Nick,

My husband played in the minors for the Texas Rangers in the 80's. He was a short stop.He played six seasons.

He said he remembers as a kid wanting to play baseball every minute of the day, he still does, but his body only allows so much. He now plays over 40 league baseball.

He has coached our boys, but it doesn't give him the thrill that playing does. I understand what it means to want something that bad, so I stood by him and cheered him on. He says he will play ball until he can't stand anymore.

I hope someday we can travel to see some major league games-he would love it.

Right now we enjoy going to the College World Series games and watching the boys to see who goes further than college ball.

Welcome, Cathy

How high up in the system did he get? Did he play with anyone who made it to the Big Time?

I was never good enough to advance beyond Little League (I was a very thin kid -- true). But through high school, we used to love to play ball on the weekends at the neighborhood school. We'd get 20-30 kids and have marathon sessions. It's not the same as playing pro ball.

But I did get to do the next best thing. I got to broadcast baseball games (in college), which gave me a real appreciation how tough it is to do, let alone do well.

My first pro game was 1956. Yankees - Red Sox in the old Yankee Stadium. Those monuments were in play back then. The Yankees won the game 1-0 on a Hank Bauer inside-the-park home run. He hit a ball behind the monuments and it played ping pong back there while Hank rounded the bases. You just don't forget stuff like that.

Nick,

AAA ball, OKC. He played with Mike Stanley, Dwayne Henry, Kenny Rogers, and a few others. It's really neat to think we knew these guys when they were just starting out.

You were a radio announcer for college ball? Impressive, not my thing, there would be too many uuuhh's and dead time if it were my job.

Someday we will get to a big time game. What a sport.

Great discussion, Nick.

I love the game. I played as a kid through high school. I had a weak arm and an average glove in left field. But I was a good hitter and base runner. Somehow I figured out how to hit a curve ball . . .

Anyway, I'm just a fan and a dad to throw the ball around with today. I grew up watching the Philadelphia Phillies and worshiping Willie Mays. I attended games in old Connie Mack stadium (shook Mays's hand once). Saw the Phils lose countless games, and saw them blow the pennant in 1964 (a big shot in the solar plexes for an 11-year-old). When they won the Series in 1980 (only time in more than a century), I was in disbelief for days.

Now I am an SF Giants fan (and I see Mays around the park frequently). Though I was roundly entertained by Bary Bonds, I am thrilled that he has moved on (perhaps to the penitentiary?). We have a fun team again, if not quite a winning one.

All those cliches about baseball being a metaphor for life and a prism through which American history can be understood are at least partly true. I don't think I'll ever grow tired of talking about the game.

I'll tell you what. Announcing on the radio is tough. (TV is a little easier because you can let the picture tell the story -- something many announcers today don't do). If you really want to cringe, get a tape recorder and try to talk for five minutes consecutively, trying to be as coherent as possible. It is hard! (I won't tell it here but my introduction to announcing was a hockey game from hell)

Once you try it and actually listen, you'll have an appreciation of exactly how good these guys are. My favorite is Vin Scully (who is on the brink of retirement)

If it makes you and your husband feel better, I would much rather have played. AAA is pretty good. Gotta be frustrating though; so near yet so far. Still, I'llove to have been good enough.

I was in Philly in the late 60's. I got used to hearing Philly fans cry.

I will always remember the Phillies, though, because it was my first exposure to Bill James. The 1983 series (vs the Orioles) was covered (by ABC?) and, prior to Game 1, they had Bill James on for a brief interview. All he discussed, briefly, was the ballpark effects and how Memorial Stadium was a pitcher friendly park, due to the large foul area by the dugouts and behind home plate while the Vet was hitter-friendly for exactly the opposite reason. This was a total eye-opener for me; it was something I kind of knew but never really thought about. The next year, I bought a Baseball Abstract and I was hooked.

When I was a kid, they used to give the kids with straight A report cards free tickets to see the Astros. That was such a treat, because they were held in the Astrodome.

Today they give away a BicMac and fries. There's something ironic there.