I Don't Care If I Ever Get Back

So yesterday was opening day in baseball, and Mike asked if I wanted to go with him and his boy Chris. I did.

Baseball is my first sports love. I started playing at 7, in Little League, though I wanted to quit after the first day. I was told to go warm up a pitcher, and the ball bounced on home plate and came up, giving me my first black eye. I wasn't the toughest of kids, and to me it was a sign to quit. But I didn't -- and truly fell in love with baseball -- playing Little League, and making my high school's team as a serviceable first baseman.

When I was 8, I was solidly a fan, and our team, as Long Islanders, was the Mets. They were new, and they were bad, but lightning struck, and they won the Series in '69. It was a high point of my childhood -- I remember racing home on my bike from third grade to watch the end of the final Series game -- Cleon Jones caught the last out, hit by Davey Johnstone, who would later manage the Mets, and the Miracle was clinched.

When the Marlins started, in '93, Mike and I bought tickets to the very first game. My brother in law Dennis came, along with Mike's father Ed, my mentor as a lawyer. We sat in the upper deck of Joe Robbie Stadium, being part of sports history. The Marlins won, with knuckleballer Charlie Hough pitching. He was a local -- from Hialeah.

Ed passed years ago, and yesterday his grandson Chris took his place. That's the beauty of baseball -- the history. Americans all share tales of relatives and games with their teams.

For us -- there's another connection: D1 is the team dietitian. So of course I love to support any organization that pays her -- and they are a fine client.

I got to the stadium first, and parked across from an old building that had been rehabbed, and sported a giant rooster mural painted across the front. It was actually a beautiful job  -- the colors were magnificent, and I took a photo and sent it to my family -- the most Miami building I'd seen in a long while.

Chris got stuck in traffic, and so emailed the tix to Mike and me. We found our way to the Club Level, got some adult beverages, and found our seats, which were terrific. Chris made it just in time for the first pitch.

We three men caught up -- about our Canes, and Chris's budding legal career. It was a pitching duel until the Marlins made costly errors -- they gave up 4 runs. Although they hit 3 homers, they still lost.

But that's ok -- they're a young, rebuilding team. They've had a remarkable history -- two Series titles in their 26 year existence. Some teams have NEVER won.

I'll probably go to five more games over the season. The pace of baseball is terrific for socializing -- you can talk, leisurely, and always catch up with the action.

My drive home after the game was less than 30 minutes -- that's a nice plus, too.

So it was Play Ball, and a great way to start the season.