It's That Time Again

We are thrilled to have Dr. David Wells with us tomorrow at the Twin Lakes Fellowship. His recent book, Above All Earthly Pow'rs, gives us a detailed map of the postmodern landscape. Dr. Wells is not only a world renowned theologian. He is a Red Sox fan--a typical Red Sox fan:

"May has always followed April, summer has always followed winter, and in New England, the Red Sox, as far as memory records, have always faded in fall just as the leaves are coming into their full glory. (It is a funny coincidence: both are dying but only the leaves are worth watching). There was interruption in the pattern in 2004, but all Red Sox fans know that normality will soon return!"

Somehow the great game manages to survive despite the hubris of many of its players. On the lighter side, today is an appropriate day to offer a few of my favorite baseball related quotations, in no particular order. A special thanks to Rosemary Thomas (Derek’s wife and avid Braves fan) who gave me the first quotation.

“I think there are only three things that America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, jazz music and baseball. They're the three most beautifully designed things this culture has ever produced.” Gerald Early

“Baseball, like Pericles' Athens (or any other good society), is simultaneously democratic and aristocratic. Anyone can enjoy it, but the more you apply yourself, the more you enjoy it.” George Will

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." Bart Giamatti

"As I grew up, I knew that as a building (Fenway Park) was on the level of Mount Olympus, the Pyramid at Giza, the nation's capitol, the czar's Winter Palace, and the Louvre — except, of course, that is better than all those inconsequential places." Bart Giamatti

"I love baseball. You know it doesn't have to mean anything, it's just beautiful to watch." Woody Allen

"Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer." Ted Williams

"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. This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again." James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams (1989)

"Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical." Yogi Berra

"It could be, it might be... It is, A home run!" Harry Caray

"Back, back, back, back... Gone!" Chris Berman of ESPN

"It's a great day for a ball game; let's play two!" Ernie Banks

"Well I can't rightly say (which player hit the ball hardest), but the ones (home runs by Babe) Ruth hit got smaller quicker." -Walter Johnson in Ken Burns Baseball (1994)

"Don't worry, the fans don't start booing until July." Earl Weaver