Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - BrentwoodPress_07.04.08.pdf - Index

JULY 4, 2008 SPORTS THEPRESS.NET | 5B
Play ball!
“The one constant through all the
years, Ray, has been baseball. America
has rolled by like an army of steamrollers.
It has been erased like a blackboard,
rebuilt and erased again. But baseball
has marked the time. This fi eld, this
FROM THE
PRESS BOX
AVI
BURK
game: it’s a part
of our past, Ray.
It reminds of us of
all that once was
good and it could be
again.”
– Terrence Mann in
“Field of Dreams”
The Fourth
of July is a time to
celebrate America
and all the wonderful
things that distinguish us as Americans:
barbecue, beer, blowin’ stuff up and, best
of all, baseball, America’s pastime.
Beautifully simple yet infi nitely complex,
baseball is a game whose principles
even the youngest child can grasp. Yet after
a lifetime of devotion, even the most
ardent fan can be left scratching his head
after seeing something at the ballpark
he’d never seen before.
From T-ball through adult recreation
league softball and all the backyard
wiffl eball games in between, baseball is a
game that stays with us our entire lives.
The names of the pros change like the
seasons themselves, but the simple joys
of the game remain constant: the crack
(or ping) of the bat meeting the ball, the
smell of a worn leather glove, the feel of
the dirt under your feet as you scramble
the base paths.
Take a look around East County
and you’ll see the game being played and
loved at all levels: Antioch native Aaron
Miles is enjoying the best year of his
Big League career, batting .328 in nearly
200 plate appearances for the St. Louis
Cardinals this season. Brentwood native
and recent Liberty High School grad
Drew Gagnon is weighing signing with
the Pittsburgh Pirates, who selected him
in the 10th round of this year’s draft,
or playing at NCAA powerhouse Long
Beach State next spring. The area’s youth
baseball and softball teams not only represent
their hometowns well; they bring
home massive amounts of hardware in
the process. And adult softball leagues
are thriving, drawing players of all ages
and abilities.
The game continues to grow and
evolve, the names of our favorite big
leaguers change like the seasons, but our
love for the game remains constant – if
anything, as last year’s MLB attendance
records indicate, our love for the
game has grown only stronger over the
decades.
So, this Fourth of July, fulfi ll your
patriotic duties: Barbecue a dog, enjoy
an adult beverage or two, take in a fi reworks
show … and play ball!
To comment on this column, visit
www.thepress.net.
www.lesschwab.com
BRENTWOOD
6361 Lone Tree Way
(925)513-3432
OAKLEY
89 Carol Lane
(925) 625-4532