Better late than never

I have been very vocal on this blog about my passion for the game of baseball. I love everything about it and it has been that way since I was 5 years old. I played organized baseball until I got into high school. I grew up with the Big Red Machine which was quite possibly one of greatest teams ever assembled in the history of major league baseball. I can still name the starting 8 from those glorious Reds teams of the 70's. Morgan, Perez, Bench, Rose, Concepcion, Foster, Geronimo and Griffey. There will never be another team like that.

I always tried to pass my love of the game on to Michael, but honestly he was just never that interested. He played tee-ball, but he wasn't in love with it. I would take him to Reds games and we would always have a good time. I wouldn't say he was disinterested, but I think the appeal of going to the game was more about Sno-cones and hot dogs rather than the action on the field. I never forced the issue with him. You can't make a kid like something or be interested in it. Kids either like something or they don't. I won't say I was disappointed with this because I wasn't. I would have liked it if Michael enjoyed baseball like I do, but he didn't and that's okay.

As Michael has grown older, his interest in baseball has increased somewhat. He remembers fondly that we attended the very first game in the history of Great American Ballpark. It was an exhibition game just prior to Opening Day. He also reminded me recently that we were in attendance for Jay Bruce's very first major league game. I was happy that he remembered and that he realizes there is some historical significance attached to these events. Now that he is in college and living on his own, his interest in baseball has snowballed for some reason. We're not even three weeks into the season and he has already been to three Reds games. He buys $5 bleacher tickets and goes with his girlfriend (Meredith) and other friends from school. I can't say that I blame him. He drives a short distance up 471, parks at Newport on the Levee, walks across the bridge and goes to the game. How easy is that?

I must admit I am enjoying his newfound interest in baseball. I'm sure some of this is due to Meredith. The Reds game is a nice way to spend an evening and not that expensive. I have also enjoyed seeing pictures of him at the game. He proudly sports his newly purchased Reds cap while he has a suave arm around Meredith's waist. He sends me text messages from the game too. He asks questions and relays observations from the game. I had to laugh yesterday when he texted and said Johnny Cueto wouldn't be back for quite a while. He's the Reds pitching ace and happens to be injured. Of course I already knew this, but I appreciated the correspondence anyway. I also got a kick out of his message to me this morning. It was a simple one phrase message: "How 'bout those Reds?". Four simple words from my son, but it totally made my day.

I'm afraid he may be getting a skewed view about baseball games though. He has been in attendance for two of the most lopsided wins of the season thus far. He saw the 15-0 shellacking of the Washington Nationals and the 11-2 whoopin' of the Philadelphia Phillies. Little does he realize that high scoring games of this nature are rare. Teams do not score double digit runs with any regularity and Michael has seen two in less than a month. While those games are a blast to watch (if the Reds are on the winning end), I also wonder if he would appreciate a 1-0 pitchers dual just as much. Michael may never be the baseball fan that his dad is, but I'm glad he's developed into at least a casual fan. Better late than never I guess.