Yesterday was the Fourth of July. Which aside from meaning that today is the fifth of July, means that yesterday was a day set aside to celebrate America’s independence from the occupying British forces.
That independence from British rule established principles regarding life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
As part of my pursuit of happiness this year I took part in a trio of All-American festivities. At the time I woke up I was only planning to partake in one American tradition but as the day wore on I soon added a pair more to my original plan.
For nearly a century people have been eating Nathan’s Hot Dogs on the Fourth of July. Of course some people end up eating way more than others. Photo R. Anderson
The first tradition I took part in was eating a Nathan’s hot dog on the fourth of July.
For about a century now Coney Island, New York has hosted the Nathan’s Famous July Fourth International Hot Dog Eating Championship.
And while competitors come from nations all over the world the item remains All-American in that it occurs on July 4th.
As we cope with the fact that the year is entering its seventh month despite feelings of Christmas being only yesterday here at Triple B the arrival of July means two things.
First, it is another reminder that I have lived in Texas far too long as it was a first week of July move that brought me to the state that only recognizes one lone star.
The second thing that July means is that the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is upon us. This year’s game will be July 16 in New York.
And unlike other All-Star games in sports, the MLB game has the feeling that it is being played to win by both sides. Of course some added incentive to win was added a few years back when home field advantage in the World Series was given to the league that won the All-Star game.
While I enjoy the home run derby and the All-Star game itself there is one particular aspect of the Baseball All-Star game season that I can do without.
That element of All-Star Game party foul is the fan vote. I know I will get lots of grief for saying this but I do not believe that the fans should be voting for the All-Star participants.
Sure, people will say that as a reporter I am being unfair to the common fan by saying that only members of the media and league officials should have a vote but let us examine what the fan vote portion of the All-Star voting really entails.
Unlike say the election for the President of the United States where a registered voter is allowed to cast a single ballot there are no such restrictions for MLB balloting. In fact, excessive voting is encouraged by the 30 teams who offer various prizes for filling out excessive amounts of ballots.
That boys and girls is called buying votes no matter how you slice it. And yes I am not trying to say that electing representatives to the All-Star game is more important than electing the President. Sadly I would not be surprised if more people vote in the All-Star race than the general elections to decide who will run the country though.
As an aside, as we approach July 4th when the founding fathers declared America’s independence and envisioned the framework of democracy I really think they expected more participation by the people in that process.
About this time last week, depending on when you are reading this, I was sick in bed.
Considering that I am fortunate to not get sick that often, and also that on those times when I am sick it really involves being bed bound, this indeed was quite a rare occurrence.
Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of the release of a movie about the ins and outs of Minor League Baseball.
The movie that is causing all of the hoopla is Bull Durham, or as I like to call it the base of the Kevin Costner baseball movie triangle that also includes Field of Dreams and For Love of the Game.
While Bull Durham enjoyed modest success during its theatrical run, it gained wider popularity in the years following to the point that celebrating the quarter century mark since it was released is kind of a big deal.
Tomorrow marks the 25th Anniversary of Bull Durham and people have been quoting lines from it ever since. Photo R. Anderson
While each of the sides of the Kevin Costner Baseball Triangle are good in their own ways, I have always identified more with the comedy infused Durham.
I still watch both Bull Durham and Field of Dreams each year at the start of the baseball season, and both still make me laugh and cry in various ways so many years later.
I suppose Bull Durham resonates with me so well because while I was never a Minor League Baseball player I was very much a Minor League Baseball fan and was attending games around the same time that the movie came out.
So, the movie showed me the parts of Minor League life that I didn’t see from my view in the stands.
The movie also provided several concepts that I use even today as part of my daily life.
The concept of creating your own rain delay when the grind gets to tough and you just need a day to catch your breath is a theme that I have embraced from the movie.
Although I have never turned on the sprinklers in the office, I have certainly found ways to give everyone a rain day here and there.
The movie also provided many timeless quotes with some of them being appropriate for repeating and some best left to the professionals.
In that respect, the current members of the Durham Bulls, the real-life team that inspired the team in the movie, made a hilarious video reenacting some of the crazier lines from the film.
What makes the video of the players recreating the lines so funny, and perhaps makes the rest of us feel a little old, is the fact that many of the players were not alive when the movie first came out.
There is something for everyone in the Kevin Costner Baseball Triangle. Photo R. Anderson
Another interesting aspect of the real life Durham Bulls is that they serve as the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays who were 10 years away from existing at the time of the film’s release.
As a bit of trivia the Bulls were a Single-A affiliate at the time the movie was made and were owned by one of the filmmakers.
But enough about things that weren’t around when the movie came out. It is time to focus on something highlighted in the movie that is no longer around.
In the movie and in real life, Max Patkin was the Clown Prince of Baseball. For over 50 years Patkin went to Minor League ballparks across the country and Canada performing his baseball clown act.
I was fortunate enough to see Patkin perform during an Orlando Sun Rays game at Tinker Field. Patkin’s act was shown in several scenes and Patkin himself got a dance to himself later in the movie.
While it was clear that Patkin was closer to the end of his performing career than the beginning by the time Bull Durham came out, to this day when I watch his performance scenes it is like I am right there watching him in person and trying to avoid getting sprayed by his water trick.
Although he died in 1999, Patkin will forever live on in his scenes from Bull Durham. That is both a testament to the man himself and to the filmmakers for recognizing the important role he played in conveying the essence of Minor League Baseball.
Another staple of both the movie and Minor League Baseball in general is road trips on a bus. Unlike the Major League players who travel in first class chartered planes, the Minor League players arrive by bus for all of their road trips.
Not much has changed with the Durham Bulls logo since Bull Durham came out. It is still one of the more iconic and recognized looks in the Minor Leagues. Photo R. Anderson
When Michael Jordan tried to make it as a baseball player in the late 80s, he bought a luxury bus for the Birmingham Barons to use.
Still, despite the “luxury” bus features it is hard to picture Air Jordan traveling through the cities of the Southern League in a bus.
As for the bus that was used in the movie, that was purchased by a man named Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Jr. is someone who knows a thing or two about motorized vehicles.
While Bull Durham has stood the test of time for 25 years, every once in a while a rumor surfaces about a potential sequel being made. Sequels can certainly be tricky business as few ever really are as good as the first or meet the lofty expectations set for them.
But, even with all of that being said, I would still watch a sequel to Bull Durham. Do I think it could ever be as good as the first movie? Probably not.
But, it does not have to be as good as the first movie. It just needs to help show where the characters ended up some 25 years after we left them on the porch and field.
I have my own ideas about what happened to the characters. So, if a sequel is never made I will still carry on my version of the story in my head. But it would be nice to see the cast get back together for one more trip around the bases.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I am off to swing for the fences and see if I can hit the bull to win a steak. And remember “This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.”
I have been a baseball fan for a long time but last Thursday I did something that I hadn’t done in three decades of fandom and also did a few things that I had never done before.
As mentioned before the first Major League Baseball game I ever attended was a Baltimore Orioles home game at Memorial Stadium in 1983.
Since then I have seen numerous Orioles Spring Training games over the years in ballparks all across Florida.
Today is Memorial Day which is a United States Federal Holiday that occurs every year on the final Monday of May.
It is a day of remembrance and a time to honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.
The Battle of Galveston is reenacted yearly. The Civil War led to what would become Memorial Day. Photo R. Anderson
Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the United States Civil War to honor soldiers on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line who lost their lives in battle.
Memorial Day was expanded in the last century to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.
While dating back to the war between the states, in recent years Memorial Day has also marked the start of the summer vacation season with Labor Day acting as the second bookend in September to signal the end of the summer season.
Over the course of the past weekend families traveled all over to enjoy time in the sun and surf as they officially left winter behind and embraced the feeling of summer.
Memorial Day is a time to honor those who fought and died for our freedom. Photo R. Anderson
As part of the holiday weekend, numerous television networks used the time to air marathons of their most popular shows to capture the attention of those viewers who were not out in the sun catching waves or barbecuing as their way of celebrating the weekend.
The Houston Astros won two out of their last three games this week and truth be told, aside from an epic collapse by the bullpen, they should have won all three games against the Kansas City Royals.
That is not however what is making the national news as a so called
