Glimmers of Hope

By: Mike Carter

In what has become a frequent statement for me opening these pieces in the last year, I find myself uncertain of what to say.

I’m looking for some normalcy. In the midst of the violent unrest last week in our Capitol, I was receiving the second dosage of the Covid vaccine; I am lucky that our organization considers those working in our schools a high-risk enterprise, and any staff that wanted it was able to get both doses of the vaccine over the last three weeks. It was a surreal experience, watching what happened on a TV above my head as I waited for that second dose.

I’m lucky sometimes in that I will sit down in front of the computer and see that blinking cursor and be able to pound out 1000 words without much thinking. Other times it takes me days to write a paragraph.

I am not going to try and make sense here of what happened last week. Do that for yourself before realizing that none of it makes much sense and that outrage should be high right now. I will say that I found myself telling my kids often that this was not the best method to solving problems and disagreements. It’s amazing what our kids pick up on, and I will remember these open and honest conversations for the rest of my life.

We had lots of significant losses in 2020 in the world of baseball: Seaver, Gibson, Brock, Kaline, Ford, Morgan, and Niekro, to name a few. This year hasn’t started much better with the death of Tommy Lasorda.

Despite these losses, I remain hopeful that we will be back to “business as usual” soon enough. People will be able to be back in their offices or schools, working day-to-day, like they were way back in March 2020. Those who want the vaccine will be able to get it. The politically charged rhetoric and insanity that has bogged this country down for months will lift, and if not exactly into hope, a calmness and decency that has been missing far too often in recent months.

We must remember that there are far more things that make us similar than make us different, no matter the color of our skin, which creed we believe in and subscribe to, or what politics we support. Our neighbors are still our neighbors, despite quarantine and different opinions. We choose to live around these others. Let’s make that the goal of 2021:  treat others with kindness and respect. It’s time to return to decency and kindness and hopefully to improved habits. Far too often I have let rhetoric get in my way of doing this simple task. I must get right. Time is wasting. 

I’ve found myself over the past few weeks trying new, simple things: long walks alone around my neighborhood in the morning, noticing things I may have missed before. There is the pair of owls I have spotted unbeknownst to them; there is the hawk that sits often in the same perch in the same tree many days. The sky is gray and so is much meaning around us, but I have learned to enjoy the peaks of sun we get here in the dreary Midwest, closing my eyes and turning to face it when I can. I have been reading more novels, trying to broaden my thinking about many things. I have spent time having real conversations with my kids, who are 14 and 10, and whom I realize will soon be out in this unforgiving world trying out their own lives. 

While being in the Covid world has largely been a cavalcade of awfulness, there are glimmers of hope if we care to look for them, universal truths under rocks that we can uncover if we care to look. The great poet Auden once wrote “Love each other or perish.”  Let’s not wake up to that truth too late. Let’s be better this year. Please. It’s truly not that difficult. Love each other.

• Shifting gears after a 500-word rant, what’s happening in baseball right now? Well, free agency has been extremely slow. Former Cub Kyle Schwarber signed a one year, $10 million contract with the Washington Nationals this past weekend. He will likely bat in the top of the order (second?  fourth?) and bring serious power to their lineup; just close your eyes when the ball is hit to him in left field. Great, low risk signing for them. When and where will the likes of George Springer, Trevor Bauer and Liam Hendriks sign?  We simply don’t know, but as we get closer to reporting time, it’s likely players will get the itch to know where they are going, and sign. The big question looming is, will owners pony up the big cash over multiple years with the knowledge that the collective bargaining agreement is up on December 1^st?  I fear the game we love is headed for more trouble as billionaires and millionaires square off on how to make sure everyone gets richer.
• As we pointed out on the site already, the New York Mets acquired Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco from the Cleveland baseball team for a variety of prospects. I am upset for Cleveland fans, but happy for Mets fans. Speaking of, their new owner, Steve Cohen, is a must-follow on Twitter. People like Cohen are exactly what baseball needs: outgoing, outspoken members who will engage with fans over social media. I rant constantly in these posts: baseball does a miserable job promoting their product and even worse job promoting their stars. They must do better, especially with marketing minority players, or they will lose a generation of fans.

  

• Speaking of young stars in need of being promoted in the game, the San Diego Padres are reportedly discussing a megadeal with star shortstop Fernando Tatis, Jr. Alleged terms leaked this past week of a possible 11-year, $320 million deal. That would be one of the five largest contracts in baseball history. If you haven’t seen him play much, take my word for it: he is electric, and fun, a brilliant athlete with a smile to match. Do yourself a favor and buy MLB Network and stay up late on the weekends to watch Tatis Jr. play; I guarantee you will not be disappointed.
• Will Spring Training start on time? We are less than five weeks away from what “should” be the start, when those magical words “pitchers and catcher report” hit us and hope renews again for every baseball fan. The MLB Players Association let fans know this week that the players plan to start on time per the agreement in the CBA. So as of now, reporting dates are mid-February, and I guess we will see what happens.

Let’s double down on hope and living in less fear in 2021, and let’s hope that our beloved game starts on time and we can get back to the parks and enjoy the assault on our senses that baseball provides us.