Well, the years since 1980 have gone by pretty quickly in a lot of ways. Time was when I couldn't imagine anything better than season tickets to the Phillies--man, that was what I took as the sign that you'd arrived. (Or so it looked from my vantage in elementary school.) Steven Carlton, Mike Schmidt, Gary Maddox ("2/3 of the earth is covered by water; the other 1/3 is covered by Maddox"); Bake McBride; Larry Bowa. Ah, funny how the mind works, isn't it? I couldn't tell you what I had for dinner last night, but I can remember those 1970s Phils. Then, as the years passed, I abandoned baseball. When the Phillies were in the world series in 1993 I watched again--hadn't seen a game in years. One thing that really struck me was how much statistical information was available to color commentators at that point. They were stuck on their new toy-- and had all sorts of information, going back decades.
Of course the Phils lost in 1993--what a wild ride, just barely getting past the Braves, getting blown out by the Braves in one of the games at the Vet. And then the Blue Jays. Oh, the Blue Jays. Didn't they have the American League's hitting camp as a pinch hitter because he was their DH--and when they played in Philly, he was sitting on the bench? But Dykstra and Shilling--fantastic players--they did a great job. Dykstra carried that team. Anyway, I paid a little attention now and then to baseball--maybe watched a little of the league championship series and the world series; took in an occasional minor league game in Oklahoma City or Birmingham or Durham. But it doesn't quite hold my attention--now that three inning game--that held my attention. Just the right length.
So the beloved Phils have gone on to win the world series and good for Philadelphia!
But it isn't quite the same for me. It's not at the Vet. Bruce Kuklick, one of my beloved history professors in college, wrote a great social history of Shibe Park (the Phils' home before the Vet)--guess someone's going to have to write a book about Veterans Stadium one of these days.
Ah, time sure has passed by quickly.
Alfred Brophy
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