OT: Fathers Day | The Boneyard

OT: Fathers Day

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Ozzie Nelson

RIP, Ozzie
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Happy Fathers Day to all here at The Boneyard...I know I post ths every year, but I get such joy from it, so please indulge me...


Ah...baseball and Father's day. The lineage stated with my dad, a truck driver who had little interest in sports, but was always up for a round of "catch". My turn came...God blessed me and my wife with two sons, and I knew what to do from there. Although we all enjoyed year long sport's rooting, and both boys played two sports, nothing matched the magic of spring hope and balls flying. My wife, born in Latvia, came late but well to the fan passions of the Summer Game. Ground ball practice, playing catch, fly balls in the sun, and the batting cage...ah, the batting cage...time well spent on our sons. We seemed to be at a ball game, cheering, watching, believing, every night, and it was a life we loved. My oldest, Jesse, was a speedy 6’ 2" right fielder with a good arm and a natural talent he used to track the angles and velocity of outfield play. He hit cleanup on his HS team, runner up state champs, because of his ability to hit with two strikes and drive in runs when they were especially needed. To this day he loves baseball, we talk about it every day, and he does not regret trading the game for academics. Many paths in life, he chose his own. Our youngest, Aaron, lost daily in every game to his older brother, and seemed to want more of it, not less. As I have said to many, our family motto is "swing away", and he did. He sprouted into 6' 5" outfielder/first baseman who loved the game with passion and commitment. Now to the Father's Day part.



Father's Day(1996) was June 17, a date which is seared in the consciousness of our family. Aaron was selected for the Connecticut All-Stars, the 15 best HS Seniors in the State, to compete against a similar squad from Massachusetts, scheduled for the aforementioned date. The game, to my and his incredible delight, was played in Fenway Park...his brother Jesse would take the subway over from Harvard where he was studying Fracture Mechanics and Applied Engineering. My wife and I arrived at the park early, and secured a front row seat between home and third(about 2000 attended... many scouts and college coaches, including the Coach who would teach him at Dartmouth for the next four years). As we watched him take warm-up in right field and first base, I had trouble focusing the memories...I wanted to hold them forever, but could feel the sands of time slipping through the fingers of my mind. My heart filled my throat as the game began, with his squad batting in the bottom of the first, no score. The pitcher for the Massachusetts team was a curve ball/fast ball type who eventually had a fine career at Boston College and the Minor Leagues. Aaron, batting third, followed two initial routine outs by understandably anxious young ballplayers.



Our heads work alike, and I knew he was nervous as he stood in and took his warm-up swings. The first pitch, a sharp curve ball, found him out in front, a mere wave at best. He stepped out and gathered him self...I could hear him think..."head down and quiet, hands ready but in motion, take the ball up the middle, see the spin, keep weight back, set, swing away if it's good and hit the crap out of it"...his mom grabbed my arm and I suppressed my breath. Another curve ball came, and this time he held his mechanics in check. The swing, like a flash, sent the ball high and arching towards left center. It kept rising, rainbow like, in eyes of my mind, as it is now as these words pour from my keyboard, and at its apogee seemed to settle like a feather into the net of heroes above the Green Monster. There was a audible gasp from the crowd, and then we all released adrenalin and joy into our bodies and hearts. We have a lifetime to celebrate...we do...Home Plate is so perfectly named when it’s on your side.



 
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Wow! Just to see a game at Fenway is a thrill. I can't imagine what it would be like to actually play there, let alone hit a home run, and have a video of it. Hit a homer over the green monster - how many people can say, "I've done that." Wow!
 

meyers7

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My dad was a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan. I've been one (though not near as big) since I was 5-6 years old. Probably since I was born but I don't really remember back that far. :confused:

They won the World Series in 2011 for him, the year he passed away. Unfortunately he died a week or so before they won. :( But pretty sure they did it for him. :D

So Happy Father's Day to my dad. Miss him.
 

pinotbear

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I spent many a Father's Day either coaching or watching daughter's playing/practicing fastpitch softball. I'll be on the field at 7 am tomorrow, doing it again. And, as is customary, the latter half of the afternoon will involve watching the US Men's Open golf tourney, grilling a good steak, and sampling an excellent red wine. Tough to beat good softball, great golf, good steak, and great red wine. And, frankly, that's my game plan for as long as I can keep coaching.
 

alexrgct

RIP, Alex
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There is nothing in my life that makes me as unequivocally happy as being a dad. It's an honor and a privilege. It shocks me when men ether take it for granted or eschew the role entirely. Not only do their children miss out, but the men miss out too on so many existential levels.

My kids are five and three now, old enough to start revealing glimpses of the people they're going to be. Neither will be anything like me on the face of it, and yet both will have so much of me poured into them that I'll see myself come out in many unexpected ways. That's one reward, of many, of being a dad.

I've always believed a father should enable his children to discover within the vastness of the world what it is that brings them joy, and to empower them with the fortitude to pursue those things like their lives depend on it...because they do. I hope my children never lose the capacity for joy they have as young children. But on this Father's Day, I'll just enjoy them being the little people they are without worrying about that too much.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads and grandfathers on the board. You fundamentally matter because you've embraced those roles.
 

CL82

2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champions
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I spent one Father's dad playing catch with my kids and my dad at Fenway. It was probably the first year Henry et al took over. Certainly less momentous, but no less enjoyable.
 
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Both my dad and I have been blessed with being natural athletes. We both played sports all through our childhoods and he played soccer and volleyball in high school. Unfortunately he's torn his acl in both knees a couple times each and now can't do much. He coached both my sister and I and taught me how to be not only a great player but to be an even greater person. Last year we went to the UConn Stanford game together and it was amazing!
uconn vs stanford.jpg
 

vtcwbuff

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"US Men's Open golf tourney, grilling a good steak, and sampling an excellent red wine."

We had a similar day except it was US Open, a game of cornhole, slow cooked ribs, and a 2002 Trefethen Cab that we didn't just sample. :)
 
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