Lifelong Baseball Fans

My first memory of being a baseball fan was in 1969. I was 7 years old. I collected baseball cards. I was a member of the Baltimore Orioles fan club. The Orioles lost to the underdog New York Mets in the World Series. In 1970, the Birds beat the "Big Red Machine" in 5 games in the second of their three straight World Series appearances. Brooks Robinson (#5) was the MVP and put on a fielding clinic. He earned his nickname, "the vacuum cleaner," robbing many of the Reds players of extra base hits. After that, I wanted to be a third baseman.

I was an avid Baltimore Orioles fan for many years. I also loved playing baseball. We played pick up games (a cross between baseball and softball) in the neighborhood where I grew up. I played youth softball and was on the high school (fast pitch) team for two years, my freshman (JV) and senior (varsity) years. I continued to play softball after I graduated from high school and college. Then I lost interest in baseball. The O's last trip to the World Series was in 1983, when Cal Ripken still had hair. Opportunities for a female my age to play ball were few and far between and I had difficulty fitting  games into my work schedule. For years, my only connection with baseball was the annual softball game between extension agents from the Eastern and Western Shores.

I moved to Western Maryland (near Hagerstown) in December 2001. My parents moved to Hagerstown a few years later. My dad had always been a baseball fan, too. When we were kids, we watched Dad play in a local league. He was a first baseman. As I got older, I moved from third base/shortstop to first base. They called me "Stretch" because I was good at stretching to dig balls out of the dirt. As a teenager, Dad sold hotdogs at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. He went to Pirates games with his dad. Dad and I were at "odds" in 1971 when my Orioles faced his Pirates in the World Series. The "Bucs" won in 7 games; Roberto Clemente was the MVP. Like many people of his generation, my dad had fond memories of baseball. It was America's pastime. Who had heard of soccer then?

Hagerstown has a minor league baseball team. Dad and I went to our first game in 2009.