Those of you who know me at all know of my unquenchable love of all things about The Game: baseball. All of the teams are working out now either in the Grapefruit League (Florida) or the Cactus League (Arizona), and spring training games begin on Wednesday, February 22. I’m so excited!!! For me, the off-season is such a downer; I refer to it as The Void. The Hot Stove League (trades, rumors, free agent signings, etc.) heats up from time to time, but there isn’t that healthy daily dose of Vitamin B (baseball) that I crave and need.

I’ve been enthralled with The Game since I was first introduced to it as a small child. One of the greatest days of my life was when my parents gave me a small portable transistor radio at around age 9, which became my connection to My Team: the Houston Astros. I listened to every game, vicariously going through all of the ups and downs of a season with the team just as though I was a part of it.

During the games, I paced all around our neighborhood with the radio tucked up at my ear, listening to the wonderful calls of then Astros play-by-play announcers Gene Elston and Loell Passe. It was magical. I celebrated good things, was crushed when bad things happened, and I sometimes questioned a managerial move out loud. While I love watching games on television, there’s just something about baseball on the radio that I love. The current Astros radio broadcast team of Robert Ford and Steve Sparks are awesome at their craft.

I remember one night when the Astros were playing the Dodgers on the west coast, and the game started after my 8:00 p.m. bedtime. However, not to worry. I just got under the sheet, turned the radio down real low and listened anyway. One night I listened until 4:00 a.m. because the game went well into extra innings, which I love and view as free baseball.  I say a silent prayer that each game that I watch (that doesn’t involve my Astros) goes into extra innings! Of course, I want the Astros to win convincingly every game in  regulation nine innings!

My late mother, who honestly couldn’t care a less about baseball, and I had a ritual that we went through every spring from 1969 on until her death last October. Before the season started, Mom would ask me who would win the pennant, and my response was always the same: the Houston Astros. Never mind that I’ve only been right one time since 1969 (2005). It was a ritual, and it is one that I will sorely miss this season.

I miss Mom terribly. But I want to be clear about this: my Houston Astros will win the pennant this year! That’s for you, Mom!!!

Play ball!!!