WEBVTT - Ep. 343: This Country Life - Baseball

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to This Country Life. I'm your host, Brent Reeves.

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<v Speaker 1>From coon hunting to trot lining and just general country living.

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<v Speaker 1>I want you to stay a while as I share

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<v Speaker 1>my experiences in life lessons. This Country Life is presented

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<v Speaker 1>by Case Knives on Meat Eaters Podcast Network, bringing you

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<v Speaker 1>the best outdoor podcast the airwaves have to offer. All right, friends,

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<v Speaker 1>grab a chair or drop that tailgate. I've got some

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<v Speaker 1>stories to share. Baseball. If there's a closed second to

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<v Speaker 1>spending time in the outdoors. For me, it's baseball, and

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<v Speaker 1>for someone who never played it beyond high school, it

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<v Speaker 1>remains a passion. For me. I only follow a handful

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<v Speaker 1>of players, and I actually met them last year on

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<v Speaker 1>a coon hunt. They invited me to go on with them.

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<v Speaker 1>Aiden and Grant Anderson are brothers. They're twins, and they're pitchers.

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<v Speaker 1>Aiden is in the Texas Rangers organization and Grant pitches

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<v Speaker 1>for the Milwaukee Brewers. Now, the funny thing about that

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<v Speaker 1>is when they talk to me, all they want to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about is coon hunting, and all I want to

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<v Speaker 1>talk about is baseball. Now, I couldn't tell you off

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<v Speaker 1>the top of my head who won the last World

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<v Speaker 1>Series without thinking about it real hard, and even then

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<v Speaker 1>it would probably be just a guess. Besides the Anderson brothers,

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<v Speaker 1>the last stats I kept up with were mine when

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<v Speaker 1>I played. I just liked the game, the history and

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<v Speaker 1>the romance of it. For me, it's truly America's pastime.

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<v Speaker 1>Bailey and I go to a lot of games here

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<v Speaker 1>the Arkansas Travelers, which are the Double A affiliate of

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<v Speaker 1>the Seattle Mariners. A perfect even for us is to

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<v Speaker 1>grab a hot dog or a fried bologna sandwich at

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<v Speaker 1>the game for supper and cheer for the Travelers and

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<v Speaker 1>clap along with the guy playing the organ. We don't

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<v Speaker 1>know any of the players because the good ones don't

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<v Speaker 1>stick around long. They neither do the bad ones. The

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<v Speaker 1>good ones move on up to the big leagues, and

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<v Speaker 1>the other guys they just move on. But the atmosphere

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<v Speaker 1>is all about family and fun, two things that I

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<v Speaker 1>never get enough of. I've got a lot to talk about,

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<v Speaker 1>so let's get to it. This past week we were

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<v Speaker 1>on vacation, soaking up the sun on the Emerald Coast

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<v Speaker 1>of Florida. The main point of our journey was threefold.

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<v Speaker 1>One was for Bailey to see the ocean for the

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<v Speaker 1>first time. Another one was to watch the son of

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<v Speaker 1>friends play in an original World Series Baseball tournament, and

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<v Speaker 1>to relax and enjoy each other's company. All of those

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<v Speaker 1>things in no particular However, Bailey seeing the ocean for

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<v Speaker 1>the first time during her short tenure here on Earth

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<v Speaker 1>was accomplished first in only minutes after we set our

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<v Speaker 1>bags down inside the big house we'd rented for the week.

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<v Speaker 1>She tried to play a cool but you could see

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<v Speaker 1>the excitement in her eyes as she gazed out at

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<v Speaker 1>the horizon, seeing nothing but incoming waves and the occasional seagull.

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<v Speaker 1>A few seconds after her first glimpse, she was standing

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<v Speaker 1>in the surf, staring south at infinity and literally and

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<v Speaker 1>figuratively soaking it all in clouds in the evening golf

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<v Speaker 1>breeze kept the temperature bay. It was the perfect introduction

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<v Speaker 1>the rest of us in George seeing her see it

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<v Speaker 1>for the first time, as much as we did see

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<v Speaker 1>in it ourselves. I asked her later what she thought

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<v Speaker 1>about it. I was expecting to lecture on why hadn't

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<v Speaker 1>we brought her here before? Now? The last time we

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<v Speaker 1>went to the beach, she was still three years away

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<v Speaker 1>from entering the reeves. Family chat, and she said I

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<v Speaker 1>liked it and I would like to go again sometime,

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<v Speaker 1>but it smelled weird and I'd rather go to the mountains.

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<v Speaker 1>I did not see that coming from a girl who

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<v Speaker 1>almost has to be made to wear anything other than

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<v Speaker 1>shorts at gunpoint. Daddy, if you say we're going to

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<v Speaker 1>the beach, I'll be ready to go and have a

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<v Speaker 1>good time. But if you give me a choice that's

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<v Speaker 1>not New York City, I'm picking the mountains. The mountains

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<v Speaker 1>for the love of humanity. It seems there's a tiny

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<v Speaker 1>little hillbilly hiding inside her head. I blame Clay. They

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<v Speaker 1>counting two sets of parents, two sets of grandparents, a girlfriend,

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<v Speaker 1>a best friend, and all the children, we had enough

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<v Speaker 1>folks to fill the baseball team and a basketball team.

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<v Speaker 1>Fourteen ar Kansas listed on the program as family either

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<v Speaker 1>by blood or choice, and we were all there to

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<v Speaker 1>watch baseball. It's no secret that our family loves baseball

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<v Speaker 1>and has for as far back as I can remember.

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<v Speaker 1>Every cotton picking one of us, my brothers, me and

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<v Speaker 1>anyone we could scrounge up around the farm to play

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<v Speaker 1>baseball from our friends that lived only a bike's ride

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<v Speaker 1>away or the occasional farmhan. The American pastime was our pastime.

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<v Speaker 1>Now we played a game called five dollars. One person

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<v Speaker 1>with bat balls to the rest of us positioned all

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<v Speaker 1>around the yard, either by himself or if we had

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<v Speaker 1>plenty of folks, someone would pitch. Every fly ball you

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<v Speaker 1>caught was worth a dollar. Every groundball you caught was

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<v Speaker 1>worth fifty cents. And when your total catch is added

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<v Speaker 1>up to exactly five dollars, it was your turn to

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<v Speaker 1>bat make an air filled and a grounder or a

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<v Speaker 1>fly ball, and you'd lose the value of whatever ball

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<v Speaker 1>that was. Now another game we played with it's called

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<v Speaker 1>flies and skinners. That was basically scored the same way.

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<v Speaker 1>Once you caught the predetermined amount of each, it was

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<v Speaker 1>your turn to back and we spent hours and hours

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<v Speaker 1>playing each in our three acre front yard. It took

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<v Speaker 1>forever to mow it, but when we finished it, man,

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<v Speaker 1>it was quite the ballpark. Breaks would come and we

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<v Speaker 1>drank from the hose, or someone would have a watermelon busted,

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<v Speaker 1>and we'd go through one of them like grass goes

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<v Speaker 1>through a goose. It wouldn't last long. Then back to

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<v Speaker 1>the game. Baseball to us was just a natural part

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<v Speaker 1>of summer. It could be too hot to fish, and

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<v Speaker 1>by that I mean it could be too hot for

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<v Speaker 1>the fish to bite. But it was never too hot

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<v Speaker 1>to play baseball, never, regardless of the time of day.

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<v Speaker 1>They say you can always go home when you can't

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<v Speaker 1>go anywhere else. Well, for us, when you couldn't do

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<v Speaker 1>anything else outside, you could always play baseball. Being inside

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<v Speaker 1>was not an option. There were three channels on the TV,

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<v Speaker 1>and unless you like soap operas or sesime street, outside

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<v Speaker 1>was where the fun took place, no matter of the temperature.

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<v Speaker 1>I've told the story before, but I accentuated a different

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<v Speaker 1>part of it, And for those who haven't heard it,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to tell it again, and I'm going to

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<v Speaker 1>give you the reader's digest version of it. And it's

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<v Speaker 1>a good story. I like to hear it myself. But

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<v Speaker 1>after a hot summer day of playing baseball in the

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<v Speaker 1>front yard, we took a break to go inside any dinner,

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<v Speaker 1>which is what the rest of humanity calls lunch, except

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<v Speaker 1>for a few of us die hard traditions. Anyway, my

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<v Speaker 1>brother Tim was a senior in high school, my brother

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<v Speaker 1>Chuck was a sophomore, and I was headed to the

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<v Speaker 1>sixth grade, all the chores had been done. It was

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<v Speaker 1>too hot for anything else but baseball. A metric ton

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<v Speaker 1>of fried bologna, sandwiches, potato chips, a kool aid later,

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<v Speaker 1>and the game was about to start. I was first

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<v Speaker 1>out the door, and there laid the bat, a thirty

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<v Speaker 1>two inch wood at a Rondack baseball bat made from

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<v Speaker 1>the finest white ash a Yankee tree farmer could grow.

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<v Speaker 1>The handle was thin and it fit my hands good,

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<v Speaker 1>even though it could have been a few inches shorter.

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<v Speaker 1>It was light and I could handle it well. And

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<v Speaker 1>I heard my brothers talking inside the house as I

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<v Speaker 1>stood on the porch, and they were arguing over whose

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<v Speaker 1>turn it was to bat. It was my turn, I

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<v Speaker 1>called it before we stopped to eat. They must not

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<v Speaker 1>have heard me. Oh they heard me, all right. They

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<v Speaker 1>just didn't care. But I cared, and I'd had enough

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<v Speaker 1>of them cheating me out of my turn. They could

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<v Speaker 1>run faster than me and would jump in front of

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<v Speaker 1>me when I was only a fly or a skinner

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<v Speaker 1>away from batting. Now they were gonna jyp me out

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<v Speaker 1>of starting off the afternoon session, so I decided to

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<v Speaker 1>kill the first one that walked out the door. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>not really, but I was just going to give them

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<v Speaker 1>a little wat four on top of the nogging with

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<v Speaker 1>that bat. When they stepped out on the porch. Mama

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<v Speaker 1>had an old milk churn sitting beside the front door

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<v Speaker 1>on the left side, and to compensate for them being

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<v Speaker 1>taller than me, I stood up on that churn and

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<v Speaker 1>I waited for the first one to step outside the door.

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<v Speaker 1>Didn't matter to me which one it was. They had

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<v Speaker 1>both dashed at my expense, and now it was time

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<v Speaker 1>to pay the fiddler. It sounded like a cartoon bunk

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<v Speaker 1>when the barrel of that bat made square contact with

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<v Speaker 1>the top of Ten's head. He staggered toward the edge

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<v Speaker 1>of the porch, trying not to lose his balance, and

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<v Speaker 1>during the three or four seconds he fought to stay conscious.

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<v Speaker 1>I realized then that I had chosen poorly. He caught

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<v Speaker 1>me before I made it in the loft of the barn.

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<v Speaker 1>I was wandering away from sanctuary and being able to

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<v Speaker 1>keep him beat away from the only access to the

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<v Speaker 1>loft until Mama got home. But I was not built

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<v Speaker 1>for speed, a malady that has haunted me all my life.

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<v Speaker 1>He had me squalling in very short ones now. That

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<v Speaker 1>sound and one other stand out to me as core

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<v Speaker 1>memories associated with baseball. Both of them attributed to the

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<v Speaker 1>crack of a bat. The other one was my first

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<v Speaker 1>home run. I don't know how many I hit in

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<v Speaker 1>the Little League. If you told me that the one

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to tell you about now was the only one,

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<v Speaker 1>I couldn't argue with you, because that one shocked me

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<v Speaker 1>more than it did anyone else. I was batting clean up,

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<v Speaker 1>and Darryl Harvey, a classmate and childhood friend, was pitching

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<v Speaker 1>for the opposition, Merchants and Planners Bank. It was early

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<v Speaker 1>in the season and every team was scratching and clawing

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<v Speaker 1>to establish themselves as the ones to beat. I played

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<v Speaker 1>for Harvest Brothers, our dealership in town. Our uniforms were

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<v Speaker 1>green jerseys trimmed in white and yellow breeches with white

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<v Speaker 1>pinstripes that stopped just below the knee, and green baseball

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<v Speaker 1>stirrups worn over white socks. I wore number five, like

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<v Speaker 1>my favorite Major leaguer, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals.

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<v Speaker 1>The count was two and two, and I had looked

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<v Speaker 1>at four pitches and never took the bat off my shoulder.

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<v Speaker 1>I looked at the first base coach, mister Mike Meedy,

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<v Speaker 1>and he looked back at me as if to say,

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<v Speaker 1>why are you toting that bat if you ain't gonna

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<v Speaker 1>swing it. I checked third base and mister Pat Vallentine

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<v Speaker 1>was looking at me the same way. Time to go

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<v Speaker 1>to work. Brand Darrell started his wind up and groove

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<v Speaker 1>a fastball right down the middle of the plate. They

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<v Speaker 1>looked as big as a pone of corn bread. I

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<v Speaker 1>sent it over the fence and left center with the

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<v Speaker 1>easiest swing I've ever taken. It was almost effortless, and

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<v Speaker 1>the sound of that ball leaving that wooden was pure

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<v Speaker 1>and unmistakable. Nothing else sounds like it, and when you

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<v Speaker 1>hear it, you know it right away. Ted Williams, arguably

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<v Speaker 1>one of the greatest hitters of all times, said the

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<v Speaker 1>hardest thing to do in baseball is to hit a

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<v Speaker 1>round baseball with a round bat squarely. I'd say that's right,

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<v Speaker 1>considering that if you do that three times out of

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<v Speaker 1>ten over the course of your professional career, you go

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<v Speaker 1>to the Hall of Fame. I looked up at mister

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<v Speaker 1>Meadie as I touched first base during my victory lab

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<v Speaker 1>and I remember him smiling and pat me on the

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<v Speaker 1>back and saying, slow down, son, they can't get you out.

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<v Speaker 1>Hitting home runs was easy. I decided, right then, I

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<v Speaker 1>do that every time. I had three more bats during

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<v Speaker 1>that beatdown of merchants and planters, and Daryl struck me

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<v Speaker 1>out all three times. Hitting homers wasn't as easy as

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<v Speaker 1>I thought. Another front yard baseball session that summer was

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<v Speaker 1>interrupted when our brother Chuck walked out on the porch

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<v Speaker 1>to tell Tim and I that Elvis died. It was

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<v Speaker 1>August sixteenth, nineteen seventy seven. I remember what Chuck was

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<v Speaker 1>wearing when he walked out on the porch to tell us.

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<v Speaker 1>I can see it as plain as day. It's funny

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<v Speaker 1>the things you remember that are associated with historic events.

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<v Speaker 1>Baseball has been intertwined with reural life as much more

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<v Speaker 1>than any other sport, The threads of each woven in

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<v Speaker 1>the fabric of Americana that remained as true today as

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<v Speaker 1>they did back then. Bats for kids are aluminum now,

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<v Speaker 1>with teams having multiple uniforms, and batting gloves and sliding

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<v Speaker 1>gloves and fielding gloves and pitching gloves, and games played

0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:52.720
<v Speaker 1>on turf painted to look like dirt with removable mouths

0:13:52.720 --> 0:13:58.280
<v Speaker 1>to accommodate different levels of baseball. The constant throughout is

0:13:58.320 --> 0:14:02.520
<v Speaker 1>the baseball itself, nine to nine and a quarter inches

0:14:02.559 --> 0:14:06.000
<v Speaker 1>in circumference and await between five and five in the

0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:10.040
<v Speaker 1>quarter ounces. Now, we watched kids from all over the

0:14:10.080 --> 0:14:13.800
<v Speaker 1>country play ball in the impressive Florida heat, and I

0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:16.520
<v Speaker 1>was reminded immediately of how hot it was when we

0:14:16.600 --> 0:14:19.440
<v Speaker 1>played it home, and how, just like me back then,

0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:25.760
<v Speaker 1>they didn't seem to notice it much. Teammates, friends, coaches, umpires, family,

0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:29.840
<v Speaker 1>people of all ages gathered to watch a game, a

0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:34.000
<v Speaker 1>game played by children who some grown ups expected to

0:14:34.040 --> 0:14:37.760
<v Speaker 1>perform like adults, and when they didn't, those grown ups

0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:42.160
<v Speaker 1>acted like children. Now there wasn't much of it. In fact,

0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:45.680
<v Speaker 1>there was very little, but we all know it happens.

0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:50.000
<v Speaker 1>Our boys played well, They tried hard, and they battled

0:14:50.040 --> 0:14:54.240
<v Speaker 1>back after two initial losses, and they finished well. They

0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:56.920
<v Speaker 1>didn't win the series, but they didn't finish last either,

0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:00.400
<v Speaker 1>And had they lost every game but tried and above

0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:03.480
<v Speaker 1>all else to win, you'd have to count that as

0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:07.840
<v Speaker 1>a success as well. What will it matter ten years

0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:12.360
<v Speaker 1>from now? It won't. They'll always remember that experience, but

0:15:12.440 --> 0:15:16.280
<v Speaker 1>they'll remember in detail how hard they tried, or if

0:15:16.320 --> 0:15:20.800
<v Speaker 1>they didn't. I vaguely remember the sight of that first

0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:24.360
<v Speaker 1>home run boss settling over that fence in nineteen seventy seven,

0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.680
<v Speaker 1>but I remember vividly walking back to the dugout with

0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:32.840
<v Speaker 1>my friends, cheering and laughing and celebrating together. It was

0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:36.520
<v Speaker 1>an individual achievement that stands in the shadow of a

0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:40.760
<v Speaker 1>team celebration. And whether you're playing for Harvests Brothers Little

0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:44.160
<v Speaker 1>League team and Warren Arkansas where the Kansas City rolls,

0:15:44.200 --> 0:15:48.080
<v Speaker 1>it doesn't matter because so your breeches can be above

0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:50.320
<v Speaker 1>your knee or down around jangles. You can swing a

0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:53.000
<v Speaker 1>metal bat or one made from wood. You can play

0:15:53.080 --> 0:15:56.680
<v Speaker 1>under the lights or under the sun. But at every

0:15:56.800 --> 0:16:00.680
<v Speaker 1>level you have to hit, throw, and catch the three

0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:07.080
<v Speaker 1>elements of baseball. Everything else it's just extra. That's how

0:16:07.200 --> 0:16:10.720
<v Speaker 1>kids can gather in any space where, in anything, with

0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:14.640
<v Speaker 1>nothing other than a stick and a ball and have fun.

0:16:16.480 --> 0:16:20.760
<v Speaker 1>It really is. That's simple. Food, shelter, and clothing are

0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:24.800
<v Speaker 1>the three basic necessities of life. We add things to

0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:28.280
<v Speaker 1>it to make it more enjoyable, exciting, rewarding, or comfortable,

0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:32.640
<v Speaker 1>whatever adjective you want to use for every desired amenity,

0:16:33.600 --> 0:16:38.320
<v Speaker 1>the same holds true for baseball, signs for hitting, signs

0:16:38.320 --> 0:16:42.400
<v Speaker 1>for stealing, signs for pitching, shifting the outfield, shifting the infield,

0:16:42.480 --> 0:16:45.640
<v Speaker 1>lefties versus rightings, and all the analytics that go into

0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:49.520
<v Speaker 1>the game. Now, the game can theoretically go on forever.

0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:54.120
<v Speaker 1>Like life, you're not exactly sure when it will end.

0:16:55.760 --> 0:16:59.280
<v Speaker 1>That's the allure for me in The main similarity I

0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:02.520
<v Speaker 1>see in each of them is life like baseball is

0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:06.040
<v Speaker 1>about and join the game. It can be in the

0:17:06.080 --> 0:17:08.960
<v Speaker 1>front yard of a country home, an empty lot in town,

0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:12.440
<v Speaker 1>a little league field at the YMC eight, or the

0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:16.560
<v Speaker 1>finest manicured field in the Major leagues. Baseball is a

0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:21.119
<v Speaker 1>game that mirrors the ebb and flow of life metaphor

0:17:21.200 --> 0:17:24.920
<v Speaker 1>for patience and practice, skill of being able to hit

0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:30.480
<v Speaker 1>Whateff's thrown at you, and life has some nasty curveballs.

0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:34.760
<v Speaker 1>I thank y'all so much for listening to us here

0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.840
<v Speaker 1>on the Beargers Channel. Be claying, old Lake Pickle, work

0:17:37.960 --> 0:17:40.560
<v Speaker 1>hard to bring you the best content that we can.

0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:44.160
<v Speaker 1>Just subscribe to the channel and rip the knob off

0:17:44.280 --> 0:17:45.840
<v Speaker 1>all right. Before I get out of here, I gotta

0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:51.200
<v Speaker 1>give you some news. July the eighteenth, This country life

0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:54.720
<v Speaker 1>hats are hitting the website. You'll be able to get

0:17:54.760 --> 0:17:57.480
<v Speaker 1>them there. Check them out. They're really cool. I'm really

0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:00.240
<v Speaker 1>proud of how they looked. Going to be great. So

0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:03.840
<v Speaker 1>until next week, This is Brent Reeves signing off. Y'all

0:18:03.880 --> 0:18:04.240
<v Speaker 1>be shut