stop the folly. For every good-hitting pitcher, there are twenty bad ones. I am all for this change, as soon as possible.
• Many of us are studying the current trends in the game: lower attendance rates, more strikeouts than hits, home run averages are also down. Fewer balls in play means less action in the game. Teams are paying exorbitant sums for home runs; they do not seem to care about the rising strikeout rates. Yet the best teams in baseball, I would argue, are the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox. Sitting atop the AL West, they have a +185 run differential. The Boston Red Sox are +176 in the AL East. Know what else they have in common? Their batters put the ball in play more often than other teams. High on-base percentages compared to the rest of the league. In the bottom third for strikeouts in MLB. Teams that put the ball in play have a much better chance of scoring runs than teams that don’t, or teams that wait around for the home run. The White Sox hit six home runs one game last week and still lost the game. Dare I say that the home run is overrated? We will see what happens with the playoffs looming.

Thanks for reading my musings this week. As always, please share your comments as well.