Congratz to all on last week's tension-packed 18-13 display of taut kinesiological excellence. The ceaseless shifts of inter-inning zeitgeist featured a dizzying cornucopia of stunning hits and incalculably courageous base running, but I suspect it was the unusual profusion of somewhat less than conventional fielding strategies that gave the game it's added edge.
Of course, we all know that there are no real "errors" in softball, only equally valid alternative paths for handling that majestic orb. Indeed, when viewed in broad philosophical perspective, is it truly a given that "catching" the ball is any more meritorious than "dropping" it? (For the record, my decision to delve so deep has nothing to do with my most recent precarious performance in the field, and while you are welcome to scorn me as a gadfly, I believe that we are all the more enriched if such an initially disturbing question is openly posed).
Speaking of great controversies in sport, it turns out that this Sunday, July 25th, is the 79th anniversary of the day that Professional Baseball officially prohibited a wide range of beloved pitchers' tricks, including spitballs, applying grease to the ball, and most curiously, sand papering or equivalent. I must confess that I was not even aware of this last regulation, and that on occasion, particularly when my team has been trailing in the latter innings, I have taken a tiny fragment of scouring pad with high-grit coat, and secretly rubbed it between my thumb and the ball lacing for several seconds at a time. In retrospect, I suppose I should have known that this was not only illegal, but highly unethical, and thus ultimately, I must accept these transgressions as my own legacy of shame.
Perhaps some of you will come forward with your own abrasive materials confessions, but in the meantime, I think it's important to reflect on what baseball's leaders did that contentious summer day. Yes, some of us may have differing opinions on whether saliva, Crisco or even electric sanders should be banned from the game, but the point is that once recreational statutes are adopted, they need to be followed with consistency and grace. Therefore, there will be a match at Codornices Field this Sunday, July 26th, at 1PM (which is just like 11AM except two hours later), IF I get enough players by this Friday morning. So make that commit, not for any given hero or hallowed icon, but simply for the stabilizing rule of law itself.