A Modern Series

I had a dog in the fight because I hate the cheatin' Astros.

Baseball has become overexposed with games on everynight. Back in the old days, we got one game a week on teevee with ol Diz and Pee Wee. We couldn't wait for that game. Every pitch mattered, every at bat was important. Time was supended and that was fine for all of us.

My first series was in 1955 and featured names like Duke, Yogi, Mickey, Jackie, Big Newk, Peewee and Whitey. The games were in the afternoon. Walking home from school, I could hear the radios playing in the houses as we passed them. Everybody was tuned into the game. About every third or fourth house there would be someone on the porch relaying the score to we kids as we passed them. I had a regular short cut that got me home ten minutes sooner. The short cut was through a ball field and for all that time passing through the field, we didn't get a score. There were no homes after the short cut so I'd run to get to my house where the teevee was waiting. The Yankees and the Dodger. The Clippers and Da Bums.

Coming home during the 56 series was especially memorable because Don Larsen was in the midst of pitching a perfect game. Every house we passed had somebody on the porch and we'd ask "has he still got it goin'?"

"Yup he's still got it going."

Run to and through the shortcut, down Merchants Road, past the White Church and then racing to 736 Parsells. 

"Has he still got it goin'"

"Yup, it's the top of the ninth."

Larsen delivered his 99th pitch. Dale Mitchell the batter thought it was a ball and checked his swing. Behind the plate calling balls and strikes was Babe Pinella, who was umping his last game. This pitch might be the last pitch he would ever call in his illustrious career. He knew exactly how to end things.

"Steerike Three", he called.

Mitchell turned to protest but by this time Yogi was running towards the mound where he leaped into the arms of Don Larsen.

A perfect game...27 men up, 27 men down.

I've followed every series since but lately, the game has seemed to take too long. I don't care for Joe Buck who always seems to be calling the games. The guy is everywhere and I can't stand listening to him.

Plus the games are now played at night which means I've got to stay up late...all of us do...if we're gonna watch the game in entirity.

The solution is simple. Record the game and watch it the next day. I'm retired now and I can make my own schedule. Still, even on the next day the game remains too long with way too much Buck. Another solution, watch the game in triple speed and slow it down after something happens and replay that whatever it was. There is no audio at triple speed and no commercials. It takes practice but after awhile if you pay attention to the balls and strikes and outs that are continually flashing before you, it becomes easy and I can watch the game in around 28-30 minutes.

The Braves had a three games to two lead in the series this year but the cheatin' Astros won game 5 which sent them back home to Houston. I taped Game 6 as usual and planned on watching it the next morning maybe at double speed since it might be the finale. 

When I went on Yahoo, the outcome of the game was plastered on my screen. This rarely happens and I'm good at avoiding those scores when they do pop up because I don't want to know as I'm reday to go upstairs and watch the tape.

The Braves won the Series which I'm glad about. I didn't bother watching the last game. Instead I began to think about how different the world is from 1955. All the taping and replaying and double speeding was as unimagibale back then as the Dodgers moving to L.A.