Legacy

As you might imagine, I’ve been watching Cincinnati Reds baseball religiously every game of late. As the regular season draws to a close with the local team in good shape to make it to the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years, I hate to miss anything. Those of us in southwest Ohio who root for Cinci sports teams know to enjoy success as it happens. You never how many years it might be until you make it back to the big money games. Carpe diem, don’t you know. Seize the day.

It’s been especially fun because Cindy Lou has caught the Reds’ bug anew and watches every game with me. She gets nervous as heck when Coco Cordero comes into the game late, but so do we all. I keep telling her, Yes, even though he’s blown 8 save opportunities, he’s also nailed down 37 or 38 games at this point. Ain’t bad. After all, all teams have good hitters who want nothing more than getting a big hit for a walk-off win in the ninth inning off of somebody’s closer. Coco’s cape may be tattered, but on most nights he still has what it takes to hold the victory.

Which brings me to today’s blog topic: legacy. The other day on the Reds’ television broadcast, the play-by-play guys told a story about the newest Red, Willie Bloomquist, who was picked up from Kansas City last week. The Reds were terribly shallow in the outfield with injuries so they picked up Bloomquist to help get them through the season. He won’t be going to the playoffs with them since he was added to the roster too late. Still, as a veteran on a team with lots of kids, he has an valuable job to do in the two weeks he’ll spend with the team.

The story goes that Bloomquist was standing in the dugout next to Chris Valaika, young reserve infielder and former Dayton Dragon. The Reds had baserunners at the time. Bloomquist pops this question to Valaika: ‘Tell me about your lead with bases loaded.’ Valaika thinks, then replies that he would take a normal lead, then after the pitch to the plate, move into his secondary (longer) lead, ready to take off if the ball is hit fair.

‘Wrong,’ says Willie, who then explains that with bases loaded, a runner could get doubled up if an infielder catches a hard line drive and snaps off a throw to an occupied base. ‘Stay close to the bag with bases loaded and one or two outs,’ he finishes. ‘Don’t take your team out of a possible rally.’ Reds announcer Chris Welsh, who talks playing technique a lot during games, said that base running tip one was a new one for him.

After hearing that story, I could imagine the conversation Bloomquist had with Reds’ manager Dusty Baker when he first got into the clubhouse: You’re the veteran. Talk to the kids. Keep their heads in the game. Teach them what you know. Lead by example. I’ll get you some playing time.

And, of course, that’s the beauty of this Reds’ team: a rich blend of young talent with savvy veterans, some who have been to the playoffs and all who know how to play the game. Bloomquist said he was happy to join the Reds, leaving a Royals team almost 30 games out of first. True, he won’t make it to the playoffs, but I thought about how good it must feel to at least be with a winner. And like so many of the team’s veterans in the final seasons of their careers, he gets to share what he has learned with the kids. And the kids are eager to listen. How much of a legacy is that?

Which makes me reflect on my own life experiences. I wonder from time to time if there is something I said about living or writing or thinking on which some former student out there still ruminates. I found out just last week that my new next door neighbor is a former student of mine. Sophomore English years ago at Wayne. First thing I said to him was that I hoped I hadn’t ruined him in the process. He laughed.

And what about the grandkids? I sure hope my love of birds and poetry and the Reds and life sticks with them as they grow through their teen years into adulthood. One can only hope.

One final thought on legacy from the man pictured above: Leo Cardenas, Reds’ shortstop when I was a kid. Five time All-Star. Gold Glove 1965. Batted .333 in the 1961 World Series against the Yankees. Led the NL in fielding twice. Voted into the Reds’ Hall of Fame in 1981. Lucky enough to meet him at the entrance to the Reds’ Hall of Fame last week when Cindy and I went down for a game.

Leo’s thoughts that day? More Reds’ Hall of Famers need to come down to the ballpark and Hall more often to encourage fans to come see games and support this great new team. Seems like we’re all in this together.

Today’s elder idea: When you play this game 20 years, go to bat 10,000 times, and get 3,000 hits, you know what that means? You’ve gone 0 for 7,000.

Peter Edward Rose

image: Photo of Leo ‘Chico’ Cardenas picked up at the Reds' Hall of Fame. You could go.