Big baseball weekend here in Northwestern Ohio

I haven't blogged in a while. I've been busy with stuff and really haven't had much time to have any thoughts much less type them up. Now, however, the season had started and I feel revived.

This is a big baseball weekend for me. Here in a couple of hours, I will be going to my first practice as a member of a local Vintage Base Ball team. I've always been interested in the history and traditions of baseball. In particular, I'm drawn to the era when players weren't highly paid superstars but regular Joe's. To be honest, a lot of the professional baseball players in the 19th century were social outcasts and hard-nose brawlers. During that time in American history being a professional ballplayer did not pay very much and the very nature of it (year-to-year contracts, etc.) was not considered to be a good career choice. People that didn't quite fit into the rest of society, in turn, chose to play baseball. Fifty-nine in '84 by Edward Achorn paints a nice picture of baseball during this time. I was approached a few months ago by a friend who does Civil War reenactments for the county historical society about playing Vintage Base Ball and I jumped at the chance. I went to get measured for my uniform earlier this week and have ordered my 19th century-style baseball cap to match. I've got a feeling this is going to be a lot of fun. I'll try to post some picture of our games -- first game is May 2.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Fifth Third Field here in Toledo to see Aroldis Chapman pitch in his U.S. professional debut for Reds Triple-A affiliate, Louisville. I'm looking forward to seeing his 100+mph fastball live and close up.