Let’s think of some ideas!
Hey!
The Phillies don’t play tonight. Or tomorrow night. Or the night after that. OR THE NIGHT AFTER THAT!
And you know what? That’s a good thing. They’re already one of the four teams that have made the National League Division Series, something all teams would want no matter what they say. Having the ability to get right to the NLDS and set up your pitching exactly how you want it is an advantage over having to run through the gauntlet of a wild card round. The Phillies have that advantage and will use these next few days to get themselves rested and ready for the next round.
You? You have to wait. Your routine of watching the team night after night has been interrupted and now you are looking for something to do. You want to stay in the mindset of baseball, so making sure your next few days include those activities. What are some things you can do to make sure your ready once Saturday rolls around? Here are a few suggestions!
Watch the wild card games, silly!
It’s easy to simply watch the Dodgers-Reds series since the one who comes out on top will be flying to Philadelphia for a tilt on Saturday. But there is a lot of intrigue happening in the other three series.
Yankees/Red Sox – I mean, you can almost hear the excited squeals coming from Manhattan, can’t you? How did MLB get so lucky that they have the most historic rivalry in sports in the first round? Sure, they’d have rather had it for a different (i.e. longer) series to make as many montages as possible that showed Babe Ruth and Aaron Boone and Pedro Martinez as many times as possible, but to get a series this spicy right away is pretty cool.
Tigers/Guardians – Detroit coughed up a divisional lead in historic fashion, was able to sneak into the playoffs and their reward is to get the team that took them down. Sure the games are all at 1:00 (because MLB hates the Central), but it’s still going to have some solid matchups.
Padres/Cubs – Um, well, they can’t all be winners, right? It’s still playoff baseball.
Read a baseball book
Baseball is the sport that has the most to write about. It has so many moments in which deep dives can be taken in written form and many have done it over time. The number of baseball books is endless, the number of good baseball books is legion. Pick anything that you can read in a week and you’ll find enjoyment.
For me, right now I’m reading the Joe DiMaggio biography that was written by Richard Ben Cramer (no shameless Amazon links for you) that tells a story about DiMaggio that maybe many didn’t know. Reading baseball books basically takes up most of my winter, so I have others on my list, but maybe grab something you can read quickly.
Ken Burns anyone?
The “Baseball” documentary produced by Ken Burns can be polarizing. Some, like me, grew up on it and love the history presented, even if the New York lens it uses so often can be a bit much. Others can call it, frankly, boring. At some point, you’ve probably seen it, but now is a good time to maybe pick up an episode or two.
How about a baseball movie?
Baseball movies.
Like books, there are so many of them made and like the books, some are actually good. Perhaps my favorite is “Major League” since I find myself quoting it so often. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ended a phone call early because I had a guy on the other line about some white walls. In these more modern times, I find myself watching “Moneyball” over and over. I just think that’s a great movie, let alone a great baseball movie.
There are too many more to mention. I find myself a sucker for “Mr. Baseball” whenever it comes on. “The Rookie” tugs at the ol’ heartstrings quite often. Pretty soon, I’ll sit with my son and watch “42” so he can see how good of a movie that is (even if I’m predicting he has a visceral reaction to the language).
Baseball movies are great! You can watch one of them.
The point is, there is lots you can do while we wait for the Phillies. Watching the Wild Card round is probably the default for many of us, but if you’d rather stay on the periphery of the game and not actually watch the games, these are but a few suggestions.
Category: General Sports
