Beer and Baseball ... summer must be near

I found myself looking for sports on television today. I thought the Stanley Cup Finals would be on, but alas, they are taking an extra day off, probably to assure a game to be played on a Saturday for higher television watching, I dunno. So, as I flipped through the channels I came across a college game with the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers. I felt a bit nostalgic for Minnesota and decided to leave the game on as I cleaned the house.

It seemed that I should have a beer in hand as I watched, something about beer and baseball that seem to go hand in hand. Maybe again its a nostalgia thing, not that I ever really spent a lot of time drinking beer when I watched baseball, but it seems to be the image that gets planted in my head.

I always wanted to be the guy flying through the air like the picture to the left. No, I never did get to make a catch like that and be the hero of a big game, but the dream still lives. Maybe if I ever find a softball team desperate enough for my lack of skill, I will once again have the chance to dive after a baseball (and hopefully not injure myself in the process).

I guess part of the problem with being the guy who dives after a ball like this is that you can't really do that with a beer in your hand (not without losing the beer anyway).

On the other hand, I feel like I have had the sensation that this player is experiencing. There's nothing quite like connecting with the sweet-spot of a ball and giving it a ride. I remember in 6th grade my team one first place in the league tournament due in part to me hitting a triple to win the game leading into the playoffs. No, I'm not exagerating, but likely no one else remembers the feeling of hitting that shoulder-high fastball down the left field line. Oh, well. I remember it and that's all that matters.

Then there was the time in college that I took Softball as a phy ed class. What a laugh, a class where you play softball for an hour and then at the end of the semester you take a "test" on the rules of the game. Yep, a good feeling when I stood in to the box and connected with that pitch. I really could feel that it was a home run when I hit it, there was simply something about the connection ... I watched the ball fly over the fence ... then I had to go get it!

O.K. So there's some connection that exists between baseball (softball) and beer. But I have to be honest, I've not seen too many people drinking good beer while playing softball. It usually ends up being one of the domestic-massed-produced-brews that ends up in the can held by ball players. Maybe it's partly because ball players choose cans over bottles and most good beers just don't come in cans.

Take for example my current favorite brew, the New Belgium Brewery 1554. It does not come in cans. I can't even find it in a 12-pack. It comes 6 bottles at a time and is worth the effort that it takes to carry more than one 6-pack into the house.

Another favorite brew is celebrating a birthday this year (well, I guess they celebrate a birthday every year, but this one is a bit more milestonish). Leinenkugel's Brewerey in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. I'm a bit bummed out that I won't be able to make the big celebration of the 140 years of brewing ... a big fun party with free brats! Yes, I miss the midwestern joy of grilling brats all summer and enjoying them with a good brew. There's something special about that experience, yes I can do the same here in California, but the good Johnsonville brats aren't available here (care package, please?)

O.K. speaking of summer traditions, baseball and beer. I've got one name that sums it all up, Harry Caray! He's been gone from this world a few years now, but he's not forgotten. As I was thinking about this wonderful match of beer and baseball, I recall many summer days of the Cubs on WGN and Harry Caray calling the games. There was something absolutely magic about the way he called a game. Maybe it was simply the fact that Harry cheered for the Cubs, Maybe it was the fact that he didn't take himself too seriously. I dunno, but I really enjoyed those games (much like I really enjoyed Minnesota Twins games with Herb Carneal who passed away this Spring)

Rumor has it that Harry enjoyed his share of brews. I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise when he did an ad for Budweiser, if you ever saw this ad, you'll never forget it. I just wish I could find a full version of the commercial somewhere.

And who could ever forget Harry singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame at any Cubs home game. I remember going to Wrigley field back before the lights, seeing a Cubs game in the sunlight and being sure that I was in my seat during the Seventh Inning Stretch so that I could witness Harry's singing live, nope it wasn't great singing, but it was fun and that's what mattered.

That's what summer is really about, having fun. Enjoying the sun, and making memories!