Little White Ball: An Heirloom at 70 (Part 2 of
3)
Back to Part 1
It Was Passed to a New Generation
My earliest recollection about baseball was around 1970, when I was 9. Though
my dad was not a sports fan, my mom
did manage to get him to take her to Dodger games. Unfortunately, he (as a
diabetic) had a heart attack at one of them.
My parents didn't take me to Dodger games when I was younger, but they brought back souvenirs,
such as caps and player photos. One of my earliest favorite players was Jeff Torborg,
who was a Dodger catcher at the time. At the time, I thought that catcher's
gear was cool, and I liked how catchers were involved in every pitch.
Our family would change in 1973 when my dad left my mom. Their divorce was
finalized the week before my bar mitzvah in 1975. Between my mom's bookkeeping
salary and child support, we didn't have a lot of money. But my mom found Dodger
games an affordable way to have family fun with my brother and me. In 1977 and 1978, when
went to about eight to ten Dodger home games each season.
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Dodger infield of the 1970s with (L–R) Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Davey
Lopes, and Steve Garvey (courtesy Los Angeles Dodgers)
The
late 1970s were a great time to be a Dodger fan. We had a All-Star infield with
Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, and Ron Cey. Our pitching staff had Don
Sutton and Tommy John. We also had a real hero in Rick Monday who saved an
American flag from being burned in a 1976 game.
The heart of the team was manager
Tommy Lasorda, who claimed he "bleeds Dodger blue." He would lead the Dodgers to
the World Series in 1977 and 1978 and would win in 1981 and 1988.
I had the opportunity to meet ones of the Dodgers. Catcher Steve Yeager was
signing autographs at a sports store in Sherman Oaks. I had my picture taken
with him. Steve is now the manager of the Long Beach Armada in the Golden
Baseball League, an independent minor league.
Although I loved watching baseball, I never played baseball that much. I was
born with a club foot that had to be surgically corrected up until I was 5. As a
result, my parents didn't have me play organized sports. I played baseball in Cub Scouts and school, and my mom got me a
bounce-back net that helped me with catching. I never had any coaching, and I
didn't have a dad around to teach me.
As an outlet for our desire to play the game, my brother and I made up our
own fantasy league – decades before rotisserie and online fantasy leagues became
popular. That experience helped my brother when he became a JV baseball coach in
high school in the early 1980s. It would be helpful for me when I managed my
son's Little League team decades later.
The late 1970s were mostly a happy time for our family, but the good times came to an
end with my mom's stroke in 1979. The last time she would go to Dodger Stadium
was in 1980, but her disability made it a difficult experience. She
continued to root for Dodgers until she died in 1992. Our family's interest in
baseball didn't die with her.
Continue with Part 3
References
Los Angeles Dodgers
Long Beach
Armada (Golden Baseball League) |
