Philadelphia Sports Blog

by John Ryan

You walk into a pressbox, and a friendly old man looks up at you and says “well hello there.” He reminds you of your grandfather, and your first thought is, “why is this gentleman who is clad in preppy clothes and seems like a very proper British man in a baseball press box?” But you remember where you are. The game keeps going on and on and on, but no one seems to mind. Life is in black and white. Short, robust vendors walk about in an old fashioned stadium screaming, ” Get Yer Hot Dogs, Cracker Jacks, Soda Pop; 25 cents each.” Every fan is both happy and content with his or her surronding. It’s virtually all families and friends together. Baseball brings families and friends together. Legends are on the field; Ruth, Dimaggio, Robinson, etc. They continue to play as you gaze from the press box. In the middle of an inning, another old man walks into the press box. He looks lost, but looks at home. Like he just left his old team to announce for a new one. He is dressed in pale blue trousers, a white belt, white shoes, and a white blazer with a button up shirt underneath. He is friendly and he speaks to you in a barritone voice that is honed by millions of heaters and glass after glass of gin and tonic. He tells you he has “high hopes” for his new gig as he shakes your hand and then sees the first old man sitting down. He tells you to meet him at the bar after the game for a smoke and a drink. Then he smiles. It’s a smile of two long lost friends. The two embrace, and then sit down in their rightful place. The second old man looks out into the crowd, takes in the air and begins to call the game. The first old man who was in the pressbox first chimes in with his thoughts, and they have an ebb and flow to them not unlike a calm river on a beautiful sun splashed summer day. Let’s face it, they go together like baseball and cracker jacks. In between the next inning, after they’ve done their first together, the second old man says, “This is Heaven, Whitey.” “Hard to believe Harry, hard to believe,” he responds.