Archives

Perfection

Jun14

I just finished watching a replay of a perfect game thrown by Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants. A perfect game is an amazing thing to watch, and I’ve been blessed to be able to watch two of them in the last couple of years: one by Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics, and this one by Matt Cain. I didn’t know Braden’s was going to happen until it did, because I was watching it live. But I knew Cain’s was going to happen before it did. The atmosphere and the excitement was still there, though. When the fielders step it up just a little bit more to get those difficult outs; when the crowd never sits down for the other team’s half inning; when shots of the pitcher’s family show their extreme anticipation. There’s nothing like it.

It’s even more fun to watch it happen when it’s a team you root for anyway. The A’s are my favorite, but the Giants are a close second.

So why do we all appreciate perfection? Probably because we’re so far from it ourselves. I know for myself, I can’t think of a time when I’ve done anything perfectly. I don’t consider myself a perfectionist, so it doesn’t pain me when I don’t reach it. I have heard that quilters will purposely add a flaw to their work to signify that only God is perfect. I like that. Perfectionism can cause all kinds of problems for people obsessed with it. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do things well, but when we have to be perfect, we limit ourselves.

Some perfectionists take an amazingly long amount of time to make decisions, because they want to make the perfect decision.

Some perfectionists won’t try to do something because they only want to do what they can do perfectly.

Some perfectionists demand perfection from those around them, and thus they are mostly disappointed.

I like this verse: “He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He (Deut. 32:4).”

Indeed, only God is perfect.

But Matt Cain was a pretty amazing pitcher last night.

Thankful today for:

369. MLB.tv

370. anticipation

371. desire fulfilled

372. our avocado tree finally bearing fruit–and lots of it!

373. new trash cans 🙂

374. the perfection we will finally achieve in heaven

It’s Baseball Season (And Why I Love it So)

Mar8

I have plastic Oakland Athletics cups that I’ve had since before I got married 21 years ago. 

Does that say anything about how obses–I mean loyal I am to my team? I grew up in Oakland, Calif., and much of my youth was spent at the ball park or listening to games on the radio. Televised games were still a thing of the future. I have autographs from the glory days of the A’s of the 70s, and can still remember attending the celebration parades in downtown Oakland after a World Series win.

I even got to go to game 1 of the 1988 series between the A’s and the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. You know, the one where Kirk Gibson, gimpy as he was, came in against Dennis Eckersley in the bottom of the 9th. A’s fans thought we had it in the bag. Well, what did Gibson do? Hit one out of the park, over the right field wall if I remember correctly. I’ve never heard a place erupt as loudly as that stadium that day.

And I still have a VHS tape of the Earthquake game, in the 1989 series between the A’s and the Giants. What a sight that was.

Ah, those were the days.

My team hasn’t made the playoffs in a while, but that doesn’t dim my love for them. Players have come and gone, and I’ve been sad to see them go, but I usually end up loving the ones who replace them. What I’ve been asked by my kids, who have not inherited my love, is why I like it so much.

I actually have no idea, but here’s my attempt to figure it out:

There’s strategy and strength

I loved to watch Ricky Henderson steal bases. Now Jemile Weeks and Coco Crisp are filling that need. But I also love the beauty of a blast over the wall. The sheer strength it takes to hit a ball that far is completely beyond me, but Reggie Jackson, Frank Thomas–for the season we had him–and even the bash brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGuire, brought awe to the ballfield. Ever see a suicide squeeze in real life? You feel like your heart is going to burst right out of your chest.

It’s slow-paced, like summer

Some people would say it’s boring. I like the leisurely pace that allows conversation. Most baseball fans can talk about statistics and players with the best of them. I’m not for numbers, I just love the beauty of the game. With the advent of lights, baseball lost some of it’s summer-like qualities and became more of a money maker, it seems to me. Living on the east coast as a west-coast fan has been hard when the vast majority of games are at night. A reasonable 7:00 game on the west coast means 10:00 here for me. So I subscribe to MLB.TV and watch the archived game the next day, reliving my youth as it’s hot outside and I’m listening to the calls of “hot dogs! Get yer hot dogs here!”

There’s nothing like the intensity of two out in the bottom of the ninth, tie game, runners at the corners

OK, I admit it, when I’m watching a pre-recorded game I have been known to take a peak at the box score when the game is getting close to the end and the outcome is up in the air. I’ve got heart issues, remember? The hand-squeezing, heart-pumping thrill of batter against pitcher can be so intense, I’ve nearly had palpitations!

A baseball park is like nowhere else on earth

Whoever wrote the words to the 7th-inning-stretch classic, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was a true fan. “Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks. I don’t care if I ever get back.” Nowadays the fare is much fancier than just peanuts and Cracker Jacks. There’s nothing like a ballpark hotdog, cheesy fries, nachos. Whatever. It’s better at the ballpark. More expensive, too, but that’s another story. The sun, the smells, the hecklers: there’s nothing like it.

I don’t live anywhere near a ballpark anymore, and I miss it. On my bucket list is to visit every major league ballpark in one season. Don’t know if it will ever happen, but I’m hoping.

It’s spring. Baseball is in the air. Anyone want to go play some catch?

Thankful today for:

90. baseball

91. spring

92. mlb.tv

Getting my feet wet

Oct9

I’m totally new to this whole blogging thing, so we’ll see how it goes. I thought it might be a good way to get me actually thinking more instead of just doing. Right now, I’m thinking about baseball. I’ve been a baseball fan for as long as I can remember. Having grown up in the San Francisco Bay Area, my team has been the Oakland A’s, with the San Francisco Giants a distant second. With neither of them in the post season this year, I’m rooting for my sister’s state’s team, the Colorado Rockies. They tied up their series with a win today. I’m the baseball-aholic in my family. David tolerates it, at best, but he can’t pry me away most of the time.

I love the drama. Like now: Cardinals and Dodgers, two out, bottom of the 9th, tying run on second base, winning run at the plate. Crowd roaring. Two strikes. Who’s going to win this battle? It’s exciting. But you have to be patient to enjoy it. I loved it when the boys were playing Little League, though the game was adulterated by too-intense coaches and parents. I mourned when they quit, but I couldn’t let them see it. So now I pay a premium on Directv for MLB Season Ticket so I can watch as many A’s games as possible, much to David’s dismay.

The one thing I have a hard time with is losing my favorite players, especially to the Yankees. It’s just not right to see Nick Swisher in pinstripes. They trade away players who are going to demand high salaries for untested but highly touted youths. Seems to work for them, but then we grow to love them, and then they leave. It’s hard on the old heart. Sigh.

Well, now you know something about me. Hopefully you, and I, will learn more in the days to come. I want to learn how to make this post more attractive too. We’ll see what happens. Thanks for visiting.

Steph