Wrigley Field, My House of Worship
"I believe in the Church of Baseball. I've tried all the major religions, and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms, and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I heard that, I gave Jesus a chance. But it just didn't work out between us. The Lord laid too much guilt on me. I prefer metaphysics to theology. You see, there's no guilt in baseball, and it's never boring... which makes it like sex. There's never been a ballplayer slept with me who didn't have the best year of his career. Making love is like hitting a baseball: you just gotta relax and concentrate. Besides, I'd never sleep with a player hitting under .250... not unless he had a lot of RBIs and was a great glove man up the middle. You see, there's a certain amount of life wisdom I give these boys. I can expand their minds. Sometimes when I've got a ballplayer alone, I'll just read Emily Dickinson or Walt Whitman to him, and the guys are so sweet, they always stay and listen. 'Course, a guy'll listen to anything if he thinks it's foreplay. I make them feel confident, and they make me feel safe, and pretty. 'Course, what I give them lasts a lifetime; what they give me lasts 142 games. Sometimes it seems like a bad trade. But bad trades are part of baseball - now who can forget Frank Robinson for Milt Pappas, for God's sake? It's a long season and you gotta trust. I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball." ~ Bull Durham
I haven’t been to many baseball fields, but I can definitely attest to the feeling that you get when you enter Wrigley Field. I don’t believe that there’s anything else like it. I’m sure Boston and Yankee fans will come at me for this statement. But here, I feel a sense of being at home, with family, and there is nothing like singing the Seventh Inning Stretch amongst them. The night of June 6th, Heyward’s walk-off grand slam was one of many peaks I have had there (World Series Game 3 was the ultimate, despite the loss) people hugging, high fives, sharing their W flags, just a sense of family and pure joy. Makes my heart happy.
June 6, 2018 Grand slam by Jason Heyward for this W
Perhaps the problem is, I’ve never been to an old stadium, other than Wrigley. I’ve done the majority on the West Coast and Colorado.I use the word ‘problem’ loosely, as I do not see this a problem, ha!
There is something about the friendly confines.. people are warm, welcoming, ready to drink beer and talk baseball! The restaurants want you there, want for you to come back, and a plethora of places to choose from!! I haven’t even come close to seeing even half of them, but rest assure, I’ll be scouting new places with each return!
