Life lessons at the ballpark

I’m on my last leg back to Nashville after a short layover in Denver. After sitting on the tarmac for about an hour we finally receive clearance to take off back to Music City. Sadly, the wine bottling dream is over for 2008, which almost ended before it began! As usual the bottling event started early on Saturday morning, but it didn’t take long before I narrowly avoided the disabled list. I was thinking this weekend would provide a safe getaway from the possibility of another feed-zone crash, but lo-and-behold danger exists in the most unusual places during a bottling.

I was attempting to get up into the bottling trailer by pulling up on a sturdy aluminum bar held in place in the opening of a doorway. The bar is horizontally held within the door frame and allows those inside to work on the line while not having to worry about falling backwards onto the ground. Adam says, “Yeah, just pull yourself up, it’ll hold you no problem. I’ve done it a bunch of times, no worries.” I reply, “Are you sure? It doesn’t seem too stable.” I’m told again don’t worry about it.

No sooner as I put my left hand on and pull down that the bar snaps loose and cracks me in the top of the head! Thank goodness it was a lighter aluminum, but there was no chance of jumping back out of the way. It landed across the top of my head and fell to the ground, and luckily I managed to stay on my feet. I look up at Adam with this look that said, “What tha’, I can’t believe this!” I can see his face and he’s feeling some kind of dumb. I immediately feel some blood dripping down into my eyebrow. I reach up with my left hand and put my palm on top, bring it back down, and it’s covered in blood. Great! It’s about seven in the morning, the bottling has just started, and I’m already cut up before even having one sip of wine!

Everybody rushes over to give me a look and all I can think about is that I hope I don’t have to go get stitches. Getting stitches is no big deal, but I didn’t fly all the way to wine country to miss bottling because of a silly accident. I go into the bathroom and start wiping myself off and take a closer look at the cut. It’s a pretty long slash on the head, but fortunately it’s neither deep nor split open badly. We throw a huge band-aid on my head and I take a seat for a few minutes before going to work. Holy cow, talk about a near miss.

If you remember, the last time I visited the winery back in November I was jacked up with a pair of broken elbows. I wasn’t able to lift anything heavier than a glass of wine back then, and now I’m lucky to not need serious medical attention. The Housley family and friends already think I’m crazy after all the crashes and broken bones because of cycling. Maybe I should wear a helmet next time I visit the winery! Everybody showed sincere concern and checked on me often, but I bounced back quick and helped out quite a bit on the assembly line.

While the bottling was a long fun day we had an even more fun day on Sunday in San Francisco. To celebrate Adam’s upcoming birthday his brother had tickets to the Giants and Dodgers game, and if you know anything about rivalries then you know these two teams and fans of both teams do not like one another. When I found out about the chance to go I was all for it, but the only problem was Adam had to secure some extra tickets. Well, being Mr. FOX News on the West Coast he called up the Giants media folks and lined up several media passes. Sweet!

Last year during Barry Bonds’ chase for the all-time home run record Adam covered the Giants everyday for about three weeks straight for FOX News. What a tough assignment huh? He said the electricity surrounding the chase at the stadiums was amazing, but even on this day the excitement was high as the crowd was streaming into the ballpark. The Dodgers are battling for first place while the Giants languish thinking of nothing more satisfying than hurting the Dodgers chances for a playoff spot. On Saturday the Giants won in their last at-bat, but can they make it two in a row?

In case you don’t know once upon a time in another time my life was all about baseball; reaching the professional level even. Baseball isn’t something I miss much at all even though I played it, but I do have a passion for the purity of the sport and the life lessons it offers. I always preferred playing over watching, so I haven’t stayed involved or interested much since my last spring training. However, today it’s the Dodgers and Giants. Today it’s about beautiful AT&T Park in downtown San Francisco, McCovey’s Cove and a sell out crowd. Plus, today I have the chance to watch future Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez come through in the clutch- as they say, Manny being Manny. He did not let Dodger fans down today.

We arrive to get our media passes, you know, the kind you have to wear around your neck saying you can go just about anywhere! We walk around the stadium a little before settling into the press box located just behind home plate. Ahhhh, all the free Coke, popcorn and peanuts you can eat! I look around and there are sportswriters all around tapping into their laptops as they develop stories of the game pitch-by-pitch, and I’m just dying to talk to some of these beat writers. I resist and let them do their jobs.

The game was a pretty good pitching battle until the seventh inning as the Dodgers came to bat down a run. They get a couple of guys on base, first and third, when Manny comes up with an opportunity to make them pay. Sure enough, crack, a smoking line drive to the left of short-stop that goes into the gap of left-center. The runner from first had the wheels to score all the way from first, and Manny strolled in to second for an electrifying two run double. The Giants fans just had the wind knocked out of them and you could sense disappointment in the stadium.

The bottom of the ninth rolls around and we make our way into the left field section to watch from a different view. The Giants are coming to bat down just one run, and the crowd is getting totally amped up chanting “Beat LA, Beat LA.” These fans are serious, and the few Dodger fans scattered about are getting ragged on left and right. First batter up, boom, a single to right. Louder, “Beat LA, Beat LA.” Second batter, a smashing line drive base hit to left. The place is really rocking now! After a failed bunt attempt for an out the fans don’t get discouraged since they’ve still got two outs left. The Dodgers third baseman makes a fielding error to load the bases and “Beat LA” is all you hear, louder even.

I’m not a fan of any one team really, but I am a fan of a good electrifying baseball game. I wasn’t rooting for either team, but this is atmosphere is fun. The Giants are down one run, bases are loaded, they have the momentum and still have two outs left. Did I mention it’s a sell out? Almost 42,000 in the stands today. If I’m choosing which team I’d rather be right now it’s definitely the Giants. With the crowd behind them and ducks on the pond this looks to be a great spoiling opportunity. Next batter up hits a grounder to second, the Dodgers get the out at second, attempt a double play at first, but the runner beats the throw! The double play would have ended the game, but he’s safe as the runner scores from third and ties the game! Oh, now the crowd is really into it. “Beat LA, Beat LA.”

At this point, as a fan not wanting to stick around for a long extra inning game, I am definitely hoping the next batter ends this puppy. The momentum is there, the Dodgers are on their heels, and the crowd is amped. Sure enough, next guy up hits a tough grounder up the middle that the pitcher couldn’t handle (though he should have!), and the short-stop comes across having trouble handling it as well. The winning run crosses the plate, the crowd goes nuts, and the Giants leap out of the dugout as they run onto the field to celebrate! So what if they’re 10 games out of first place. They just Beat LA! What an exciting scene and ending to a rivalry game.

Why do I even share all of this? Because this baseball game illustrates that it’s never over until it’s over. Until the final out is recorded you have a chance; no matter where you are in the current standings. Every game and every race is an opportunity to prove ourselves. Maybe today isn't your day to shine, but it's possible that your last effort will make a difference for a teammate. Leaders are meant to toppled and beaten, regularly. Your opponents are looking for weaknesses and hoping that you’ll give up the battle. The moment you do they work to put you away. Don’t ever give them the satisfaction.

Make them work for it till the very end, always. If you do you’ll see the tide turn. Results will improve and respect earned will rise. I need not tell you the alternative because in my book an acceptable alternative does not exist. Be the one opponents hate to see come to the plate with the game on the line, or be the one everybody wishes didn’t show up to the start line. Earn that type of respect and there’s your edge.

So that’s what I love about baseball. It never ceases to challenge the players on every single pitch. You're taught to never get caught looking, take your hacks and always get beat with your best stuff. Cycling can and does offer a similar challenge, but in a very unique way on a different timeline. I chose cycling because much like baseball it’s very difficult to succeed. We fail far more often than we succeed, but it’s from our mistakes where we learn our greatest lessons.

Maybe I do miss it after all…













The beautiful skyline of downtown San Francisco from across the Bay in Sausalito.

Editor Note - photo of tractor trailer courtesy of NashvilleCyclist.com. Photos from AT&T Park of the San Francisco Giants and of downtown San Francisco skyline courtesy of NC.com friend Adam Housley, FOX News correspondent.