Toeing the Rubber

King Felix at Fenway in 2011 (Photo by Kelly O'Connor and used with permission)

Baseball doesn’t always suck.

I know it’s sometimes difficult to remember that. Beloved legends die. The team under performs. The clubhouse drama takes the front page away from everything in the world that’s more important. The All Star Game MVP tests positive for testosterone and then gets suspended for 50 games.  It’s easy to just groan and exclaim your disdain for the game.

But then something really cool happens. Something that makes you remember why you love the game.  Today while we are still dealing with the pain of losing Johnny Pesky and the annoyances of the drama on Yawkey way we got hit with the news of Melky Cabrera’s suspension.  But then…then the cool thing happened.

Social media is at times one of the worst things to happen to professional sports but more often than not it’s one of the best. I logged on to Twitter today to see what other terrible news baseball was going to throw our way and instead found a bunch of tweets telling me to put on the Mariners/Rays game. As I did, I heard the Seattle announcer exclaim “18 up and 18 down for King Felix!” and there was something to root for again. It didn’t matter that it was happening for a team I don’t root for…unless you are a fan of the team he’s pitching against (in this case, the Rays), why would you not want to root for a perfect game for Felix Hernandez?

I love baseball but often I find myself asking myself why.   Today, Felix reminded me.

Congrats to the King and all the Mariners fans. And thanks for helping me remember why I’m in this for life.