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THE HERALD Wednesday March 21 1M0 Page 23 ICmon eh Lets play ball Kinsmen softball Somehow figures Last week with the environs of Halton Hills basking in near summerlike weather negotiations between major league baseball players and the owners were in a deepfreeze With snow blanketing the ground on Monday it was learned that the impasse in negotiations had been breached and that there would in deed be a 1990 Major League baseball season I couldnt help but chuckle at the irony of it as I gazed out my base ment apartment window Ma day morning and watched the fluffy flakes cascading down as the radio annr- ncer In the background an nounced that The boys of summer will be playing baseball soon Of course it didnt help matters that my pet fish Bert was bubbl ing Jingle Bells in the aquarium nearby I flashed a can of tuna in front of the tank and suggested to Bert that he cease and desist or he would be next The baseball settlement timing was appropriate however as news filtered in from the numerous baseball and organizations in Halton Hills that plans for registrations and the upcoming season for the respective organizations were well under way Perhaps years of writing sports causes a person to become somewhat cynical at times The shroud of innocence that once covered and protected sporting endeavors is slowly being stripped away and oncerevered athletic heroes are revealed to be mere mortals trying to cope or in some cases failing to cope with the same everyday trials and tribula tions that affect the general public I back to my days of in when as a young lad baseball and were summer treasures that never lost their glow recalled a column I had written years ago Growing up the small Nor Ontario hamlet of Cochrane my interest in the game of baseball was aroused not only by the glossy American publications on the newstands that blared out the of the Great American pastime but by two characters who entertained me on many a youthful and rainy Satur day afternoon Im referring to baseball im mortals Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese who were the broadcasters for NBCs Game of the Week that was picked up by CBC television every Saturday afternoon during the baseball season At that time the only channel that was Cochrane was the through television station CFCL in Timmons roughly 60 miles away Today with cable television and satellite dishes and super nels sports programs or what passes as sports programs are AS I SEE IT regurgitated houreaday almost as if sports was fast approaching In reality sports over kill is what is occurring Up North there were occasional sports specials but for the most part we were on a strict sports diet I think this was what made those Saturday afternoon baseball games so special Dean and Reese brought something to the game that is somehow sadly lacking in the ma jority of todays broadcasting crews Perhaps it was character and love of the game Dizzy might play the buffoon and Reese might play the straight man to some of Deans putons but they never upstaged the game at hand and it was ob vious they had a deep love and respect for baseball In the early 1960s the New York Yankees were everybodys favorite team and admittedly I was no exception Unabashedly I loved the Yanks You couldnt pick up a comic book but there was Mickey Mantle on the back cover the epitome of the All American boy As we have since learned Man tie was far from being the angel portrayed by the sporting media but his triumphs and tragedies were etched into the minds of a generation of youngsters He was and still is to many fans what a baseball player or perhaps just an athlete in general was all about I remember cheering Mantle and getting apoplectic when team mate and home run rival Roger Mans lofted one over the fence Lucky shot I would mutter How much are you paving the pit cher When Mantle and Marls were jointly chasing Babe Ruths single season home run record of dingers I must have been hell around the house for my mother Especially after Mans established the asterisked mark of I plotted my revenge over the winter months I would go after the Major League mark of the time that the great Bambino Babe Ruth had established over a career I would hit more than home runs just to show Mans but I would complish the feat m one summer Through sandlot pickup school yard and league games anywhere some kind of baseball or softball game was going on 1 kept track of my home runs As May departed I had hit By the end of June I had totalled As July waned I passed the 600 figure The momentous month was August when I surpassed the Sultan of Swat I recall circling the bases jump ing for joy when number got lost in the long grass and I knew my quest was over My enthusiasm wasnt dampen ed in the least when the erstwhile pitcher who had the pitch informed me that he had to go home now because It was time for his nap Threeyearolds I discovered find historic occasions rather boring especially when theyre tired I remember one winter I had just finished reading the book Bat Boy for the Indians and as it was early in the year I decided to write to the Yankees and offer myself for that prestigious position with my heroes I sent the letter to Ralph Houk then managing the Yankees and addressed it to Yankee Stadium somewhere in New York State in the United States I dont think I ever really ex pected a reply but some weeks later my mother came into my room with an envelope addressed to me from the New York Yankees The letter was datelined Fort Lauderdale Florida site of the Yankees training camp and it was handwritten by Ralph Houk He explained to me as gently as he could that the Yankee bat boys were recruited locally and that therefore there wasnt much chance I would get the job In a sense I suppose I expected as much But what I didnt expect was the large manila envelope that amved in the mail two days later Houk had forwarded to me an autographed picture of the Yankees a pennant personal biographies of all the Yankee players including their off serason mailing addresses in case 1 wanted to correspond with them several other souvenirs and a season schedule For a young boy growing up in the wilds of Northern Ontario this act of kindness on Houks part made me a lifelong devotee of the game Yes innocence and dreams die hard So lets get out the gloves bats balls and spikes and Lets play ball As I see it anyway set for season WANT SOMETHING NEW EXCITING JOIN THE FUN LEARN TO SCUBA DIVE I Courses Begin Georgetown April 1st May Groundhog Divers call collect Victoria York Plaza Rial BASEBALL SEASON IS HERE LADIES SOFTBALL TEAM NEEDS PLAYERS CONTACT DIANE TAYLOR 8777560 JANE NEWN3 8730478 UTS PLAY ALU By COLIN GIBSON Herald Sports Editor The Georgetown Kinsmen Girls Softball League is entering its fourth decade of operation this summer offering females from age seven through years the op portunity to play the game and en joy the camaraderie of par ticipating in a competitive league that also stresses good sportsman ship and team play Girls from the various com munities in Halton Hills are welcome to join league and registration forms are available on page of the Hills Recrea tion and Parks Department Spring and Summer 90 brochure The cutoff date to register with the league is April 1 and as places on teams are limited it is sug gested that interested players register as soon as possible Further information on the league and registration procedures can be obtained by contacting Jim Ford at The Kinsmen Club is very active in supporting the league both from a financial standpoint and through the many hours club members devote to coaching and umpmng in the league The league is also dependent on the assistance of fered by volunteers and the cial support shown by sponsors within Halton Hills The Kinsmen Girls Softball League is separated into three categories of age groupings Junior League players range in age from seven years through 10 years as of Jan and learning the fundamentals of the game is stressed The three pitch rule is enforced and coaches pitch to their own players Games are played Thurs day evenings on diamonds at the Georgetown Fairgrounds Intermediate League girls range in age from years through 14 years as of Jan 1 and regular rules come into play Again all games are played day evenings at the Georgetown Fairgrounds Senior League players range in age from 15 years through years as of May and league games are played Tuesday evenings employing regular softball rules at the Georgetown Fairgrounds If player interest warrants the league could add more teams to the vanous leagues At present the Junior League has four teams the Intermediate League has six teams and the Senior League has four teams An arrangement has been made with the Georgetown Branch 120 GOT 10 MINUTES Lube RD I f ARMSTRONG AVE J 8779394 GEORGETOWN MINOR HOCKEY ASSOCIATION SPRING REGISTRATION Sal Mar Wed Mar 00 7 9 p Sat April 7 1 GORDON ALC0TT ARENA In The Lobby ALL OTHER LEAGUES Royal Canadian Legion sponsored midget girls rep team that would allow more advanced players from the Kinsmen Girls Softball League to experience more competitive The registration fee for has been set at 0 per player or per family that has more than one player in the league The registration fee covers the cost of a team sweater and a team and individual photograph The Senior League begins 1990 season play May 22 while the In termediate and Junior Leagues get under way May 24 Book NOW for j TEAM W UNIFORMS if A BASEBALL SOCCER FOOTBALL BALL HOCKEY i AND MORE COME AND VISIT OUR SAMPLING AND SIZING ROOM DISTRIBUTORS MAIN ST SOUTH Downtown Georgetown 8730500