Local Dad Dreams of Sharing Baseball With His Kids

If you know how to use a Ghost Runner, what baseball card bubble gum tastes like and where you were when Mookie hit a dribbler through Buckner’s sticks, I’ll venture a guess you’re a baseball fan. 

Okay, maybe that last one is my own, but you know what I’m talking about.

Growing older and anticipating my opportunity to be a dad, it would warm my heart dreaming of the day I could share my passion for this pastime with my kids.  I had it all worked out.  After biding my time with SpongeBob, Dora and Tinky Winky, I would soon introduce my son to the Sultan of Swat, Hammerin’ Hank and Mr. October. 

Like every romanticized vision I had about fatherhood, it was knocked out of the park when my son declared, “I HATE baseball!”, as I attempted to interrupt his daily dose of animated antics.

Now before you begin to get the wrong impression, let me make this point perfectly clear. The following is an effort intended for my own benefit. While the
debate between Nature vs. Nurture rages on, it’s been settled in my mind. After all, what’s the point of being a dad if you can’t find a way to get your kids to like the things you like?  Err… I mean “share a bond.”

Flash-forward to present day. He now lists Buster Posey, Cody Ross, Mickey Mantle and the King of Crash as his favorite players. With piqued interest, he asks
what an RBI is. Fortunately Sandoval just ripped a double in the 8^th to tie the game giving me a perfect example to answer his question.

What clicked you might ask? The answer can be found on the shelves of our very own Pleasanton Library and marks your first summer assignment. If you miss the cut at the library, have no fear, is near.

A young boy finds half a million dollars and travels through time, all in the form of a baseball card. The book series begins with Honus & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure written by Dan Gutman. It’s a reliable lead-off hitter that gets the game going. Although it’s a bit unconventional to put the Colossus of Clout in the two-hole, Babe & Me by the same author should be up next.

After scoring a few runs with these two great books, it’s time to finish things off
by bringing in your closer with a screening of The Sandlot. Not in the emotionless Mariano Rivera sort of way, but in the “Did he just do what I think he did” Brian Wilson sort of way. You’ll have to check back next week to get the full details about how to pull that off.

A special thank you goes to my son’s 3^rd grade teacher at , Ms. Kirkwood, for introducing my son to this great series of books.

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