John Leonard over at All Things Valley League recently posted a nice story on Tommy Manzella, a former Valley Leaguer, who is also a former member of the Salem Avalanche. Mere mention of Tommy's name took me right back to the summer of 2007, when he played shortstop for Salem. Our daughter, Becky had an internship with the Avalanche that season and we would go down to see her whenever we could and take in a game or two. Manzella was an excellent shortstop, who happened to wear #4 and so I identified with him immediately.
Baseball has that ability to transport a person in time. Merely hearing "Tommy Manzella" puts me right into the upper deck at Lewis Gale Field, one of the prettiest minor league parks around. The greenish-blue hills in the foreground and the dark blue mountains in the background, the green grass below, a slight breeze rustling the flags above . . .
Anyway, this is why I always read the "Transactions" column in the paper. That column is a time machine that dials up a name and whisks me back on a magic carpet of memories.
Former Oriole prospect Hayden Penn was recently listed as having been picked up by Pittsburgh after getting released by Florida. His name took me back to the summer of 2005. We always hoped that Penn would hit it big because one night when Becky was on the field at Municipal Stadium here in Hagerstown, in her capacity as a promo girl, Penn backed into her, spiking her ankle. Her immediate thought was if Penn makes it big, this scar will make for a really good story.
The Transaction column is full of yesterdays, but I have reached an age at which it seems to be full of "just yesterdays" as in, "wasn't that just yesterday?" No, it wasn't. Becky was spiked 6 years ago; her internship was 3 years ago . . . That's the beauty of baseball, however. For every yesterday, there's a tomorrow. An entire season of tomorrows begins next week, which will see Tommy Manzella starting at shortstop for the Houston Astros.
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