Stepping up to the plate

Today we landed in Salem where we watched the final game of our Three Game Minor League Road Trip Series. Tonight's game was closer to home in that it featured our own Everett (WA) Aqua Sox (affiliate of the Mariners, of course) against the Salem Volcanoes (affiliate of the San Francisco Giants). It was overcast, and the light was very flat and gray. On top of that, we lost to Salem, 4-2.

One of the things that has come out of my recent baseball immersion is a better appreciation of the baseball metaphors I've so cavalierly sprinkled throughout my sentences over the years. Armed with a new understanding of the game, phrases such as "batting a thousand", "cover your bases", "throwing a curve ball", "getting to first base", "out in left field", "step up to the plate" and "touch base" now possess much more charm.

Pictured here is Justin Seager, younger brother to the Mariner's third baseman, Kyle Seager. Here is the essence of the entire game, boiled down to this one, split-second decision to swing or not to swing at a small, hard ball being hurled in your direction at speeds approaching 90mph. And whether you succeed at hitting the ball or not will determine whether you're batting a thousand or getting to first base.

Don't throw me a curve ball!