I admit, I haven’t been a baseball fan since 1985. Some of my earliest memories are sitting with my grandfather on the tree swing at Peach Lake, listening to Ernie Harwell and the Tigers on WJR. He’d drink a PBR or three, I’d swing and drink a Coke, and we’d watch the ballgame in my mind. In ‘84 when the Tigers won, we called him on the phone and celebrated together.

When he died in the spring of ‘86, I discovered something about baseball: I didn’t really like the game. What I liked was spending the time with him, the game was secondary. I haven’t listened to a game since. We went to a Braves game in Atlanta once when our neighbor gave us tickets, and I went to a Cardinals game in work’s home plate box. In thocse cases I went for the crowd and not for the game.

So it’s strange to find myself watching the games now. The Cardinals are in the NLCS against the Astros, and everyone at work is excited about them possibly going to the World Series. The game was on the monitors at work, and I’d fiind myself stopping to watch for a second. Five minutes later I’d still be sucked in. I had to ask a co-worker what AM station would carry the game so I could catch it on the way home. I turned it on the TV once I was home, and now am halfway listening to the Sox/Yanks game.

Am I becoming a baseball fan again, or just bandwagoning? We’ll see.

The NHL owners and the players union had BETTER settle soon, though.