Casey Sarano

Professor Campbell
UWRT 1103
31 January 2016
Born To Baseball
As I stood on the third base line alongside my coaches and teammates on Senior Night
last Spring, I couldnt help but be nostalgic about how much I love the game of baseball. The
sight of family and friends in the stands, the sounds of cheering from the fans and chatter from
the dugout, the smell of hot dogs and popcorn in the air from the concession stands, the freshly
mowed green grass, the crunch of cleats hitting the pavement, and the warm sunlight smiling
down on the field. To me, there is truly nothing on earth like the baseball experience that I have
grown up a part of. At that moment, I knew in my heart that I had been born to baseball.
Anyone who knows me well is aware of how much baseball has influenced my life. My
parents met while working for the New York Mets, so baseball has always been in my blood. I
was born in Lakeland, Florida, spring training home of the Detroit Tigers. Since my mom
worked for the Tigers minor league operations in Lakeland at the time, I attended my first
baseball game at Tigertown when I was about two weeks old. I learned to talk baseball at the
very same time as I uttered my first words, one of which was ball. You could say that the seeds
of baseball culture and the language surrounding the game were planted in my heart at a very
early age.

Baseball is built on a rich history and the game has developed a lingo unlike any other
sport. A bonus of being part of a baseball family with a mom working in the sport was the
opportunity to attend countless number of professional and minor league baseball games when I
was young. Small ballparks, like those in the minors, offer an intimate setting where fans are
very close to the action on the field. It was in the seats behind home plate at Tigertown that I
became fascinated by the unique language of baseball spoken by fans and through player chatter
heard on the field. There is literally an alphabet of baseball terms that range from A to Z, with
the possible exception of X which I cant recall having a specific baseball meaning or slang
associated with it. Without mentioning some of the more colorful language I absorbed at such
close proximity to the game, some of my favorite baseball terms learned before I could write
were:
Around the Horn - infielders throw the ball to each other after an out, as long as there are no
runners on base; it is a tradition that also keeps the players throwing arms limber and active.
Bases Loaded - runners are on at every base, first, second, and third. There is great scoring
opportunity for the team at bat, and also the possibility for the team on the field to turn a double
play to get two runners out. Other related terms are bases jammed, bases juiced, or bases
drunk. If a home run is hit with bases loaded, its a grand slam scoring four runs on one play.
Can of Corn a fly ball that is easy to catch.
Cheddar or Cheese a fastball that is perfect to hit. High cheese is right in the strike zone;
low cheese comes across the plate at the knees.
Good Eye a hitter with excellent awareness of the strike zone who only swings at the good
pitches.

Salami a grand slam home run

Uncle Charlie a curveball, the type of pitch thats known as one of the hardest balls to hit.
Another early memory that enhanced my love of the game is that there is no other sport
that inspires so much entertaining conversation. Baseball fans love to talk about the game.
Talking baseball can be generational between father and son taking in their first ballgame
together, fan to fan comparing whose favorite player or team is the best, player to player in the
dugout talking strategy, coach to player relaying a silent set of signs and signals about what the
next play on the field should be, or between any living beings who share a love of the game.
Each of the conversations heard around the ballpark taught me not only unique baseball lingo,
but also entertained me with stories about favorite games watched or played, exposed me to tons
of trivia questions and answers, schooled me with baseball strategy talk, and educated me with a
slew of statistics about all aspects of the game.
My most favorite Tigertown memory is of watching the unspoken love of the game
shared between a blind man and his golden retriever seeing-eye dog who accompanied him to
every Tigers spring training game. The two sat side by side behind home plate and each of them
was as intent on watching the game as anyone with sight ever could be. Even though I was only
about four years old, I was very aware of the special bond that man and dog shared through their
love of baseball. During one game, my mom brought me over to meet Mr. Bob and Jake the dog.
Mr. Bob told us about how he had grown up playing and watching baseball until he lost his sight
in a bad car accident. As he spoke, Mr. Bob never turned his face away from the field as he
explained how he could tell what kind of pitches the pitcher was throwing by the sound the ball
made when it hit the catchers glove. Like his master, Jake didnt let his eyes stray from the field

either. But, he was fascinated with pitching for a different reason he wanted the ball. A definite
friendship began that day between Mr. Bob, Jake, and me. As my mom and I said goodbye to our
friends on the last game of spring training before they returned home to Michigan, my mom
presented both Mr. Bob and Jake with brand new baseballs. Mr. Bob later wrote to us that Jake
held the ball in his mouth all the way home in the car that day, only removing it for occasional
breaks for water and some food.
As I grew a little older, I became interested in learning to write in the language of
baseball through keeping a scorecard and statistics. If knowing baseball jargon was like a secret
language, then keeping score was like being able to write in secret code. I noticed how baseball
enthusiasts will score, count, argue about, and keep track of most any aspect of the game. Want
to know which position a player played, how runs scored, who hit the big home run, and in what
inning? Look to the scorecard. Knowing how to keep a baseball scorecard enhances the baseball
experience and makes you feel closer to the game whether youre in the stands or on the field. It
also taught me to pay close attention to what was happening on field. First, each position on the
field is assigned a specific number: the pitcher is 1; catcher is 2; 1st baseman is 3; 2nd baseman is
4, 3rd baseman is 5; shortstop is 6; leftfielder is 7; centerfielder is 8; and rightfielder is 9. Play
action on the field is then scored using this number shorthand. For example, a ground ball fielded
by the second baseman and thrown to the first baseman to make an out would be scored 4-3. A
double play, a play made by the defense team to tag two runners out, could be fielded by the
shortstop, thrown to the second baseman, and then to first base, and be scored 6-4-3. A fly ball
caught by the centerfielder would be scored 8. A completed scorecard serves as a treasured
souvenir of each game you attend.

My knowledge of baseball jargon and ability to keep stats built a solid foundation for my
love of the game and fueled a desire to learn more. I turned to reading anything sports related.
The Baseball Card Adventures was a series of 12 books, written by Dan Gutman, about a boy
who could travel back in time when he touched old baseball cards to meet some of the baseball
greats like Honus Wagner, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ted Williams, and Babe Ruth. Other favorite
books were Heat, Free Baseball, and Mudville, to name a few.
A natural progression was to start playing little league as soon as I was old enough to be
eligible. Over the years, I joined town recreation teams, was fortunate enough to be named to
All-Star teams, and was honored to play on my high school varsity team for all four years. With
my organized playing career coming to an end after high school, it was bittersweet. The baseball
field has been my home for a dozen years. My heart beats quicker each spring as baseballs
opening day approaches. Keeping a positive outlook, I know I will always be involved in the
game to some capacity. There are opportunities to play club baseball and intramural softball in
college, in addition to continuing my passion coaching and teaching children with special needs
to play the game that I love so much.
All of these treasured memories, friends, books, and more came flooding back to me as I
stood on the third base line on a warm and nostalgic Senior Night. To me, Talkin Baseball is not
just the name of a 1980s song written by Terry Cashman about the baseball greats Willie (Mays),
Mickey (Mantle), and The Duke (Snider). Talkin Baseball also illustrates the story of my
unique experiences associated with Americas favorite pastime. I am blessed beyond belief that I
was born to baseball.