By ALEX SMITH
STAFF WRITER
“We’re all told at some point in time that we can no longer play the children’s game; we just don’t know when that’s gonna be. Some of us are told at 18, some of us are told at 40, but we’re all told.”
That quote from the movie Moneyball feels very fitting at this moment. This is the last ever edition of “Smith Says.” Some of the readers out there may be happy about that, but I’m not. In the wake of last week’s events in Boston, it’s hard for me not to get sentimental about the world of sports.
Whenever the world gets turned upside-down, it is often the case that sports bring us back to a state of normalcy. After the events at the Boston Marathon last Monday, professional sports joined in America’s overwhelming support for Beantown, and even gave us some of the most memorable moments. The video of the entire crowd singing the National Anthem at the Bruins game against the Sabres on Wednesday night sent chills down the spine of everyone waching it. Even the Yankees, the Red Sox’s hated arch-nemesis, put up signs in support of Boston and played the Red Sox traditional “Sweet Caroline” during a game.
The Bruins game evoked memories of President George W. Bush throwing out the greatest ceremonial first pitch in the history of baseball. Bush walked out of the dugout at Yankee Stadium just over a month after 9/11, gave a thumbs-up and delivered a perfectly placed strike right down the middle. About a month earlier (just 10 days after Sept. 11), Mike Piazza hit a home run that meant so much more than the two runs that scored on the play. It was the first home run hit since baseball was stopped by 2001’s terrorist attacks. America had come back swinging for the fences.
Another event that was somewhat lost in all of the Boston news was the story of Teddy and Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier. 30-year-old Teddy, who has Down syndrome, is an honorary batboy for the Reds. Last Thursday, Teddy was in the dugout watching his best friend Todd walk to the plate to hit. Before Frazier’s last at-bat, Teddy told him, “Come on, man, hit me a home run, man, I love you.” Frazier hit one out to centerfield and was greeted at the plate by Teddy, who was so excited to high five and celebrate with his best buddy that he forgot to grab the bat from home plate. The two then gave each other a hug in the dugout, after which Teddy looked up to the sky and pumped both of his fists. And people ask me why I love baseball.
The bottom line is the world of sports means everything to me, and it brings us back to our normal lives. Whenever some unforeseen disaster or tragedy fires one up and in and knocks us down, it is sports that pick us up and help us dig into the batter’s box.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading as much as I’ve enjoyed writing. Stay low, boys. Keep those legs moving. Be perfect.
— Alex Smith
