June 2020

​We miss baseball!  My husband Gary and I are lifelong baseball fans. There may be no crying in baseball, but there is crying when you don’t have your favorite sport. We always attend spring training in Goodyear, and when it was suddenly cancelled, we were at a loss. Since the regular season has yet to begin, we decided to watch our favorite baseball movies to fill the void.
 
Here are a few suggestions for baseball movies available from the Library. Gary is a student of the game, so he provided the content. I hope you enjoy Gary’s narrative with titles of baseball movies. How many baseball films can you find?  To challenge you, I intentionally omitted capitalization and punctuation of movie titles. The answer appears in the last paragraph of this article.
 
A virus has robbed me of the game of my youth. I have to close my eyes and force myself to see my field of dreams. From the bad news bears stumbling around the sandlot to the minor leagues of bull durham, all the way to the major league, baseball players are in a league of their own.
 
I conjure up images of the show. In Cleveland, they bang the drum slowly in homage to America’s greatest pastime. I so miss the numbers of moneyball, from eight men out to 61 to 42 and mr. 3,000. I miss those damn yankees, and I still  cry during the pride of the yankees. The rookie had his moment, and the natural could knock the lights out of the park with one swing of the bat.
 
Last fall we took a tour of Fenway Park.  It was not a game day, so the Green Monster stood lonely without fans, as if a harbinger of our future. We also visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, where we honored the presence of the babe, cobb, and mr. baseball.  None of the greats had much trouble with the curve.
 
We eagerly await next year because we know it happens every spring. The scout will advise us of the next million dollar arm; then, we will truly believe in the angels in the outfield.  I close my eyes and whisper, “For the love of the game. For the love of the game. For the love of the game.”
 
All films mentioned above are available in DVD format from the Yavapai Library Network, with the exception of “It Happens Every Spring.”  This 1949 comedy starring Ray Milland is available through interlibrary loan.  There is a $3.00 fee if an ILL comes from a library outside Arizona. If you need assistance placing a hold, please contact the Library.
 
We may not be able to take you out to the ball game, so buy your peanuts and Cracker Jack, sit back, relax, and enjoy a movie about America’s favorite pastime.  It’s not like being at the ballpark, but it’s better than no baseball.  By the way, there are 25 different baseball films mentioned in this article. Play ball!