Watching Rammer Play Baseball

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It was a warm, May night in St.Louis.  The warm air was starting to cool as the night air flowed into an empty baseball stadium.  The sound of a finely carved white ash bat stiking the rubber and string filled leather ball echoed through the night as I walked closer to the field.  There was an ambiance reminiscant of children playing in a park, just for fun.  A friendly gathering of kids playing baseball just to pass the time.  But as I neared the playing field, I realized that the people playing baseball were not children at all.  It was a group of men, hanging on to and reliving their childhood dreams of playing baseball.  And they were not just any men.  They were old men.  Really old men.  I'm talking older than dirt.  So old, they knew what caused the dinosaurs to become extinct.   They came to St.Louis with animals grouped in pairs on a large wooden ship that survived a great flood.  They were old, but young at heart.  They gathered to play the timeless game that we all know and love.  And among those very old men reliving their glory days, was 101 ESPN's very own, Bob Ramsey. 

It was an over 40 league that Rammer was a part of that I went to see.  I have to say, I was impressed.  I still play baseball in a men's league, a much younger men's league I might add, and wanted to see how the competition stacked up.  I wanted a glimpse into my future because I plan on playing baseball as long as I am still on this Earth.  The vigor, and joy displayed by these very old men was encouraging.  I hope I can display those same traits when I am that age. But as I said, I was impressed.   These old guys could still play.  Well, some of them could.  And one of them who could, surprisingly, was Bob Ramsey.  In his first at bat, Rammer smashed a line drive into left field that was caught.  Hit very hard, but caught.  But Mr. Ramsey was not deterred.  In his next at bat, the Great Ramsey smashed another ball up the middle for a base hit.  Through all of the heckling, the yelling, Ramsey overcame great odds to shut me up by blistering a single.  The yells of, "Nice swing old man," and "Show a little hustle Ramsey," did not stop him.  Instead this intense competitor raised his level of play when the pressure was on.  Rammer tried to get a little cute by showing his opposite field power by shooting one to the right side into the glove of the second baseman. 

As his next at bat approached, I asked Rammer what his approach at the plate was.  His team was up by a considerable amount of runs and the game was out of reach and Bob replied, "If it is near the plate, I'm gonna swing as hard as I can and rip the $#!* out of it, and probably swing out of my shoes."  I laughed, and said I could not wait to see that.  As Ramsey stepped to the plate for his final at bat, I looked to my escort for the evening, The Muddkat who was sitting behind the plate with me, and said, "Here we go!"  The pitcher came set, started his delivery, and brought home the pitch.  Now keep in mind how incredibly old these men competing are.  As the pitch neared the plate, I could tell it was a very hitable pitch and I braced myself for what was sure to be a mighty swing.  I was not dissappointed.  Rammer swung with all of his might.  His head was pointing to the third base dugout and he completed a 180 degree turn as the ball went into the catcher's mitt without a hint of lumber connecting with it.  I thought perhaps Rammer had pulled multiple muscles and possibly even permantly injured himself as laughter rained throughout the empty stadium as I laughed my butt off.  The uncontrolled laughter that spewed from my mouth was abruptly stopped as concearn for Ramsey's health set in.  To my surprise, Ramsey was not hurt at all.  Knowing that, I continued to laugh.  Ramsey was not phased by the gigantic swing and a miss and continued his at bat.  Rammer scorched another delivery into right field for his second hit of the game. 

Bob Ramsey with a multi hit game.  He was two for four with a few RBI's.  An impressive performance.  We can only hope that this does not go to his head and he doesn't feel he can start telling the professionals how to get the job done.  That is a risk that is very likely with a man of his stature in the media.  But Bob Ramsey proved to my why he is a Hall of Famer with his grit and determination.  Well done Mr. Ramsey.  I encourage everyone to go out and watch these games.  It is deffinately a treat.