A love for baseball

Baseball is back.

High school and college teams have been playing for several weeks. Major League Baseball opening day was March 29. Dizzy Dean teams are beginning practice.

My love for baseball started about age 8. I remember my first glove and my first bat and my first cleats.

I was sort of self-trained at that age.

We had some concrete steps, beside a pump house, leading from our upper driveway to the yard. There’s no telling how many baseballs I ruined by bouncing them off those steps and then catching them as they ricocheted, either on the ground or in the air.

I signed up for Little League baseball about age 11. I kept playing through high school.

Before turning 16, there were times I drove 12 miles to practice via the backroads on my motorcycle. I couldn’t miss practice, and my mother had to work.

I was an infielder – never could judge the fly balls very well in the outfield.

One time in high school myself, at third base, and my good friend, at shortstop, both called a very high pop-up just behind third. Neither one of us caught it. It’s probably the worst chewing out I’ve ever had by a coach.

But I think Coach Franks would tell you today that Barry Burleson was a doggone good infielder.

I can hear him say, “His hitting wasn’t great, but he could field the baseball with the best of them. And his arm was pretty good, too.”

I remember my high school teammates well. We developed a bond. We played with class, and we respected the teams we played – win or lose.

I can never remember classless baseball chatter in high school. Our coaches would not allow it. The umpires would not allow it.

Baseball, as I was taught, is a game of respect.

I recently attended a high school game that was one of the worst baseball experiences I’ve ever had.

The opposing team was constantly yelling at the local squad – at the pitcher, the batter, the infielders and even the coach. It was absurd.

Chanting to try and get inside the heads of the opposing team’s players is awful – a total lack of sportsmanship.

After the experience, I read an article about chatter.

Some of the things not to do include – do not try to make batters miss or do not try to rattle the other team at bat; do not try to make fielders miss balls or distract  defenders; and do not try to put members of the other team down.

If players want to talk, let them encourage their own teammates and lift them up. Focus on your own team, not the opposing team.

The article on chatter said, “Use 100 percent of your communication energy to talk to your own teammates. A by-product of a team that truly cares about each other and is constantly supporting each other because they want teammates to do well is envy. A by-product of teams that use chants to distract or take away from players is one that leaves everyone thinking they’re a bush-league team with no class.”

Baseball taught me a lot. At the top of the list is respect.