Original oil painting by: Grandfather’s wife
When Grandfather was 13 or so, playground baseball/softball — it just depended who showed up with what kind of ball and bat — began to invade his young life.
He remembers one of his novice catastrophes: a baseball went right over his glove and banged him on the nose. But he shagged fungos by the hour (look it up, whippersnappers) and increased his expertise as he grew and gained speed afoot.
About 18 or so, it was hard to get a batted softball, no matter how directed, to land in front of, to the side or beyond his glove.
Hitting prowess came later, as he joined this-or-that organized softball team, sometimes two at the same time.
His best year was 1960. He played left field (had been in center, but the rotator cuff in his throwing arm was painful junk by then, and the shorter throw to home plate from left field suited him better) and his US Patent Office softball team won the District of Columbia area-wide softball tournament. He batted .460 that year.
That part of his agglomerate life ended circa 1965, when he pulled a groin muscle while base running on a cold, damp spring day.
Now, 60 years later, the trophy is a metaphor: broken bat and corroding inscription …
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About the Author: RD Blakeslee is an octogenarian in West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.
Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee Family
Women’s college teams still play fast-pitch softball. Anybody else, anymore? It used to be that most churches fielded teams.
The women play a very good game – they are about the only team sport I watch on TV anymore, but the commentators on the mikes are pretty inane. So, I turn off the sound and appraise the play from my experience.
Hi Dave! I haven’t played since high school, and I was always a question mark when choosing sides. I could hit okay, generally a solid single into short right, but nobody wanted me in the field – anywhere.
See, I was a wimp, no doubt about it. They’d always put me in the outfield. I was okay digging out grounders, but when a fly was coming in my direction, I’d get lined up – and then pull my hand back so the ball would drop to the ground. I didn’t have a good glove and that ball could really hurt! (Told you I was a wimp.)
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Gee, You were reverse of ordinary. Old saying: “You can shake a dozen good gloves out of a tree but you won’t get one good hitter …”
Good to hear from you!
Thank you for all the stories, and words of wisdom you’ve posted through the columns. The smiles and laughs are great.
Girls fast pitch softball is still big around here. Some get college scholarships out of it.
Thank you, Bill!
With all the fatuous baloney going on in multi-millionaire- salaried professional sports, I find amateur softball to be a breath of fresh air.
Not to mention that it’s one of the several ways I enjoy “living in the past”, so to speak.