So much sandlot. I feel lucky to have grown up in two subdivisions within walking distance of an elementary school and surrounded by kids whose moms wanted them out of the house as much as mine wanted my sister and I out of ours. Depending on the yard or park, we'd play versions of baseball with anywhere from 4 to 30 people, toddlers to teens, boys and girls. All-time pitchers. New pitchers every inning. We'd use baseballs, tennis balls, wiffleballs, racquetballs, superballs or balled-up socks. Bats could be - well - bats, but also tennis rackets, wrong end of a golf club, broomstick, stick stick or your own hand. Local rules varied from yard to yard on the same street and many a fight broke out over what's foul at your house vs my house vs his house vs the school yard. But if we were knocking around a couple doors down playing ball - with 20 other kids around to snitch if things got sideways - how much trouble could we really get in? I miss that for kids today. The graphics on their gaming systems are so much better than anything we had and they require a set of dexterous skills I never had - and diminished from there - but they require zero imagination. That's what the sandlot - if not The Sandlot - meant to me. Imagination. Flapping the arm like Joe Morgan. Flopping head first like Pete. Spitting like Johnny (even if it was licorice instead of chaw).
We sneaked onto the wide lawn of the local cemetery. As a girl they let me bat (I was a lefty and could kill it) but couldn't catch a cold! The first designated hitter! I knew I would love your post when I saw the smalls shirt. Still can make me cry with the nostalgia of it! Btw yesterdays question...Phil collins "in the air tonight!" That beginning..rolling off the hills for the start of the EB N fireworks and that drum riff!! Thanks for the memories Doc.
I was born in 71. We played every single day in the summers. Sometimes we used a tennis ball, sometimes we used black electric tape on a whiffle ball (and whiffle ball bat), and sometimes when we could actually afford to buy a real baseball, that wasn't a cheap knockoff, we'd use that. Great times, it's so sad kids these days are missing out on that experience.
Doc, I know I comment on nearly everything you write but…here’s another one.
Yes, ROBBIE ROBERTSON is gone at 80. The icons, or at least, my icons, seem to be dropping like flies and I find it very sad. THE BAND was arguably my favorite “American” band, even though I’m not sure they WERE all from this side of Canada. They were just damn good, their songs well written and well performed. Also, yes, in my mind, THE LAST WALTZ is the epitome of rock movies. I’ve watched it many times over. I can never get enough of LEVON HELM’s voice when he sings those leads. Very sad.
THE SANDLOT…No, kids just don’t go to the sandlot anymore. However, I did. I was 12 going on 13 the summer of 62 and like Scotty Smalls, I was a little behind in learning the intricacies of baseball. And, yep, my dad, who worked long hours, found time to teach me to throw, catch and all that. BUT, it was my buddies at the Police Station field in Germantown, Ohio who really picked me up and carried me. It was literally an everyday in the Summer thing. The rules were easy. If you hit the ball on to Warren Street, it was a homer but if said ball traveled into Mrs. Aarp’s backyard, well, that was an out because both Mrs. Aarp and her dogs were not letting you retrieve that ball. It was a great time and none of went home until we heard the St.John’s Church bells ring 5:15 pm because back in those days EVERYBODY seemed to eat supper at 5:30. So, when we heard that bell, off we went, on home. It is truly a time, long gone.
PHIL MICHELSON…I’ve been a fan of “Lefty” for a long time. Since, I, too, am a left handed golfer, I’ve watched him closely and have even tried to emulate some of his crazy shots…to little or no avail, I should add. Hearing his quotes about LIV, then the stories of his gambling, and now this latest story about him trying to bet on the Ryder Cup…WHEN HE WAS FREAKING PLAYING IN IT YET…I’m disappointed. COME ON, PHIL!
Aug 10, 2023·edited Aug 10, 2023Liked by Paul Daugherty
I love baseball movies and I like Sandlot, but only wax nostalgic when watching Field of Dreams. That is my absolute fave in a slew of great baseball movies.
However, with each passing year, I do wax nostalgic about my '80s childhood. Some of it anyway...I can still hear my Dad bellowing down the street if we weren't home by the time the street lights came on. I can also see the haze of thick cigarette smoke that filled the bottom floor of our tri-level at golden hour as the sun started to set and the rays caught the window just right. I do love sunsets, but I don't miss the haze.
The Reds have lost "IT." It will be interesting if "IT" shows up again down the stretch. We'll see...
Reds took a pass on Michael Lorenzen. He throws a no-hitter. Maybe Castellini and Krall should watch The Sandlot every time they choose to trade or upgrade.
Sandlots ... for me it was the ball fields in Covington and Kenton County in the mid/late 60’s when knothole baseball was in its heyday. I was a catcher that ultimately got the opportunity to be part of 16 U Mickey Mantle Muni Team that won a national title in Danville, VA. The following year I won a spot on the very first Midland (Connie Mack) team. While that was the peak for me, it was a thrill to see 7 teammates get selected in the MLB draft. Yes, dreams begin and sometimes grow on those Sandlots!
Aug 10, 2023·edited Aug 10, 2023Liked by Paul Daugherty
Beautiful song I'd never heard. Too sad for me. Loved the Smalls. I've got to see that movie. Those were my happiest times playing baseball in our orchard as a kid. Then I got a horse and those were my times. Nice blog...hope your meeting went well last night.
Truly disappointed in Phil. He was my fav for years. I think the 2 Bil$$$$$$$ Kushner got from the Saudi King was an arrangement DT made with the King. I'm sure this isn't the last sport they will try to ruin. I'm sad about lost traditions....
The Sandlot is, for me, top 3 all time best baseball movies (Bull Durham and Field of Dreams). Probably watched it on an annual basis for years. The Band speaks for itself. I wore out the CD of Robbie’s 1987 solo album in college. Somewhere Down the Crazy River was always one of those songs that just hit me a certain way. Great stuff Doc.
My suburban Cincinnati 1970s wildchildhood tracks w The Sandlot, accepting for the film sanding the edges off interpersonal conflict. Sometimes The Sandlot was a sun drenched, dusty ball diamond; sometimes the cement (not asphalt) of the neighborhood cul-de-sac that offered the benefit of approximating a diamond; sometimes an oddly shaped back yard in which we could set the rules of a “ghost third base” to allow the rest of the game to proceed. Always, the game faced adversity. Maybe it was a churlish elderly recluse who was (or was not) biding his time for the opportunity to “shoot you with rock salt” (again?) should the ball break the plane of his domicile. Or maybe it was the creeping forest of poison ivy poised to slobber all over you (this was REAL!). Or just getting the game concluded to everyone’s liking before curfew, or the inevitable lost ball or broken bat.
I know ten guys Phil Mickelson reminds me of, and each one is a bigger dbag than the next.
Aug 10, 2023·edited Aug 10, 2023Liked by Paul Daugherty
We all have a top ten musicians/bands list that prioritizes positions based on moods or recent offerings. I suggest a number of musicians are entrenched on our lists because we were introduced to them during our impressionable high school years.
Sometimes it is a nationally or internationally known mega-star created by the music industry hype machine. Other times it's musicians playing behind those big-name stars that creates a break for them to pursue their own projects. In my early high school years, I read the list of song writers & musician credits to expand my musical palette. Two special people on my top 10 list are: Emmy Lou Harris & Robbie Robertson. In my middle teen years, both artists were part of the Bob Dylan orbit. My ears were opened at Robbie Robertson's 1994 "Music For The Native Americans" and each of the follow up releases from Robbie. I especially appreciate that he partnered with so many established or up & coming artists.
My interest in who else is shaping the sound of those mega-stars got a big dose of connect the dots in the 2017 Documentary featuring Robbie Robertson "Rumble - The Indians Who Rocked The World. If you too enjoy connecting the dots - I say checkoutdismovie! The movie prompts the following trivia question:
Q: What instrumental song was censored/banned from radio play?
As a kid in the 80s, we didn't do the baseball thing, but we did gather at the homespun BMX bike track back in the woods. It was a similar deal-different kids, of different ages and abilities, but it was out own scene and our own crew. And the nausea of smokeless tobacco in a public place is something every boy in any age eventually experiences.
Fitting that Robertson passes on the same day as Jerry Garcia. Two musicians who countered such a tumultuous time (60s) in history by tethering us to a past that neither they (nor we) ever experienced in the flesh. Even if Robbie was putting Levon's life and tales into verse, he did it well. Busted out Dylan's Basement Tapes in memorial last night. Amazing and overlooked collection.
I had only heard The Band’s more popular songs, but never Out of the Blue. Thank you !!
Kickball worked well too
So much sandlot. I feel lucky to have grown up in two subdivisions within walking distance of an elementary school and surrounded by kids whose moms wanted them out of the house as much as mine wanted my sister and I out of ours. Depending on the yard or park, we'd play versions of baseball with anywhere from 4 to 30 people, toddlers to teens, boys and girls. All-time pitchers. New pitchers every inning. We'd use baseballs, tennis balls, wiffleballs, racquetballs, superballs or balled-up socks. Bats could be - well - bats, but also tennis rackets, wrong end of a golf club, broomstick, stick stick or your own hand. Local rules varied from yard to yard on the same street and many a fight broke out over what's foul at your house vs my house vs his house vs the school yard. But if we were knocking around a couple doors down playing ball - with 20 other kids around to snitch if things got sideways - how much trouble could we really get in? I miss that for kids today. The graphics on their gaming systems are so much better than anything we had and they require a set of dexterous skills I never had - and diminished from there - but they require zero imagination. That's what the sandlot - if not The Sandlot - meant to me. Imagination. Flapping the arm like Joe Morgan. Flopping head first like Pete. Spitting like Johnny (even if it was licorice instead of chaw).
We sneaked onto the wide lawn of the local cemetery. As a girl they let me bat (I was a lefty and could kill it) but couldn't catch a cold! The first designated hitter! I knew I would love your post when I saw the smalls shirt. Still can make me cry with the nostalgia of it! Btw yesterdays question...Phil collins "in the air tonight!" That beginning..rolling off the hills for the start of the EB N fireworks and that drum riff!! Thanks for the memories Doc.
I was born in 71. We played every single day in the summers. Sometimes we used a tennis ball, sometimes we used black electric tape on a whiffle ball (and whiffle ball bat), and sometimes when we could actually afford to buy a real baseball, that wasn't a cheap knockoff, we'd use that. Great times, it's so sad kids these days are missing out on that experience.
LOVE Sandlot... happy for Lorenzen...he couldn't have done it here because Bell would've pulled him after 90-100 pitches...
Doc, I know I comment on nearly everything you write but…here’s another one.
Yes, ROBBIE ROBERTSON is gone at 80. The icons, or at least, my icons, seem to be dropping like flies and I find it very sad. THE BAND was arguably my favorite “American” band, even though I’m not sure they WERE all from this side of Canada. They were just damn good, their songs well written and well performed. Also, yes, in my mind, THE LAST WALTZ is the epitome of rock movies. I’ve watched it many times over. I can never get enough of LEVON HELM’s voice when he sings those leads. Very sad.
THE SANDLOT…No, kids just don’t go to the sandlot anymore. However, I did. I was 12 going on 13 the summer of 62 and like Scotty Smalls, I was a little behind in learning the intricacies of baseball. And, yep, my dad, who worked long hours, found time to teach me to throw, catch and all that. BUT, it was my buddies at the Police Station field in Germantown, Ohio who really picked me up and carried me. It was literally an everyday in the Summer thing. The rules were easy. If you hit the ball on to Warren Street, it was a homer but if said ball traveled into Mrs. Aarp’s backyard, well, that was an out because both Mrs. Aarp and her dogs were not letting you retrieve that ball. It was a great time and none of went home until we heard the St.John’s Church bells ring 5:15 pm because back in those days EVERYBODY seemed to eat supper at 5:30. So, when we heard that bell, off we went, on home. It is truly a time, long gone.
PHIL MICHELSON…I’ve been a fan of “Lefty” for a long time. Since, I, too, am a left handed golfer, I’ve watched him closely and have even tried to emulate some of his crazy shots…to little or no avail, I should add. Hearing his quotes about LIV, then the stories of his gambling, and now this latest story about him trying to bet on the Ryder Cup…WHEN HE WAS FREAKING PLAYING IN IT YET…I’m disappointed. COME ON, PHIL!
I love baseball movies and I like Sandlot, but only wax nostalgic when watching Field of Dreams. That is my absolute fave in a slew of great baseball movies.
However, with each passing year, I do wax nostalgic about my '80s childhood. Some of it anyway...I can still hear my Dad bellowing down the street if we weren't home by the time the street lights came on. I can also see the haze of thick cigarette smoke that filled the bottom floor of our tri-level at golden hour as the sun started to set and the rays caught the window just right. I do love sunsets, but I don't miss the haze.
The Reds have lost "IT." It will be interesting if "IT" shows up again down the stretch. We'll see...
Reds took a pass on Michael Lorenzen. He throws a no-hitter. Maybe Castellini and Krall should watch The Sandlot every time they choose to trade or upgrade.
Sandlots ... for me it was the ball fields in Covington and Kenton County in the mid/late 60’s when knothole baseball was in its heyday. I was a catcher that ultimately got the opportunity to be part of 16 U Mickey Mantle Muni Team that won a national title in Danville, VA. The following year I won a spot on the very first Midland (Connie Mack) team. While that was the peak for me, it was a thrill to see 7 teammates get selected in the MLB draft. Yes, dreams begin and sometimes grow on those Sandlots!
Baseball gloves were made to be worn either on a hand or a handlebar.
Beautiful song I'd never heard. Too sad for me. Loved the Smalls. I've got to see that movie. Those were my happiest times playing baseball in our orchard as a kid. Then I got a horse and those were my times. Nice blog...hope your meeting went well last night.
Truly disappointed in Phil. He was my fav for years. I think the 2 Bil$$$$$$$ Kushner got from the Saudi King was an arrangement DT made with the King. I'm sure this isn't the last sport they will try to ruin. I'm sad about lost traditions....
The Sandlot is, for me, top 3 all time best baseball movies (Bull Durham and Field of Dreams). Probably watched it on an annual basis for years. The Band speaks for itself. I wore out the CD of Robbie’s 1987 solo album in college. Somewhere Down the Crazy River was always one of those songs that just hit me a certain way. Great stuff Doc.
My suburban Cincinnati 1970s wildchildhood tracks w The Sandlot, accepting for the film sanding the edges off interpersonal conflict. Sometimes The Sandlot was a sun drenched, dusty ball diamond; sometimes the cement (not asphalt) of the neighborhood cul-de-sac that offered the benefit of approximating a diamond; sometimes an oddly shaped back yard in which we could set the rules of a “ghost third base” to allow the rest of the game to proceed. Always, the game faced adversity. Maybe it was a churlish elderly recluse who was (or was not) biding his time for the opportunity to “shoot you with rock salt” (again?) should the ball break the plane of his domicile. Or maybe it was the creeping forest of poison ivy poised to slobber all over you (this was REAL!). Or just getting the game concluded to everyone’s liking before curfew, or the inevitable lost ball or broken bat.
I know ten guys Phil Mickelson reminds me of, and each one is a bigger dbag than the next.
We all have a top ten musicians/bands list that prioritizes positions based on moods or recent offerings. I suggest a number of musicians are entrenched on our lists because we were introduced to them during our impressionable high school years.
Sometimes it is a nationally or internationally known mega-star created by the music industry hype machine. Other times it's musicians playing behind those big-name stars that creates a break for them to pursue their own projects. In my early high school years, I read the list of song writers & musician credits to expand my musical palette. Two special people on my top 10 list are: Emmy Lou Harris & Robbie Robertson. In my middle teen years, both artists were part of the Bob Dylan orbit. My ears were opened at Robbie Robertson's 1994 "Music For The Native Americans" and each of the follow up releases from Robbie. I especially appreciate that he partnered with so many established or up & coming artists.
My interest in who else is shaping the sound of those mega-stars got a big dose of connect the dots in the 2017 Documentary featuring Robbie Robertson "Rumble - The Indians Who Rocked The World. If you too enjoy connecting the dots - I say checkoutdismovie! The movie prompts the following trivia question:
Q: What instrumental song was censored/banned from radio play?
A: Link Wray's "Rumble"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucTg6rZJCu4
As a kid in the 80s, we didn't do the baseball thing, but we did gather at the homespun BMX bike track back in the woods. It was a similar deal-different kids, of different ages and abilities, but it was out own scene and our own crew. And the nausea of smokeless tobacco in a public place is something every boy in any age eventually experiences.
Fitting that Robertson passes on the same day as Jerry Garcia. Two musicians who countered such a tumultuous time (60s) in history by tethering us to a past that neither they (nor we) ever experienced in the flesh. Even if Robbie was putting Levon's life and tales into verse, he did it well. Busted out Dylan's Basement Tapes in memorial last night. Amazing and overlooked collection.