The campers and
one administrator-turned-counsellor-for-a-day had an outing today at a minor
league ballpark in south suburban Crestwood.
The Windy City Thunderbolts topped the Evansville Otters in Frontier
League action by a score of 6-1. Clare
wasn’t impressed. “They were really
bad. I think the fastest pitch came in
at 84-86 miles per hour. They could’ve
given me a bat, and I could have hit it,” which is precisely what I’ve been
saying for years. If I had the money,
I’d field a team of women players in one of the independent leagues. It would be interesting to see what would
happen.
Clare has a
history with the Thunderbolts. Once upon
a time, they were the Will County Cheetahs, playing in the Heartland
League. Clare wasn’t six yet when we
went to a game. I’d set up a meet-and-greet
with the manager of the visiting Altoona Rail Kings, who just so happened to be
my favorite ballplayer when I was growing up.
Who, you ask? Why, Walt Williams.
I have a picture
of the three of us: Clare, Williams and
me. I was the tallest then, and now
Clare probably is the same height Williams was when he ran out to play the
outfield at Comiskey Park. Size doesn’t
matter so much in baseball.
Gender does.
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