Crazy is, as Crazy does

Call me crazy (my wife does), but I am going to be joining the 40 and over Men's Baseball team again this year. I can't help it. As anyone who knows me can attest, I am a baseball fan. I wouldn't say that I am a fanatic. I don't watch a ton of baseball on TV, heck I only watch my favorite team (Go Mariner's) once or twice a week. I don't own season tickets to the local 'Single A' Team, even though they are only 4 miles from my home (I make it to two or three games a year). I only have one piece of autographed baseball paraphernalia, a Nolan Ryan baseball given to me by my sister (right here on my desk).

So, I am not a fanatic, but I am fan. There is just something about the game. Maybe its the sights and sounds, the smell of the outfield grass, the blue of the sky, the warmth of the sun, the crack of the bat, the pop of the ball into your glove. Maybe its the difference of the game, the only one (in the US) where the defense has the ball, there isn't a time limit, the rules allow for cheating (stolen bases). Maybe it is the personal nostalgia, memories like playing catch with Grandpa, my first extra base hit, making the game winning catch, waving back to my dad watching on the sidelines.

So, I am going to join a baseball team again this year. Why is that crazy? Well, first lets recap the definition of crazy. One definition of crazy is "Repeating the same actions again and again, while expecting different results." OK, keeping that in mind, lets examine the last three times I played organized baseball or softball.

- 2000 - joined a softball team. Twisted my ankle so badly at the FIRST PRACTICE that I was out for the entire summer.
- 2001 and 2002 - intelligently refrained from joining any teams
- 2003 - joined a softball team. Twisted my ankle and sprained my knee sliding in to second base during the FIRST GAME. Was able to heal enough to hobble out for the last three games of the season.
- 2004 - intelligently refrained from joining any teams
- 2005 - joined a baseball team. Tore a muscle in my right quad sprinting to second during the FIRST GAME. Tried playing the second game, but ended up out for the season. Now I have an irreparable injury. After an MRI and CAT Scan, the doctor determined that one of the four muscles in my right quad is completely torn and cannot be fixed. I now have only three muscles in my right quad.
- 2006 - joined a baseball team again!!!!! Haven't started yet, so the season still looks pretty bright.

I am an optimist!