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.

Home Town Pride at the Little League World Series

I love this time of year. Shark Week and the X Games are over, the promise of football season awaits and the Little League World Series takes priority on our TV. Every summer I get pulled into stories of boys who love America's past time and the LLWS really does make it feel like our game once again.

So I was pretty thrilled to get to see my hometown, Bend, Oregon making it to the regional finals this past weekend. They made a great run putting away Bothell, Washington in the semis and facing a team from Billings, Montana in the final. Watching those kids and their families made me think back to the games I played in and watched growing up in Bend.

A lot has changed in Bend. It has grown in population from 20,000 when I moved away in 1992, to almost 80,000 today. But the little league fields at Juniper and Stover Park remain crisp in my memory. I watched my brothers on those fields after I decided baseball was too boring. I cheered them on just like the families from Bend cheered on their boys in the Northwest regional.

Bend lost the regional final to Billings and for the first time ever, Montana punched a ticket to Williamsport. But those kids from Bend having nothing to hang their heads about. They made this Bendite and many others extremely proud.

Oh, and there's another team who won't be traveling to Williamsport for the Little League World Series. If you have seen this ESPN story on the team from Uganda, it's worth a watch.

World Cup, Twitter and Racial Slurs

You might have watched the US Women's team play Japan in the Women's World Cup Final on Sunday like I did. It was a well-played match with the Japanese team winning after coming from behind twice to win in penalty kicks. I watched with family and although we were disappointed (we were pulling for the US team even though we are Japanese American) we got over the tough loss and were happy for the Japanese team.

from the Palos Verdes News volume XIV

Later that night I checked into twitter to find "Jap" trending. What? I clicked on top tweets and found many posts by people as horrified as I was. But when clicking on all tweets I read tweet after tweet using the derogatory term Japs. This was upsetting but not as upsetting as the tweets asking how the term Jap was offensive. So, here is a lesson for the kids (since many of the tweets were authored by youngsters) or others who don't know.

Jap was used as a pejorative during World War II. It was used interchangablely for the people of Japan who America was at war with, as well as Japanese-Americans (many of whom were removed from the west coast and interned or served in the armed forces). According to both the Oxford and Merriam-Webster dictionaries, it is considered a racial slur. It is not the equivalent of Brit or Aussie. Unless you intend to come off as a racist, do not use this slur.

This link is to a discussion of the twitter phenomenon and here is a link to the Densho: The Japanese American Internment where you can learn more about the treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Offense or Defense?

So, despite this Nike ad from a few years back...



I love defense and pitching. Home runs happen all the time but a great catch at the wall, a super-smooth double-play, a perfect game, a no-hitter, those keep me coming to the ballpark (particularly since Chipotle no longer gives two-for-one burritos for homers at Dodger Stadium).

I did marry a guy who once pitched a perfect game, but what do you prefer in baseball? Do you dig the long ball like Heather Locklear or is your favorite part of Baseball Tonight the Webgems?

Offense or defense? What say you?

Another Family's Hoop Dreams "Off the Rez"

I grew up playing basketball in Central Oregon, and I got my first lessons in Rez Ball early and often. Quick middle school guards from Madras ran circles around me and my team. In high school, the Pendleton forwards could handle every ball their guards passed to them. Hearing the NPR interview and then watching the documentary "Off the Rez" airing on TLC, the Schimmel family brought me back to those players and teams. I'm pretty sure my older siblings played against Shoni Schimmel's parents and the girl's got game. Following one family from the Umatilla Reservation, to Portland, and into the world of competitive girls basketball. Set your DVRs and move "Off the Rez" to your sports documentary watch list.

Maybe NOT Saying "Perfect Game" or "No Hitter" is the Jinx

Our wedding tables: names after ballparks.
photo by John Riedy Photography.

The Dodgers win at Shea.

D and I went on a baseball tour for our honeymoon in 2002. As we watched Dodgers pitcher Odalis Perez put away his 18th straight batter from the cheap seats at Shea, a guy explained to his date why Mets' fans were applauding Dodger put-outs saying, "He's pitching a no hitter." I looked at the guy, then looked at D and asked, "Uh, he's  perfect, right?" In the next inning Odalis walked a batter and then gave up a two-run home run.

D has forever held me responsible for ruining Odalis' perfect game, but recently, as we've watched pitchers go deep into flawless games only for them to give up perfection in the last few innings, I got to thinking. Maybe we have it backwards. Maybe these events are so rare because people don't call them as they see them. The tension from the crowd gets the pitcher all stressed out and it's lonely how no one talks to the guy in the dugout. Commentators somehow get to mention what's happening and ESPN covers possible history, so why can't we say it? Maybe fans should start saying "perfect" and "no hitter" and then they'll happen more.