MISSING BASEBALL #1
 
In the 1990s I found this copy of the 1926 AL Constitution in a Cape Cod bookstore. It had belonged to Joe Cronin who was league president for 14 years. 

In 1934, Cronin, a Hall of Fame shortstop, was sold by his uncle-in-law Clark Griffith, owner of the Senators, to Red Sox for $225k, a huge sum at the time. 

I like how the book has glued-in updates. Interesting info includes policies for teams catching trains and the minimum of 50¢ for a championship ticket. Cronin died in 1984.

MISSING BASEBALL #2

In baseball, order is important. So I placed these cards in proper order — left to right.

Reads like poetry. Because it is!

MISSING BASEBALL #3

 

For a long time, to say “wooden baseball bat” was redundant. These real bats, the older the better, feel great in gloveless hands. 

 

So almost daily I pick up one in my home study and give it a gentle swing. Most are Hillerich and Bradsby’s famous Louisville Sluggers — embossed with names like Mantle, Aaron, Clemente, Yastrzemski and Jackie Robinson.

 

There’s a Spalding softball bat with a few nicks but a rich, aged wood tone and a Hanna Batrite from a former Athens, Ga. company. 

 

Long-time owner of the Chattanooga Lookouts, Joe Engel, made bats for a while. Of course, there wasn’t much one could do in baseball marketing and merchandising that he didn’t try. 

 

Baseball nostalgia is all we've got now. It’s May already, and I sure do miss hearing the crack of the bat.

MISSING BASEBALL #4

Braves fans have long been known for checking the forecast.

MISSING BASEBALL #5

For a dime, baseball cards came five to a pack with a stick of pink gum that left a sweet smell and a dusting of sugar on the top card. (Although I saw in the back of Boy's Life magazine where rich kids could order the whole set for a staggering $13.) 

Occasionally, though, the dime packs had inserts — including a smaller card to be used in a simple game called "Batter Up!" in 1968. 

I framed some of those a few years ago because they reminded me of my youth and showed some of my favorite players. 

Whoever developed this project was obviously a Mays fan; he got to be the home run card while drawing an Aaron or Mantle card resulted in a single. Poor Matty Alou was an error and Tim McCarver a foul out.

MISSING BASEBALL #6

Being such a colorful personality, Yogi's exceptional playing ability could be underappreciated. 

Both his skills and malapropisms contributed greatly to the game now in hiatus.

(Note: While baseball is waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to lessen, I'm looking more closely at the memorabilia in my home study and reflecting on the game so many of us are missing now.)