"This is what heaven must be like," I said to my wife Joy on the cell phone. I was between home and first, about 15 rows up from the field at Fenway Park for the opening game of the 2007 World Series - and my nine-year-old son Luke was sitting right next to me. The "most beloved ballpark in America," as some call it, looked absolutely fabulous last night. The grass was the same dazzling emerald green color that I still vividly remember from the first time my Dad took me to Tiger Stadium in Detroit when I was just about Luke’s age. The base paths were in immaculate condition, the lights were almost sparkling, the atmosphere was electric, and the smell of great food was in the air. This is baseball.
We were there two hours early watching the Colorado Rockies take their batting practice. Luke, proudly wearing the brand new Red Sox jersey I had splurged to buy him that afternoon, just kept saying, "Wow," as Rockie hitters kept putting balls over the "Green Monster" wall in left field. "Dad! Did you see that one? Awesome!" We talked about the only other time Luke had ever been to Fenway, in his mother’s womb when I took my new English wife, Joy Carroll, to her first baseball game in America. Luke was soooo glad to be back, and we kept talking to Mom on the cell about how amazingly COOL everything was. She and four-year-old Jack were at home in Washington, glued to the television set and trying to spot us. A wonderful friend had given me and Luke two priceless tickets to the Series opener. It just doesn’t get any better than this.
I don’t think I’ve written about my "other life" much on this blog, as a Little League baseball coach every weekend for Luke and 13 other fourth graders whom I’ve had now for the last four baseball seasons, beginning with t-ball. My first instructions were things like, "Throw the ball overhand." They’re the veteran AA Astros now, and are undefeated again this season (but we all know that, as Christians, winning and losing doesn’t matter). I also would never brag about my son’s play - like ever tell anyone about the recent game where he went four for four, with a double and three homeruns (including a grand slam), or that he is an Little League All Star first basemen who backhanded a smash ground ball that would have gotten through on the right side of the infield and then outran the other kid to first base, winning the game. I would never talk about such things.
Those batting practice hits over the Wall were about the only ones the Colorado team got all night, as the Red Sox cruised to a 13-1 victory. The whole night looked like batting practice for the hometown boys like our favorite David ("Big Papi") Ortiz, Manny Ramirez (I love the fan’s sign from the last playoff series—"Don’t worry be Manny"), Kevin Youkilis (whose every at bat gets the fans yelling "Yoooouk, Yoooouk, Yoooouk,!"), captain Jason Varitek (who showed how a captain ought to play last night) and Dustin Pedroia (the sensational rookie who shows that little guys can play this game too). We were also amazed by starting pitcher Josh Beckett who got nine strike outs last night (and who also inspires my son because Luke’s baseball role model is Babe Ruth, BOTH a power hitter AND a pitcher, just like he wants to be).
On Sunday, one of the other kids from our team gets to go to Denver (he’s an enthusiastic Rockies fan) for game four of the World Series. His grandfather is dying of cancer and this may be one of the last times that grandson and grandpa will do something special together. Very special indeed. Baseball is like that. "Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd, buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don’t care if I never get back…!" Yep, just like heaven is going to be.
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Comments
Thanks, Jim. Couldn't've said it better myself. There's something about baseball and dads.
Posted by: Mark | October 25, 2007 2:54 PM
Very cool, Jim. We may not always agree on politics, but baseball-wise, I'm 100% behind you!!
Posted by: Blake | October 25, 2007 3:29 PM
I'm going to be the party pooper. After watching our beloved Cleveland Indians fizzle out last week, I just can't get excited about this World Series. I mean, you Boston fans got your victory three years ago. And we were glad for you (I'm not just saying that, either; we sincerely were glad.)
But now we're still waiting. It's been 49 years. Yes, I know, Boston waited far longer for a World Series victory, but in the meantime your city celebrated championships by the Celtics, the Bruins, and most recently the Patriots. Cleveland hasn't had a championship in any major sport since the 1964 Browns, and that was before the first Super Bowl. The Browns haven't been to one yet. LeBron James' Cavaliers gave us hope last spring, but to no avail.
So best wishes to both the Red Sox and the Rockies. May the better team win, whichever that turns out to be. But I probably won't be watching. it's just too much to bear right now.
Peace,
Posted by: Don | October 25, 2007 3:41 PM
Great post Jim - You're right, it doesn't get any better that Fenway during the playoffs if you're a baseball fan. Sorry to nitpick, but the fans are actually chanting: "Yoooouk! Yoooouk!" rather than just "you". It's a minor thing, but Sox fans care about that stuff.
Posted by: josh | October 25, 2007 3:42 PM
"It's been 49 years."
That should be 59 years. The last World Series that Cleveland won was 1948.
D
Posted by: Don | October 25, 2007 3:45 PM
Jim is a Red Sox fan?? Now, that explains A LOT!
Posted by: undisclosed | October 25, 2007 3:56 PM
Good to read this Sojouners item.
I often explain how my spiritual journey -- at age 76 -- has long been rooted in the Fourteen Years I spent in the Wilderness with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941 (when I was 10 years old) until 1955 (when I was 24). I can still tell you where I was when I heard that Mickey Owen had dropped the Third Strike, and where I was when Johnny Podres finally defeated The Forces of Darkness.
We were blessed with the arrival of a wonderful granddaughter on October 27, 2004 -- when there was a Heavenly Convergence of the Red Sox World Series Victory and an Eclipsed Full Moon.
This time, my sentiments are with The Rockies -- which anyone who stayed up for all 13 innings of their Sudden Death Win over the Padres has earned.
This will be an interesting World Series.
Bob Fetter, Cockeysville, Maryland
Posted by: Bob Fetter | October 25, 2007 3:58 PM
Kudos to the prior e-mail writer observing he may not always agree with your politics but you hit a "home run" with this artricle. Such vivid writring-I could see the field and smell the food!
But, I must confess- I'm a Rockies fan - somewhat stunned after game! Great column Jim -keep up the good work!
Posted by: Paul Wice | October 25, 2007 3:58 PM
Good to read this Sojouners item.
I often explain how my spiritual journey -- at age 76 -- has long been rooted in the Fourteen Years I spent in the Wilderness with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941 (when I was 10 years old) until 1955 (when I was 24). I can still tell you where I was when I heard that Mickey Owen had dropped the Third Strike, and where I was when Johnny Podres finally defeated The Forces of Darkness.
We were blessed with the arrival of a wonderful granddaughter on October 27, 2004 -- when there was a Heavenly Convergence of the Red Sox World Series Victory and an Eclipsed Full Moon.
This time, my sentiments are with The Rockies -- which anyone who stayed up for all 13 innings of their Sudden Death Win over the Padres has earned.
This will be an interesting World Series.
Bob Fetter, Cockeysville, Maryland
Posted by: Bob Fetter | October 25, 2007 3:59 PM
I suddenly like you a whole lot more.
A lifelong member of Red Sox Nation,
Katie
Posted by: Katie Fralick | October 25, 2007 4:01 PM
Your article brought tears to my "rabid Red Sox fan" eyes. There's nothing like a cool breeze, the crowd, the excitement, a beer and a pretzel. Hey wait! In heaven there is no beer...
Posted by: Deb Damon | October 25, 2007 4:13 PM
I am shocked - shocked! - that not one person has mentioned that, while the Rockies are comprised largely of devout Christians, the Red Sox are a bunch of arrogant heathens who wear their pride (the deadliest of sins...) on their sleeves.
Shame on Jim (and lotws of you!) for rooting for heathens over Christians! He might as well root for the Romans in the arena!
(LOL?)
Posted by: Maani | October 25, 2007 4:13 PM
In Heaven, the Rockies win the World Series.
Posted by: Ron | October 25, 2007 4:13 PM
"Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack,
I don’t care if I never get back ... !"
Yet another reason to love Jim Wallis:
he knows that in the lyrics to 'Take Me Out To The Ballgame' Cracker Jack is SINGULAR! [chuckle...] Thanks, Jim.
p.s. GO ROCKIES!
Posted by: Pastor Tim Christensen | October 25, 2007 4:18 PM
Great post. I was at game 1 of the ALDS and game 7 of the ALCS--ticket both games was a gift from a season ticket holder. Fenway is truly the best baseball venue. Baseball is a lot like church and the Christian faith. Instead of a bulletin there is a scorecard. The national anthem is the opening hymn. The invocation is "play ball!" It is a team game--there is the sacrifice. The object is to get home--and be safe at home. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever and ever.....Fenway? Heaven? They're close.
Posted by: David Pope | October 25, 2007 4:21 PM
Jim, thanks for your discription of a perfect night at Fenway.
I grew up in Massachusetts during the 50's and 60's during the "wait til next year" era. As a long-time San Franciscan, I still root for the Red Sox along with the SF Giants.
During the 2004 playoffs and World Series, I spent most of each game on the phone with my dad, who was watching in Massachusetts, reveling in great baseball.
This summer,I took my own three year old son to his first game in San Francisco. Everyone thought he'd last 2-3 innings. He stayed to the end and loved it. I can't wait to take him to Fenway.
Brad Paul, Sausalito, CA
Posted by: Brad | October 25, 2007 4:24 PM
I'm glad you didn't overcomplicate this lovely piece by bringing up the sad fact that when Our Guys win, Somebody Else's Guys are the humiliated losers. But it is good to contemplate that somehow in heaven that shadow side won't be there any more.
And DID YOU SEE PAPELBON DANCING on the field after game 7 of the ALCS???? Surrounded by teammates and their CHILDREN? As the crowd in the stands goes wild? Now THAT, that's really heaven.
Posted by: Gretchen Pritchard | October 25, 2007 4:24 PM
When you said "what heaven must be like," I thought about what visitors say about my church, New Life Fellowship, in Queens, NY. They refer, of course, to the mind boggling display of racial and ethnic diversity that's natural to Elmhurst, Queens.
I was dissapointed, then, to find the description applied to your experience at Fenway Park in Boston.
No, the Red Sox themselves are not as obviously a racist institution as they used to be, certainly no more obvious than my beloved Yankees had been or may yet still be. But my Lord, if you look around in the stands or spent much time in Boston, as I did from 2003 to 2006, you'd know the town comes by it's reputation as a place black people with options flee quite honestly.
Recently, no more a supposed Yankee fan than Republican hopeful Rudolph Giuliani declared his support for the Red Sox in the series. Headlines here called him "traitor," and reflected deep shock and surprise. But I wasn't surprised.
Let there be no doubt: while we think New York's multicolor pageant looks like God's vision of His people, America has not seen His vision yet. Rudy's Red Sox cap makes it offical-he's not running from NY, or even as our "heroic" ex-mayor. He's running against what New York represents in some quarters of the American imagination. That would be the hell of an America without an obvious white majority.
Rudy could have declared a politically prudent neutrality in the world series. But the Yankees missing the series gave him an opportunity to pander to Red Sox nation (conveniently centered next to New Hampshire.) he coudn't refuse. Only he knows why he didn't come out for the Rockies. But, for this son of the Bronx, his feining love for the Red Sox was like Ronald Reagan beginning his 1980 campaign in Philadelphia Mississippi--Klan country.
Heaven may indeed be in the eye of the beholder. But whenver we imagine it, let us always consider it from the bias of the Creator.
Posted by: Leon Wynter | October 25, 2007 4:30 PM
Jim,
Your description of being at Fenway was perfect! And it came in my email just as I sent two of my sons off for tonight's game with my own priceless tickets. I almost sold the tickets for a lot of money. But I didn't because of exactly what you said - it is a little taste of heaven here on earth. Thanks for lifting my spirits!
We had a double dip of baseball euphoria this summer when my son pitched on the mound at Fenway during a college all-star game. Now that will last me a lifetime!
God bless you in your work. Go Red Sox!
Posted by: Judy | October 25, 2007 4:30 PM
In 1982, Bob Bennett released "A Song About Baseball" on his amazing album "Matters of the Heart" (the album is available on iTunes -- it comes highly recommended). The lyrics are appropriate to Jim's blog post:
Saturdays on the baseball field
Don't be afraid of the ball
Just another kid on camera day
When the Angels stilled played in LA
I was smiling in living black and white
Baseball caps and bubble gum
I think there's a hole in my glove
Three and two life and death
Swinging with eyes closed holding my breath
I was dying on my way to the bench
But none of it mattered after the game
When my father would find me and call out my name
A soft drink, a snow cone, a candy bar
A limousine ride in the family car
He loved me no matter how I played
He loved me no matter how I played
But none of it mattered after the game
When my father would find me and call out my name
Dreaming of glory the next time out
My father showed me what love is about
He loved me no matter how I played
He loved me no matter how I played
He loves me no matter how I play
But none of it mattered after the game
When my father would find me and call out my name
Posted by: Jeff | October 25, 2007 4:30 PM
Let's hope for a little more heaven tonite!
Posted by: Bob Wright | October 25, 2007 4:31 PM
From a long-suffering Cubs fan whose mother lived long enough to see her beloved Red Sox win a few years ago...
Thank you reminding me that Heaven IS here on Earth at those special times.
Posted by: Another Don | October 25, 2007 4:33 PM
For a man who rails against the evils of corporate America, rampant materialism, selfishness, greed,our waning capacity to feel and act on sympathy and other concomitants of hypercompetition, I find it strange that you can be so in love with big-time sport which embodies all of these characteristics...in spades. Sport, it is said, is the great leveler of social class; it seems it is the great leveler of moral conscience as well.
Posted by: shirl hoffman | October 25, 2007 4:54 PM
I loved your article, Jim. But's where's your compassion for the poor and needy? Or support for the virtuous and kind? The Rockies are indeed the poor team in this World Series ($54.4 million payroll to the Red Sox $143 million) and have built their team largely from the ground up through player development, rather than expensive pruchases of free agents. They've never been to a World Series and their inspiring play in winning 21 of their last 22 games before last night certainly deserve respect and admiration. USA Today has described the Rockies as adhering to a "Christian-based code of conduct". The Rockies General Manager said he looks for players with integrity and strong moral values, and appears to have found them -- when a Rockies' minor league coach died this summer the Rockies voted to give his widow a share of their playoff earnings.
So if there are uncommitted fans out there who haven't yet been seduced by the fame, money and hype of Red Sox Nation (citizens by birth are excused!), consider rooting for the lowly, humble Rockies who haven't enjoyed the spotlight in recent years, but have gone out and played truly inspiring baseball while exhibiting humility all the while.
Posted by: Ed Scholl | October 25, 2007 5:06 PM
. . v. and the angel said, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men. . ." (somewhere in Revelation, toward the end). Maybe, for a period of time, that 'dwelling place' is localized in a few square feet of Boston and Denver. In any case, Mr. Wallis, that was a beautiful piece of writing. Oh, that the Cubbies could, just once, learn that in Heaven, one does not have to choke!!
Posted by: joekc | October 25, 2007 5:06 PM
Lighten up, Shirl. It's a story about sharing some special time with your child and nothing else. Nice post, Jim!
Personal note: Heaven for me was watching my Cardinals win the WS last year - hell is watching my 0-7 Rams this year. Heaven is definitely better!
Posted by: Cads | October 25, 2007 5:09 PM
HEY!
You promised us Clevelanders last Saturday that "God is NOT a Red Sock or an Indian!"
It was good to hear you at the conference in Cleveland!
Posted by: Bob Robinson | October 25, 2007 5:31 PM
This is a perfect example of how we each create heaven (and God) in our own image. Baseball conjures up only negatives for me: tobacco, steroids, betting, corporate shenanigans, too much alcohol, and a world dominated by men.
Posted by: Liziz | October 25, 2007 5:36 PM
Jim, if you really care for the poor as much as you say you do, you would have sent me those tix!!
As it was, I was reduced to watching the game on my new Sony 50-inch HDTV.
At least I was dry. I hope you got soaked and got rain in your beer.
Posted by: canucklehead | October 25, 2007 5:40 PM
"It's been 49 years."
That should be 59 years. The last World Series that Cleveland won was 1948.
D
Posted by: Don | October 25, 2007 3:45 PM
Oh, cry me a river, Don. I'm a, um, Cubs' fan.
Posted by: canucklehead | October 25, 2007 5:47 PM
Okay, baseball is not my favorite thing, BUT I'm crazy about my grandchildren. Your son is the age of my youngest grandson, and Nate likes baseball, too.
Thanks for reminding us all what life could feel like when armaments are recycled as tools for producing food (and baseballs) and we can all of us sit in our own gardens (or ball parks)and enjoy ourselves and our neighbors.
Peace and Wellbeing,
Posted by: Churchlady | October 25, 2007 6:05 PM
Jim: Great to hear you coach. Some of the best time I have had with my son has been when I coached his team. He is a Yankees fan and we went to Yankee Stadium two years ago and it was fantastic. Not quite heaven though.
Peace
Posted by: Phil | October 25, 2007 6:07 PM
I firmly believe in close relationships with our kids.....In looking back at my fatherly bonding with my daughters and sons....I question the impressions I brought to them in our excusions to the Redskins, Capitals and Bullets games in DC. I would like to think that I would be more about sportsmanship than the home team local fever I gave them...I think you are caught up in the same and resent that you would post this under your banner. God bless and good luck with your off-springs.
Paul Hanson
p.s. please keep on target for JUSTICE and leave your baseball fantasy out of it.
Posted by: Paul Hanson | October 25, 2007 7:07 PM
Jim, I love you, but Red Sox fans are second only to Yankees as the most annoying in all of baseball (rude, drunk, whiney, and with no real regional affiliation). I have no sympathy for the Red Sox--a team stacked with the second highest payroll in Baseball. The Rockies are easily more likeable and at this point, the underdogs. Go Rockies!
Posted by: Matt K | October 25, 2007 7:16 PM
First, Jim, thanks for the retreat in Cleveland last weekend. It was a pleasure to shake your hand during the book signing, even though my books were at home. Second, I hope the Sox have go to Game 7...AGAIN.
Posted by: Ward Pallotta | October 25, 2007 8:22 PM
i eagerly checked out your blog to find out what you thought heaven looked like. but for an asian like me, i missed the visceral reaction a baseball park at night was meant to evoke.
your heaven is so american.
in my mind i could picture it - with a young robert redford as you. but i could not quite relate, except perhaps as a spectator in the bleachers.
which reminds us, sort of, that the heaven of both the hebrew and christian bibles are also colored by their experiences and culture - and though we may get the idea, it may not necessarily be so meaningful for each one of us.
sometimes when i am floating on my back in the clean tropical waters of my hometown, under a bright sun and blue skies, the smoke from grilled fish drizzled with lemon and wrapped in banana leaves wafts through, and i think - this is so good
- it feels like heaven. an undisturbed and unbothered peace.
if one gave meaning to symbols, then perhaps the fish is meant to evoke the assurance of food on the table.
for many an asian, filipino in my case, then perhaps heaven for many of us is food on the table. which in our paradigm is more readily available in america.
america is what heaven is like according to our current mythology.
and to be truly american, the apotheosis would be baseball. or, a hip-hop record contract, or what.
is there a gospel according to babe ruth then?
i still look forward to undisturbed time in paradise beach, though.
Posted by: e abella | October 25, 2007 9:00 PM
There truly is something about baseball, and it is not always about fathers and sons...it is very often about fathers and daughters, or grand-daughters and grandmothers. When my mother battled cancer, I had long phone conversations with her about the Cubs. When my father battled cancer, baseball lifted him beyond his illness and returned him to life. And, one last thing...I do feel for Cleveland fans. My father was a lifelong Cleveland fan. But what about us poor Cubs fans?? Fifty=nine years is nothing compared to our dry spell! Blessings to all you terrific baseball fans out there!
Posted by: Trish | October 25, 2007 11:18 PM
Baseball can be very much about fathers and daughters. I watched Hank Aaron's home run record breaker with my dad. I remember it very fondly.
My first view of one of those emerald green fields was in Anaheim at Angels Stadium where we would go to root for my dad's beloved Detroit Tigers. I recall being amazed at the color of the grass. My own son had a similar reaction to the color of the grass the Giants' stadium in San Francisco. I believe you never forget that first experience of seeing a big league ball park.
Go Rockies!
Posted by: Julia Herdt | October 26, 2007 12:43 AM
No, Jim. I can assure you heaven is NOT like being in Fenway Park for game 1 of the world series while a "president" who stole two elections sits in the Whitehouse gutting the Constitution, using taxes to fund the murder of 1 million falsely vilified muslims (yes, 9/11 was an inside job) and 4,000 duped soldiers. Unless you're a fan of Hitler, like Prescott Bush was.
Posted by: David McIntosh | October 26, 2007 2:46 AM
It figures , I am a Yankee Fan .
Posted by: Mick Sheldon | October 26, 2007 2:50 AM
I know that "What Heaven Must Be Like" was intended to be a rather flippant essay, but to me it serves as an indicator of how truly pervasive american militancy actually is.
I mean, if Jim Wallis can equate a sports competition with Heaven, are we not all pretty much doomed?
The thing is, sports mentality is one of the many, many poor reasons why we are killing people in Iraq right now.
The vast majority of those who have supported the war in Iraq can not distinguish between a war and a sporting event where "our team" goes off to "play" "their team".
Even if an occasional picture of blood makes it through the vast censorship of US corporate news media, most americans still chalk it up as an unfortunate accident -- like a "player getting hit with a ball" -- rather than as the actual goal of war: to physically beat the "enemy" into submission, yea even to death, if necessary.
I'm trying to imagine a perfect world where two groups of people compete for some sort of personal reward that doesn't result in some participants ending up being/feeling defeated, but I cannot.
If Jim Wallis can equate a sporting competition with Heaven, without once considering how sports and war go hand-in-hand, then surely our penchant to conquer has doomed us all.
Posted by: just a guy | October 26, 2007 7:00 AM
That was a wonderful story that took me back to the days when my son and I shared those same memories of watching the Minnesota Twins. He is now playing and managing a town ball amature team and I love sitting in those sun draped stands watching and cheering for him. There are fewer things more perfect then sharing a ballgame with your son or daughter on a warm sunny summer day. Thank you for the story that made me smile.
Posted by: Larry Sell | October 26, 2007 7:24 AM
As a long time reader of Sojourners and your other writings it is especially nice to see you also comment about the great bonding experience of baseball. There's nothing like it! I've been a Boston Red Sox fan for 40 years now (remember the 1967 "Impossible Dream"?) although I'm not from New England.
I tried for several hours to buy tickets for one of the games coming up in Denver, but to no avail. I was truly looking forward to driving up from Albuquerque with my 13-year old son. It's alright though - we're still having good father/son time watching the games on TV.
There are a lot of lessons we can learn from baseball, things like "keeping our eye on the ball", "going for the extra base", "taking a strike" and "staying in the moment" (Francona's advice to the team when they were down 3 games to 1 to the Indians). Thanks for sharing your Fenway experience...and your ongoing honest insight about faith and Jesus.
Posted by: Tom Gilbert | October 26, 2007 9:00 AM
As an observer of "Coach Wallis", his son Luke, and the AA Astros on the ballfields of Washington, DC, it's not surprising to see the link between the imagery of this article and his coaching style --- straight from the heart!
Posted by: Paul | October 26, 2007 9:08 AM
I also love baseball and sat riveted to the TV during the first game of the world series. However, my excitement was tinged by concern. So much money is spent on professional sports. Should not Sojourners be concerned about the fact that our joy in sport and sense of community in the game is built on milllions and millions of dollars - dollars which potentially (in a just world) could be redistributed to those in deep need. Sometimes it is hard as a Christian of western priviledge to live a coherent life. I am deeply grateful for the game and for the celebration that accompanies the win - but we should remember what it costs and to whom. Perhaps you could comment on this issue. Thanks
Posted by: june | October 26, 2007 9:17 AM
"Oh, cry me a river, Don. I'm a, um, Cubs' fan."
Posted by: canucklehead
I feel your pain. My son lived in Chicago last year. And we just love Wrigley Field. If the Cubs were in this Series against Boston instead of the Rockies, I know I'd be watching and who I'd be supporting.
It's just that the ultra-naive part of my nature would have thought those Red Sox fans would have just a tiny bit more empathy and compassion toward us Cleveland fans after all the suffering they had gone through. And I'm still naive enought to think they would have if the Indians had been playing someone else for the AL championship. But at least the Sox fans should be grateful to Cleveland for dealing so decsively with the Yankees.
However, it now appears the Sox fans have become about as arrogant as the team they support. Sort of like Yankees fans. We cheered for the Sox in '04 but can't do it now. Don't really care who wins this series.
D
Posted by: Don | October 26, 2007 9:21 AM
Except in Heaven it'll be REAL baseball - no DH where pitchers bat and managers have to do other thing besides fill out line-up cards.
Posted by: mike lacey | October 26, 2007 10:02 AM
How right you are, Jim. Baseball is very special indeed.
Some rituals in life are meant to be savored and shared. Their images linger as ideals, peak moments of passionate pleasure. Going to a ball game at Fenway is one of them. Your story touched me with its joy, especially the closing illustration, which parallels the experience of my family. The last outing my husband had was to a Red Sox game in June of 2003. It was his last request.
The game wasn’t really the point. It was the place and the possibility it represented. Contemplating a short future together, one night earlier that spring we speculated about heaven. Never losing his ironic sense of humor, he said it must be a lot like Iowa.
I imagine he’s right. And everyone’s welcome.
DB
Posted by: DB | October 26, 2007 10:13 AM
Until you're a lifelong fan of the Cubs, you cannot understand the world "from below." For us, it's 99 years and counting. Jubilee is coming!
Posted by: Rick | October 26, 2007 12:53 PM
Jim is a Red Sox fan? Please say it aint so ..
Posted by: Jeff | October 26, 2007 1:58 PM
Thank you Jim,
I grew up in Williamsport, PA the Home of Little League Baseball. At the ballpark I learned to sing Take Me Out To The Ballpark, a tune which resonates in my spirit and calls me back to a time of innocent childhood. Today I go to Orioles games and feel touched every time I hear that tune. Oh, how sometime I'de like to go back to a time without worldly trouble. But I now thank God for allowing me to experince a slight feeling of heaven.
Posted by: Atiba Nkrumah | October 26, 2007 3:03 PM
Jim,
As someone who grew up with the likes of Ted Williams and Frank Malzone, and went to high school in southeastern Massachusetts, whose mom taught in the same town for more than 40+ years, and whose dad started the little league in 1950, the year I was born,.......the Red Sox are surely part of my inner and also visionary sense of heaven. Of course holy writ says and I believe, we will have just as many NY Yankees in the 'park' as Boston Red Sox!
Shalom my friend,
Mike Beynon
Harrisburg, PA
Posted by: Mike Beynon | October 26, 2007 3:18 PM
Jim,
Kudos to you in writing, with a voice, this heartfelt father-son essay set at Fenway Park, WS Game 1, 2007. In so many ways, in the USA, major league baseball is common ground in family, friend and colleague relationships. I remember when things were strained between my Dad and me during my teenage and college years, we could always get into a conversation when bringing up a baseball game, a player performance, rumor or actuality of a trade, etc.
Further, baseball has both mirrored, and led, American society...the overt bigotry; racial integration; labor strife; freedom and liberty (free agency, thanks to the courage of Curt Flood); unfairness and cheating (Black Sox scandal and steroid lies and use); spiritually healing, e.g. after 9-11-2001; etc.
So, baseball has been, and is today, special. It's just a shame that most, regular folk Dads-and-family cannot AFFORD, at the inflated prices, to go to a World Series game. And then, also, there were the 10:10 pm EDT televised starts in the LCS for kids (and their Moms and Dads) who are Phillies fans...how do you get the current youth generation to care about playing, or watching as a fan, baseball if MLB treats them this way? Seems to me like a "goose-golden egg" thing, doncha think?
Posted by: Jack West Chester, PA | October 26, 2007 4:18 PM
Great story Jim, but it was almost as much fun reading the reader responses. It brought back a lot of great memories of my daughter and me at Dodger games. She's 25 now and we watched game 2 together last night. Keep up the good work on and off the field. You are our point man...Jack Walker
Posted by: Jack Walker | October 26, 2007 4:18 PM
Your comments about seeing your first major league game reminded me of my first. It,also, was at old Briggs Stadium in Detroit. It was a bright, sunny afternoon (they still played in the afternoon then). Everything was green except the spotless white bases. Beautiful scene etched in my memory.
Posted by: Jim | October 26, 2007 5:00 PM
It is amazing this world our God has created for all of us, each of us, isn't it. Up until just a few short years ago my wife and I and our family sratched week to week, month to month to meet the food, housing, issues for our family. Through years of sacrifice and trust in the future vocations God was calling each of us to, all that has changed. We give away more than we ever took in for almost half of our married lives now. It simply all changed. What does this have to do with Baseball Jim? Life can be just filled with surprises in the valley and on the tops of mountains. In the stadium and in a shelter. I guess what concerns me as a sensitive and caring Jesus follower is that we have become so critical with each other and the world we live in we find it almost impossible to enjoy those moments at Fenway or anywhere else. We are almost unable to celebrate or recognize just the sheer goodness of life. A gift of grace. We, the people of God, have just become so jaded. That indeed saddens me. Yeah, sports most of the time.
Posted by: Michael T. | October 26, 2007 5:10 PM
How very refreshing
Posted by: Germaine Peiffer | October 26, 2007 5:53 PM
Great article Jim, I wish you had mentioned Jacoby Elsbury, the newest Red Sox. The whole state of Oregon (almost) is pulling for the Sox with Elsbury living out a dream.
Posted by: Sunriverat | October 26, 2007 8:48 PM
I missed your debate with Richard Land, but I saw the great story on NOW on PBS last night about Global Warming. A group of evangelicals and scientists went to Alaska together, to observe, and have a dialogue. It was heart warming to see them experience it's effect on the land and the people, and to come together. However, one of the participants made a statement that shocked me. She said she couldn't trust scientists because "scientists deny God!" Some of the most committed Christians I know are scientists. Maybe Darwin denied God, but evolution does not preclude God. God created evolution! Will someone please make a bumper sticker that says that, so I can put it on my car?
Posted by: Elizabeth Sheppard | October 27, 2007 9:20 PM
I always cherished such times with my boys too. However, if Heaven is only as good as the world series, there is little point to desire to go there.
The experience of spending eternity with God is all that can compare to Heaven. And, I for one cannot fathom how great that will be but, I am certain it will far exceed baseball.
Posted by: S. W. | October 28, 2007 2:33 AM
First, to the nay-sayers. It is well documented in Scripture that Jesus occasionally enjoyed a good party, that he hung out with sinners and opened himself to much criticism with his "unacceptable" behavior in the face of the Roman occupation. In fact, was it not his failure to spend his time fighting the occupiers that caused many potential followers to turn against him? So, get off Jim's back for enjoying something special with his son, despite the state of the world and the state of major league baseball itself! He deserves a break, and you need to get a life.
Now, for you, Jim. Thank you for a wonderful article that made me smile. I was raised on baseball, in northern Illinois, where I could go two hours or so in most any direction and find real major league baseball. Then I moved to Colorado, and the minors were all that was available. I will never forget the day in the spring of 1995 when I stood in the bleachers at Coors Field, looking out to the manicured field, and already hearing the cheers of the faithful. As the tears of joy rolled down my face, I was sure that God lived there. In fact, I still am. So I would ask just one favor: couldn't we win at least one game???
Posted by: Karen | October 28, 2007 6:11 PM
Would Jesus drink Coors?
Posted by: canucklehead | October 28, 2007 7:27 PM
Well said, Karen. And Canucklehead, Jesus would drink Budweiser - it is the "King" of beers, you know.
Posted by: Cads | October 28, 2007 10:13 PM
Nice piece of literature and tug of nostalgia. I do not think anyone of us ever doubted that Jim is a regular guy. However, the World Series is not what it used to be: the games are exploited by television and its sponsors and the start times are way too late. Click below for more on this:
http://inlandechoes.blogspot.com/2007/10/world-series-snoozer.html
Posted by: Ken Aven | October 29, 2007 1:05 AM
Would Jesus cry in his Coors?
Posted by: canucklehead | October 29, 2007 1:07 AM
Not really into baseball. Live in a college town and more into football and basketball - GO DUCKS!!!
But loved the article. Brought a great big grin to my face. Sometimes it's not just the place you are and what you're doing - but it's the great times and memories you are creating with the people you are with.
That was a heartwarmer.
Posted by: Amazon Creek | October 29, 2007 5:51 AM
Can't be heaven. Designated hitters are NOT of God!
Posted by: Tony | October 30, 2007 1:06 PM
After listening to baseball games weekend after weekend sitting on my grandfather's lap on the screened-in back porch, I remember my sparkling excitement holding my grandfather's hand and walking into Tiger Stadium for the first time in 1950. I was five years old and your right, the grass was emerald green. The breeze was perfect and the sun was on our faces. We ate hot dogs and cheered for the home team. I don't have any memory of who was playing. But I remember being completely happy with my Pop! Your right, it must be what heaven is like!
Bless you for the love you share!
Ginny Johnson
Posted by: Ginny Johnson | October 30, 2007 1:18 PM
Jim, there truly is something special about baseball. My son, who is now 24, and I went to the first game of last year’s series in Detroit and had the time of our life, even thought our beloved Tigers lost. There really isn’t anything to compare with coming out and taking a first look at the playing field all groomed to perfection.
Growing up in Detroit (Western High School Class of ’65) we got to see our share of ballgames. My grandfather’s barbershop was just a couple of blocks away from Briggs Stadium and my uncle, who later went on to play in the White Sox system, used to shine the spikes of the Tiger greats in the 30’s. So I guess you could say we had it in our blood. As a safety patrol boy we got to attend a game at the end of the school year. We sat in the bleachers screaming for a hit from our favorite players.
It was a thrill for me to take our son to his first game when he was just a little guy of six. He had his glove in his hand as we were walking from the parking lot and another fan asked him if he was going to catch a fly ball. He answered, “Yep, unless it comes straight at me, then my Dad’s gonna take it.” He wrote a paper for school about the experience when he was a couple years older. His recollection of the emerald green field was part of it.
Thanks for the memories and all you do.
Mark Manrique
Posted by: Mark Manrique | October 30, 2007 3:00 PM
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