"Beisball, has been berry, berry good to me." - G. Morris (SNL)

The games we play... another image in my head: I'm a kid, freckle-faced, sandy-haired, I'm in the backyard of my house, I'm throwing a rubber ball against a brick wall, I'm a pitcher on the mound, mowing down imaginary batters one by one. I've got my baseball glove, oiled and worn in, I'm throwing the ball as hard as I can, strengthening my arm, working on my control, finding the strike zone. The ball bounces back and I field the ball too. I'm locked into a perfectly complete loop; it's summer, no sound, except for the rubber bouncing against brick. I would do this for hours. Single-minded, determined, all alone. Not bored, not unhappy. Just present, in the moment.

It's been a long time since I've watched a baseball game...

I came across this quote this morning and I think it captures what I think is one of the key allures of the game: failure is built-in, but it is not the end: "Baseball, like life, is at heart a prolonged test, a journey requiring skill, luck, patience and the capacity to lose dozens of games and still emerge as a winner."

One of my childhood heroes: Ernie Banks, a player for the Chicago Cubs, he was always on a the losing end with a losing team. But, Ernie was not a loser, no, he was the smiling, happy, winner, the best player on a bad team, his motto - "Say hey, let's play two!"