“Hope Springs Eternal……” — Alexander Pope
The opening of Baseball means Spring!
And Spring signifies optimism.
A baseball field is the perfect insignia for Spring. It spends all winter being ignored. Mother Nature gives it no breaks. The muck that is the infield; the mire the outfield has become…how are these the same majestic grounds??
Then spring arrives. Crowds gather to cheer. Vendors sing out offerings of hot dogs and beer. The organist expresses her tunes for all to hear.
Alexander Pope is the second most frequently quoted writer after William Shakespeare. He is most well known for his translation of Homer. Baseball, played in countless nations and described by every language imaginable needs no translation for its version of a homer. That crack of the bat speaks all languages.
Happy Spring everyone! And as my beloved Chicago Cubs showed us last year, there is always, always a reason to be hopeful!!
Join Bill Murray in a rousing chorus of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”.