St. Louis Cardinals Roundtable and 25 Random Things

Many of you that are on Facebook (and, from the press the networking tool has received, even if you aren't) have heard of the 25 Random Things About Me meme/chain letter that has gone around the site.  I've completed it over there on my page, but I noticed Jeff over at 5 O'Clock Blogger had taken the cue from another site and turned into 25 Random Baseball Things.

So, being the sucker I am for lists, baseball, and potential projects, I'm going to do my own 25 things and encourage other bloggers to do the same (and leave me a link in the comments so I can find them!)

First, though, I want to announce the spring United Cardinal Bloggers roundtable.  Each day, a question about the Cardinals will circulate through e-mail and, after it's been beaten to death, the transcript will be put up at the questioner's blog.  So you can plan your internet surfing, here's the schedule.

February 20: Pitchers Hit Eighth
February 23: The Rundown
February 24: Cardinal Nation Globe
February 25: That's a Winner
February 26: CardinalsGM
February 27: Play a Hard 9
March 2: Redbirds Row
March 3: Stan Musial's Stance
March 4: Bugs and Cranks
March 5: Joe Sports Fan
March 6: Fungoes
March 9: Whiteyball
March 10: The Cardinal Virtue
March 11: Cardinal Diaspora
March 12: 4thebirds....
March 13: The Redbird Blog
March 16: La Beisbolista
March 17: 5 O'Clock Blogger
March 18: Redbirds Fun
March 19: Redbird Ramblings
March 20: C70 At The Bat

Lots of blogs, huh?  By the end of this roundtable, no potential question or situation will have been left unturned.  You want to know about the Cardinals?  Follow the roundtable and you'll be an expert.

OK, now that we've had the commercial interruption, such as it was, on to the 25 Random Baseball Things!

1. Baseball is the soundtrack of my life, as it were.  I can't stand not being able to turn on a game, whether it's in the winter or because there's none on.  Even if I'm not watching attentively, I like having it on.

2. Ironically, though, I didn't start a full-fledged obsession with the game until about seventh grade.  That was the first year I bought baseball cards as well.

3. Because of No. 2, I never played organized baseball.  My son is old enough to play T-ball this year, and I'm excited for him.

4. I've never been a fan of any team other than the Cardinals.  There are teams that I like, such as the Reds, but I wouldn't consider myself a fan of them.  A fan, in my mind, takes serious work and dedication.

5. I was at the game where Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his 500th home run.  Apparently, so were over half of the posters at CardsClubhouse. I had four tickets to that game from the assistant trainer (at the time) of the Cards, but I had trouble finding anyone to go with me.  Finally, my pregnant wife and a St. Louis friend of mine went.  My wife missed the home run because she was in line for Dippin' Dots.  Yes, I still tease her about that.

6. My first favorite Cardinal player was Ozzie Smith.  He was supplanted by Albert Pujols, though I was quite fond of Scott Rolen while he was in St. Louis as well.

7. I tell my cheese-loving wife her new favorite player is going to be Colby Rasmus.

8. I love seeing great defense even more than long home runs.  A well-turned 6-4-3 double play is one of the greatest things on the planet.

9. Baseball gets the short end of the stick when it comes to just about everything.  It's held to a higher standard with steroids and has to shove its way into national media coverage sometimes (save for steroid discussions, of course).  For example, the NFL season is over, right?  Yet I can still hear hour-long shows about football on ESPN Radio.  I have trouble finding the dedicated baseball show on there during the season.  ESPN has a special when the NFL schedule comes out?  Are you kidding me?

10. Baseball is the only sport I really follow.  I generally know what's going on in football—it's hard not to—and keep track of the Arkansas Razorbacks on the gridiron and court.  Other than that, just the headlines, enough to recognize general names and events.

11. While I didn't play organized baseball, I was the statistician for the high school team my junior and senior year, then did a little work with the Razorback team my freshman year in college.  My senior year, the high school team won their first state championship.  I'm sure my stats had a lot to do with it.

12. While I'm not much good, I do play church league softball and tend to have fun with it, except when other teams run up the score on us.

13. There's nothing like having a catch.

14. Field of Dreams is one of the greatest movies of all time.

15. I have caught one foul ball in my time.  Well, caught on a bounce.  It was at a minor league game in Columbus, Ohio.  The batter fouled it off of the walkway behind me, and it skipped over to my area, where I instinctively reached out and snared it.  Good enough for applause from people around, at least.  The ball still sits in my office.

16. I have been to less than 20 major league games in my life, and the only stadium that is still standing that I have been to is Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.  The other stadiums I've been to?  Tiger Stadium, Busch II, Riverfront, and Arlington Stadium.  No, I have not yet been to a game in the new Busch.

17. I love the history of baseball.  I love seeing pictures of Lou Brock and Stan Musial and Bob Gibson in uniform and talking to players like Pujols and Yadier Molina.  The connections and the timelessness of the sport are some of its greatest strengths.

18. The internetis a baseball fan's best friend.  I remember the days where you had to be content with a little newspaper article about baseball, especially in the offseason.  Now, we have tons of blogs and web sites keeping us informed—almost around the clock—about what's going on in the sport; it's heavenly.

19. Baseball was the way I won over my father-in-law.  The first time I met him, he and I talked for two hours about baseball.  He showed me the collection of '61 Topps he'd put together and had in a binder.  I knew it would be smooth sailing after that.

20. I actually enjoy regular season baseball more than October baseball.  The stakes in October get me so nervous that I can't watch.  At least with the regular season, there's a game again tomorrow.

21. Speaking of a game again tomorrow, that's the greatest thing about baseball—it's with you every day.  How do football fans deal with only 16 games, and only once a week at that?  Even basketball and hockey, you have to try to figure out when they are playing.  Baseball, though, is there for you, like a comfortable blanket.

22. I personally hope the Cubs streak goes on for another 100 years.  Not just because I'm a Cardinals fan, of course, but because that kind of history gives texture to the game.  I hated the Red Sox winning for the same reason, especially since they were up against the Cardinals.

23. There's no place better than a baseball stadium in the early summer with hot dog in hand.  I really don't know why there are so many choices at a concession stand, because that's the only one you need to make.

24. I love the fact that, in baseball, you are never really out of it, no matter the situation.  Bases loaded, no out?  A strikeout and a double play and you are fine.  Down three in the ninth?  Keep getting hits and the runs will come.

25. As Terence Mann said, "The one constant through all the years has been baseball.  America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers.  It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again.  But baseball has marked the time."