ClimbingSky

Why Baseball, Books, and Beer Matter

Minnesota Twins

  • A Jack of All Trades

    I have always liked players named Willie: Willie Mays, Willie Stargell, Willie McCovey, Willie Wilson. Now that I think about it, one of my favorite cats was named Willie, as well as my favorite Classic Country singer-songwriter (Willie Nelson). A recent article in the StarTribune by Phil Miller, got me thinking the last few days… Read more

  • To Hold A Sports Page In Your Hand

    Last week someone left a copy of the StarTribune on the lunch table at work. It was still in the plastic bag that papers are delivered in these days. Over lunch, I took the sports page to my desk and read it. Cover to cover. Spending the most time on the page with the box… Read more

  • On the Nature of Fandom

    Though I have lived in the Twin Cities now for almost 40 years, I did live in a number of places before that: Northern California, Eastern Washington, Western Montana, Western Minnesota, Chicago, Houston, and Saginaw, Michigan. Beginning when I was 21 and first moved to Chicago, I picked up the habit of rooting for local… Read more

  • Just a Memory

    This March 28th (Opening Day 2024), I made my first visit to Oakland Coliseum, the soon-to-be-former home now of two of my childhood teams. I say soon-to-be-former, because at the end of this baseball season, the Oakland Athletics– like my beloved Oakland Raiders before them– will cease to be anything but a memory. When Al… Read more

  • One Fan’s “Interior Stadium”

    At Wednesday’s Twins-Rockies game, All-World shortstop Carlos Correa came up in the 8th inning after having already gone 5 for 5 that afternoon. Another hit and he would achieve one of the rarest of feats in baseball, a 6-hit game. Sadly, he grounded out. Sitting in the stands with my fingers crossed I naturally thought… Read more

  • 17-9 (Nope It is Not a Football Score!)

    Yesterday I went to an afternoon Twins-Rockies game with my daughter Morgan at Target Field. Between rainstorms, we got to see a whole lot of offense. 26 runs for both teams. Yesterday’s 17-9 score is, of course, an anomaly. It is a football score, not a baseball one. Especially this year. According to all relevant… Read more