Ready or not, baseball season is upon us.
Major leaguers and wannabes are wrapping up spring training in Florida and Arizona prior to tossing out the first ball of the season Thursday. Colleges and high schools are well into their seasons.
And, of course, Little League and other youth league participants are practicing their throwing, catching, hitting, running and infield chatter.
Do they still do that?
When I was playing almost mumble-mumble years ago, chatter was a big part of the game. Primary chatterers were at first base, second, third and shortstop. Catchers often took part, too. Pitchers did not because they were busy at the time. Outfielders may have shouted, but it wasn’t as expected.
For anyone not familiar, the chatter was intended to distract the batter, mostly nonsensical things like, “Hey, batter, hey-batter, hey-batter … swing, batter!” There would also be plenty of pep talk for the pitcher, just as steeped in substance, “Put it in there, Alvin, put it in there.” Finally, a little goading was not uncommon, “He can’t hit, he can’t hit.”
It must have worked because players were taught to just block out all the noise whenever at bat.
And that tidbit is a great lesson in life.
Take care of your business and don’t let meaningless chatter distract you.
One more thing
A Roman walks into a bar. He holds up two fingers and says, “Five beers, please!”
Steve Martaindale 