Take Me Out to the Ball Game

The phrase, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” doesn’t mean the same thing to everybody. Some think it means “Baseball.” Others think, “Football.”

Consequently, Annapolis Senior Activity Center seniors wore spirit gear ranging from the Baltimore Orioles to Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins to the center’s “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” event on Sept. 11.

One enterprising senior, Ruth Latimer, even wore her Baltimore Orioles Bird outfit.

Whatever the outfit, the seniors participated in a spirited and very competitive Homerun Derby. Some seniors called it Wiffle Ball; some called it T-ball. Whatever its name, seniors were given three turns to hit the ball. The senior who hit it the furthest won.

The winner, Pat Ross, hit the ball all the way across the room, and judging by the ball’s velocity, it might have kept on going if the space was bigger. Runner up Roger Rambo didn’t put quite the spin on the ball, but it still went quite a ways.

The fun was broken up by a moment of silence when everyone paused to remember the victims of 9/11.

Then, Terry Nolan, a Senior Center Plus staff member, led the seniors in the singing of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

After the singing the seniors lined up for snacks, including peanuts, crackerjacks, chips, cookies and lemonade.

Of the snacks, the crackerjacks were the biggest hit. For most seniors, it had been forever since they indulged in crackerjacks. They reminisced about the days that they came in boxes, not bags, and when the prizes were as good as or even better than the sweet treat. In fact, some said they bought the boxes just for the prizes.

By contrast, the piece of paper in most boxes left the seniors a little puzzled. Was it a baseball card, temporary tattoo, sticker, iron-on, or a message leading to another prize from a telephone App? After the paper was thoroughly scrutinized, the seniors turned their attention to a new source of fun … a film of baseball bloopers.

They watched as baseball players tumbled into walls, bushes, stands, dugouts and each other as they kept their eyes firmly on the ball. They saw baseballs being fumbled and dropped and seemingly go right through the gloves. They saw players who appeared to need a refresher course for “Base Running 101.”

Kittens, squirrels, birds and bees took over some baseball fields. Other fields turned into tarp water slides or the stage for players performing parodies of their teammates or such famous players as Babe Ruth. Rookies dressed as cowboys, members of the “Wizard of Oz” cast, cheerleaders and other outlandish creatures.

After watching the bloopers and all the baseball pranks, the general consensus was “Baseball is a kids’ game and some kids never grow up.” That seemed to make it a perfect game for a senior center.