I love baseball. My grandmother used to play baseball with my brother and me when I was 4 years old, and he was 2. We used tubes from paper towels as the bats and a small plastic ball. The chairs in the room were bases and a home run was over the couch. As we got a little older, we had a Wiffle ball and plastic Wiffle ball bat. We played in the backyard and any hit that went over Krauser’s roof was a home run and different locations in the yard were the bases. When we got older, I played softball in Hopelawn Little League, then in high school (my dad coached in both) and college and later in the Woodbridge Recreational League. 

I love to watch baseball, too. Those who know me know that I am a lifelong New York Met’s fan. I remember the Mets in the 1973 World Series (They lost to the Oakland A’s). I remember Willie Mays last days of his career playing on the Mets, crying when Tom Seaver was traded, and sticking by the Mets in the awful 70’s, cheering for them in 1986 when they won the World Series, and later in the early 2000’s into the 2010’s and now. I remember my first game at Shea Stadium (Mets vs. Houston Astros. The Met’s lost). I even remember Kiner’s Korner and the guests after the game.

Back in the 1970’s, the games started at 8 p.m. and Monday nights were only on the radio. I used to listen to them on my Fred Flintstone radio. I still have it somewhere.

I’ve seen the Phillies at Veteran’s Park and eventually Citizen’s Bank Park (I love the liberty bell sound). My aunt took me to see the old Yankee Stadium before they knocked it down and built a new one. She also took me to Baltimore to Camden Yards (a beautiful park). And I’ve been to both Shea Stadium and Citi Field many times. I’ve seen many greats of the game play. 

I’ve been to the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore. I’ve also been to Cooperstown to the Hall of Fame. There are many displays to all the greats. When the All-Star Game was in Yankee Stadium in 2008, my aunt and I went to New York to see the parade of all-stars. It was like a living Cooperstown.

As a child, I met Rusty Staub. As a member of the Amboy Guardian, I had the opportunity to meet Dwight Gooden and Carlos Beltran. 

When I heard on the radio that David Wright was retiring and his last game was sold out in 7 hours, I was disappointed I couldn’t go. But I would win 2 tickets on WOR radio. I’m certain my late grandmother had something to do with that. Carolyn and I went. The game went 14 innings, the Mets won, and David Wright retired. We saw the fireworks from the Long Island Railroad platform. 

I watch baseball at the end of my day. It relaxes me. Every day I learn something new about the game, whether it be about sabermetrics, fundamentals, or the business end of the sport.

Last Thursday was the “Field of Dreams” game in Iowa where the 1989 film was filmed (in an adjacent field because of the proper measurement requirements of the field). First, actor Kevin Costner came out from the cornfield stating, “This is Perfect,” and the players from both the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees wearing retro uniforms walked through the cornfield onto the field. It was like magic.

The Field of Dreams Baseball Game was the most watched baseball regular season game in 16 years. It was the first MLB game played in Iowa. Tickets were only available to Iowa residents.

I had never seen the movie, “Field of Dreams,” so I watched it OnDemand on Friday. The movie is based on the 1982 novel, Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella. When the movie was over, I was almost in tears. The movie shows Kevin Costner’s character, Ray Kinsella who owns a farm in Dyersville, Iowa. He hears a mysterious voice that tells him, “If you build it, he will come.” So, with the support of his wife, Annie (Amy Magidan), and young daughter Karin (Gaby Hoffmann), Ray builds a baseball field in the middle of his farm. In order to build the field, he destroyed a large amount of his crops which was the family’s livelihood and the bulk of their income. Despite this and pressure from his brother-in-law, Ray builds his field. 

Then, the ghost of Baseball Great Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) appears to him. Shoeless Joe was accused of being involved in the Chicago Black Sox scandal where eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange or money from a gambling syndicate. Many people felt that Shoeless Joe Jackson had nothing to do with the scandal. The famous saying, “Say it ain’t so, Joe,” comes from this. Babe Ruth modeled his swing after Shoeless Joe Jackson because he felt that Shoeless Joe was the greatest hitter he ever saw.

Then the ghosts of many baseball players including the 1919 Chicago White Sox come to the field to play. At first, only Ray, his wife, and young daughter see them. Ray teaches Karin all about baseball as the family watch the ghosts play. Then after seeing a vision one night (Ray finds out that his wife Annie had the same vision). So, with his wife’s blessing, Ray goes on a quest all the way to Boston to find (fictional) author Terance Mann (James Earl Jones) and Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham (Burt Lancaster) a baseball player who only played one inning of baseball in the majors but quit baseball to become a doctor.

During the trip, Kinsella tells Mann about how his father loved baseball, but at age 14 he refused to play catch with his father because he felt alienated by him. It was something he forever regretted. 

When they come back home, they watched the ghosts play baseball on the field. Ray then realizes the real reason he built the field was to play one last game of catch with his father. It was a second chance to show him that he loved him. It’s definitely worth a download. During the interview with former Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, he stated, “The movie comes down to a son playing catch with his father. How Americana is that?”

My mom and aunt grew up Yankee’s fans. They had the Junior Yankee Club with their friends and played baseball in the street together. My aunt is still a Yankee’s fan and listens to the FAN daily. My mom converted to being a Mets fan. Both know their baseball.

As most of you know, I lost my dad in March 2020. He grew up a Brooklyn Dodger fan, and later a Met fan. He always watched the Mets as religiously as I do. He would get mad when they were losing and cheer when they were winning. 

Watching the Field of Dreams Game on Thursday, I thought of my dad and how he loved baseball. It reminded me of how we played catch or pepper or riding in the back of his blue pickup truck with the team (the Blue Koalas) in the late ‘70’s early ‘80’s after softball practice or the league games. 

So, cherish those good times because those days will never come back. Take time to play or watch a movie with your family. Enjoy those moments in your field of dreams. Katherine M.