World Series Post: Clergy Baseball Passes

I had big intentions this year to follow and keep track of all major league ball players who are my age or older.  But I did not complete this project. Why? Because I played ball myself this year.  Played ball?  Yelp, I played in a 35+ mens wooden bat league.  It was an amazing experience.  It was a perfect year: I got a hit my first time at bat and I got hit my last at bat.  Can you imagine any other way to bookend a year?  I realized why there are few, if any, 35+ year old catchers in the majors.  By the end of the season my knees had had it.  I couldn't fully participate in the playoffs and had to cut my season short.  Next year, who knows.  More than likely I will go back to my role as a watcher and coach of baseball rather than a player.  Which brings me to the impetus of this blog post.

This week I will fully unpack our television, we gave up tv a couple years back, and hook it up so the family and I can watch the World Series.  I think the World Series is really the only sporting event worth watching.  I hope this major development will continue my desire to develop and nurture a love of baseball with my kids (hauling the television up from the boxes in the basement may be even bigger than putting up the Christmas tree).  Why do I want this love to develop?  Because I love to go to baseball games and if my kids love baseball they too will want to go to games.  Reader: so you are just trying to manipulate your kids so they will love things you love thereby enabling you to do the things you love and make them think they love it too.  Yeah, pretty much.

But on a clergy persons salary?

There was a waxing time in American history when clergymen (historically accurate) were given passes by team owners (who were mainly Catholic) to many Major League Baseball parks.  This was the golden age of baseball.  That time has waned, I'm sure more people watch and love American football.  And with the waning has come the demise of the clergy passes.  Currently only two teams offer the clergy (men & women) passes to their games: Boston and St. Louis.  (And aint it bizarre those two teams are playing in the World Series!)

Don't believe me?
The Cardinals Program.
The Red Sox Program.  Their program is not as spelled out but trust me it is true!

Ever since I arrived in Minneapolis I have been clamoring to the Twins organization that they ought to consider a likely program.  After back-to-back-to-back 90 loss season certainly a couple hundred clergypeople with standing room only seats couldn't hurt the Twins.  I don't know if they will actually consider my proposal to launch such a program, but I can always hope and hope, sometimes, is all a baseball fan has.