¡Alegría!

¡Alegría! the 'Joy of Beisbol' is back! Pedro Martinez returned to the mound today for the first time this season, completing his recovery from shoulder surgery. His final line, 5 IP 2 ER 4 K (including punchado #3000) was not a vintage performance as Pedro worked mostly in the mid-80s with his fastball relying heavily on his cutter + changeup but it was enough against the Reds for career win number 207. More importantly he provided the Mets with an emotional boost that may carry them deep into October.

"Having him back in the clubhouse is a shot of life," -- David Wright.

'Life' is something Pedro will always bring to the game. The Pedro Martinez that dominated baseball from 1997 - 2002 will never be seen again. The 96 mph fastball he used to intimidate hitters before baffling them with his Bugs Bunny changeup is gone and he's no longer able to summon the vicious curveball that left batters motionless. His tattered, torn and now surgically repaired shoulder won't allow him to call upon his once unparalleled physical talent for pitching a baseball. But the alegria, the joy, that is inside of him cannot be suppressed by age or injury. All of us who are fortunate enough to witness him on a mound even at this stage of his career should welcome his return to the Game with his same passion and joy.

hitting is fifty percent above the shoulders*

the greatest player I have ever witnessed in my lifetime was talking with 'the commissioner' about the game and what it's been like pursuing The Record. Not much of interest really until he was asked 'what's been the toughest thing now that you're so close to the record?' The greatest player I have ever witnessed in my lifetime began to give another practiced answer but then paused, thought and said something of much greater interest...

'the only thing that gets me is when they change the balls - I gotta try and not see that change. In my mind, when I see the ball change, that's when you know something different is going on'

Wait? What did he mean 'when they change the balls'? and then it hit me - MLB places a special stamp on balls they want to verify for historic reasons, a way to make sure those moral stalwarts in the memorabilia business don't cheat the public (or at least don't cheat MLB and other moral stalwarts in the memorabilia business)

So in the less than the 0.42 seconds it takes a ball moving in excess of 90mph to travel the distance from a pitcher's hand to home plate, the greatest player I have ever witnessed in my lifetime eye/mind (1.) recognizes the stamp (2.) thinks 'hmmm...that's different - ooooh yeah, I'm only a few homeruns away from The Record, they'll want to be able to get that ball back' (3.) determines if the pitch is one he will choose to send hurtling back through the atmosphere at a great distance and even greater speed.
*For those of you unfamiliar with the game of baseball - this is not easily accomplished or really, even fathomed. It's not quite TGHWL© reading the label off a spinning 45 from across the room - but it's close

I'm not naive, I've read Game of Shadows, I've followed his career since his call up in '86 and I've seen all the physical changes... I also know without any doubt, that Barry Lamar Bonds is the greatest player I have ever witnessed in my lifetime.

*attributed to 'The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived'

heroes get remembered but legends never die...

two recent articles, this one by Eric Neel and Joe Posnaski's 'The Legend of Bo', got me thinking about the players I will always remember. The men who's stories I hope to share with my children and theirs when I'm old, senile and can't remember much other than Pedro's line from 1999 (23 -4 2.07 ERA 313 Ks) the geometric perfection in the arc of Griffey's swing or the speed and grace of a man called Kirby who measured 5'8" and 240+ lbs...
so over the coming weeks and months I hope to fill this space with the memories I have of the 'legends' of the game... maybe not a list of all-time greats (although there will be those) and maybe not even everyone an all-star... but a list of the players, the games, the moments that deserve re-telling, to be shared for years to come so they can always be remembered