Our Boys of Summer

If you have a little trouble reading this today, that's only fair since I had difficulty typing it probably because I'm wearing gloves. Actually, I'm wearing baseball gloves on both hands, just in case a foul ball heads in my direction. I believe in being prepared.

Scouting aside, I'm getting ready for the start of the 2018 New York-Penn League baseball season, which is already underway but as far as I'm concerned our Connecticut Tigers' home opener at Dodd Stadium this Friday against the Lowell Spinners makes it official.   

Let me share some wisdom from Cal Ripken, Jr., the Baltimore Orioles baseball immortal, "you can be a kid for as long as you want when you play baseball." As someone frequently accused of being childish, I like to have Cal's quote in my pocket. Comes in especially useful this time of year.

The warmer temperatures are arriving, at least in theory, bringing bluer skies and longer days. We've observed Memorial Day, most of the kids are finishing school and even the calendar says next Thursday is the "official" start of Summer. So this is the perfect moment for local, professional baseball. 

As you probably know, the Connecticut Tigers, are the Class A Short-Season affiliates of the Detroit Tigers, but did you know the New York-Penn League (NYPL) is the oldest Single-A baseball league in the United States? It hardly shows, in my opinion. 

Our Tigers play teams from Aberdeen, Maryland, (whose principal owner is none other than Cal Ripken, Jr.), the farm hands of the Oakland A's, the Burlington, Vermont Lake Monsters. and open at home Friday against the baby Bosox. 

And, for geography lovers, the Tigers will also tangle with the Brooklyn Cyclones, affiliated with the New York Mets as well as with the Staten Island Yankees. (I'm betting you can guess their affiliation). 

When our kids were kids, they were the perfect reason for me to head to Dodd Stadium with them back in the days of the Navigators and Defenders. Baseball at Dodd then and now is a great value and the CT Tigers are terrific family entertainment. 

Class A is a learning experience that forges potential into professional talent and you have to admire the efforts both teams make on the field. There's not a bad seat in Dodd Stadium, you can still follow the action while getting a burger, fries or whatever at a concession on the concourse and you don't need to take out a second mortgage to pay for a family outing at a Tigers game. 

For fans, it's an afternoon in the sun or a nice evening under the stars but for the players, this is real-life and it's their real lives. They give it all they've got because the goal is that "trip to the Bigs." And, at last count, seventeen former CT Tigers are in the Major Leagues, so hard work is rewarded.    

Meanwhile, up at Dodd Stadium, there'll be plenty of between-innings silliness to keep us entertained. And between you and me, I'm not sure we'd see adults do the Chicken Dance with their children and (often) their grandchildren on the roof of a dugout at Fenway, Shea or Yankee Stadium so maybe the best fun is the fun you make yourself. 

Did I mention this Friday night home game has fireworks afterward? Actually, there will be fireworks all season long because how else would you celebrate the greatest time of the year, baseball season? See you there (and bring your glove).