Told You So...

KEMvP! KEMvP! KEMvP!

Not sure if you've noticed, but as long as I've been alive, no baseball player has won baseball's triple crown. It's actually rare for someone to even come close. So during a season when Dodger fans have had very little to cheer about, I just have to point out that I called it. Like Babe Ruth calling a shot I saw that Matt Kemp was different this season (here's a link to that blog post in case you don't believe me). He might end up falling a few points shy of the triple crown, but I've been stalking him all season and during innings when I was able to make eye-contact, I'm pretty sure he hit over .500. If any other MLB players would like to book my stalking services for next year, please leave a comment including stats and your off-season training plans.

Going Back After 9/11

D and I joke that we belong to the church of baseball, but in September of 2001 baseball, like the rest of the sporting world, came to stunned halt. The attacks on 9/11 left so many of us shocked and scared and in the need of healing. So when baseball started up again, D and I made our way to Dodger Stadium.

From the stands above the field on that cool fall night, we watched the familiar palm trees sway in the outfield. We looked out on the sage hills of Chavez Ravine as the sky glowed like stained glass. Vin Scully’s voice cracked and echoed into the stadium and a hush spread across the crowd.  That steady, familiar voice calmed me as Vin's put the week's event in perspective.

Then, LA firefighters and police officers joined Dodger and Padre players unfurling a flag across the length of the outfield. We took a moment of silence and in that quiet, a quiet like none I’ve ever heard in Los Angeles, void of helicopters or planes in the distance, words, whistles or coughs, I saw how our country, our world, could come together again.  Among the crowd of 42,000 under empty LA skies, the ruffle of the American flag served as the backdrop to all the images of the past week and that night, I looked down through the twilight and thanked God for baseball.