Out of Left Field

Out of Left Field

I never liked watching baseball on tv

It was boring watching the tiny men

Run around the bases  

And swing at misses

But on summer days

When I visited my grandparents

We would sit on the front porch

With grandpa and his transistor radio

And listen to the game

The broadcast lively 

So much more exciting

Having the game going on in my head

My dad took me and my sister

To the ball game

Exhibition stadium

Sitting way up in the nosebleeds

The players were tiny

But we had binoculars

Pop and popcorn and people

Doing the wave with the crowd

During inning changes

And falling asleep on the drive home

In summer 

Dad would take us both outside

To play catch

Throwing pop ups and grounders

Showing us how to kneel to the side 

To make sure the ball didn’t go through our legs

And how to hold the glove above our head 

But still keep your eye on the ball

And he made sure that neither one of us

Threw like a girl

Not overhanded 

Arm whipping to the side

So that ball stung when it hit the pocket

For fun he would turn around at the last moment

And catch the ball behind his back

I played on exactly one baseball team

The youngest player

I was stuck out in right field

Told not to swing at anything

So I would be walked every time

Boring way to play

I wanted to hit the ball 

So in the last game of the season I did

I won’t ever forget the sound 

Of that ball tinging off the bat

Voted MVP that year

But it was the last time I ever played 

On a team

I still don’t like to watch baseball

But every now and then

I listen to the game

When the blue jays play

So I can remember 

The joy of summer

When I was ten

Words: ©2022LCR

Image: CCO

Inspired by: Forever Fan by Helen on her blog Poetry Matters