Joe Ruiz

Thanks, Mom - A baseball story for Opening Day

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:32:16 -0500

While it’s past Opening Day already, I really wanted to share this post. Plus, my teams both won their openers, so it’s gonna be a great season. Braves vs. Mariners in the World Series - I’m calling it now.

This past weekend, I went with my friends Dale and Tanya to see the Rangers in a Spring Training game at the Alamodome in San Antonio. We sat about as far away as you could, but at least we could see most of the field. The tickets I’d originally chosen were pretty bad, so we moved to a less-occupied section somewhere in Pleasanton.

Throughout the game, we had three different groups sit in front of us. One family came back even after Tanya dropped peanuts on the kid in front of her. It was the pair sitting in front of me who made me think of this post. The child couldn’t have been more than 6 or 7. Throughout the game, his mom talked to him about the game, but mainly, I remember her showing him love. Hugging him, rubbing his hair, pointing at the field. Always with a smile on her face.

And it made me think of my mom. And it made me think of 1991.

The first baseball game I ever remember watching was Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. I remember the final innings and, of course, when “the impossible” happened.

I remember other moments in baseball around then, but I didn’t really take to the game until June 19, 1991. I don’t remember when we got cable in our apartment, but my mom and I finally did. I remember scrolling through the channels that day — I probably should have been outside playing — and coming upon the start of a baseball game.

I decided to watch. It was the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies. TBS. The Superstation. Home of movies, Matlock and wrestling.

And baseball. Always the Atlanta Braves.

By the end of the game, I’d decided I was a Braves fan. And Tom Glavine would become my favorite player ever. In my fresh baseball mind, he was the greatest player ever. To me, he struck out everybody (struck out 12), he hit everything (actually went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI) and he even got tossed for throwing at his old teammate Dale Murphy (in fact, it was four pitches progressively further inside).

A year or so prior, my mom and I moved to the big city of San Antonio from my birthplace of Uvalde, Texas, following my parents’ divorce. That’s an important time in a kid’s life to have their parents split. It’s not much easier at other times, but it was huge for me. As a single parent, my mom always said we may not always have what we wanted, but we were never in need for anything. The bills were always paid on time. We always had electricity, water and a roof over our heads. I can’t thank her enough for that.

But that year of 1991, when she saw how much of a baseball fan I was becoming, she took the time to learn the game with me. We’d turn on TBS during dinner and watch David Justice (she always thought he was so hot) and his sweet swing. Watch the great rotation of Glavine, John Smoltz and Steve Avery. Rafael Belliard and Ron Gant. Terry Pendleton, Lonnie Smith, Otis Nixon, Jeff Blauser, Mark Wohlers, Charlie Leibrandt, Brian Hunter, Alejandro Pena, et al.

My mom’s favorite player was Mark Lemke. She loved Mark Lemke because he was so small and she liked saying his name. “Little Lemke… ” I remember hearing constantly.

That summer, I remember my mom letting me stay up late to watch the end of the game, except for the first segment of the 10 o’clock news. We had to watch that together. We’ve always had a thirst for the news. So KENS 5, it was. (Side note: I’d go on to intern in their sports department five years later).

I remember us watching the World Series intently, on through Kirby Puckett’s walk-off homer in Game 6 and Jack Morris pitching 10 shutout innings. But mostly, I remember my mom being there. Throughout the game, we’d talk about baseball, sharing what we’d learn. But we’d also talk about life: what was happening in school, who was I growing up to be and how to be a man. We’d have talks like that often. Hell, we still do more than 20 years later. We can go for hours talking about any and everything.

I needed that. I needed my mom. I needed somebody and she was there. Like she’s always been. She doesn’t follow baseball anymore. She’s a casual Spurs and Cowboys fan now. But if she sees me wearing my Braves cap, we’ll inevitably bring up something from the ‘91 season.

Sports aren’t only for the ones playing, but for the many more of us watching, it’s a catalyst for something more. For me, it was a deeper connection to my mom. One that remains strong even today. That’s why baseball is great for conversation. That’s why you introduce your children to sports.

So I’ll never forget the season the Braves went from worst to first.

Not for the home runs or shutouts. Not for the end of the regular season with the Braves and everybody at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium watching the Dodgers-Giants, and not for the heartbreaking World Series loss to the Twins.

I’ll remember it because my mom and I were together… enjoying a game.

AND BECAUSE KENT HRBEK PULLED RON GANT OFF THE BAG.

explore-blog: You want to be a writer? Keep writing. Neil...

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 10:28:31 -0500

explore-blog:

You want to be a writer? Keep writing.

Neil Gaiman on his old cat and writing. Pair with his 8 rules of writing and his timeless advice on living the creative life, then break out the tissues and wash down with Hemingway Shoots His Cat.

Cats, in fact, have a long history as literary muses.

I’ve gotta get writing again. A tip from one of the best can’t hurt.

Inside the Secret World of the Data Crunchers Who Helped Obama Win

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:11:00 -0600

Inside the Secret World of the Data Crunchers Who Helped Obama Win:

Insight like this always fascinates me despite the fact I’m not nearly as good with the analytics as these staffers are shown. Buying ads in unusual slots, specific targeting online and via text, etc.

“The “scientists” created regular briefings on their work for the President and top aides in the White House’s Roosevelt Room, but public details were in short supply as the campaign guarded what it believed to be its biggest institutional advantage over Mitt Romney’s campaign: its data.”

sharonchan: Poynter tumbled about Friday’s concert live cast...

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 19:45:48 -0500

sharonchan:

Poynter tumbled about Friday’s concert live cast concert from The Seattle Times’ old press room. Kudos to our video producer Danny @Gawlowski!

poynterinstitute:

The Seattle Times has been featuring live webcasts of performances by local musicians, usually in timing with local music festivals. Last week, music blogger Andrew Matson had lined up two artists to perform — Truckasauras and Justin Deary, lead singer of the band Whalebones. Seattle Times’ Bob Payne tells Poynter: “The Times had originally planned to stage the webcast outdoors on the grounds of the festival. However, due to some concerns about the dependability of the venue set-up, we had to scramble for a new locale less than 48 hours before the event. That’s when Times videographer Danny Gawlowski came up with a great idea: Why not shoot the show down in the Times basement, amid the abandoned and dusty old printing presses? Heck, that space hasn’t been used for anything in years.” (The Times now prints all of its editions at a suburban facility.) The bands ended up performing in the basement, and 7,600 viewers tuned into the live show.

todaysdocument: August 24, 1942 - Japanese Attack on the USS...

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 19:39:01 -0500

todaysdocument:

August 24, 1942 - Japanese Attack on the USS Enterprise.

This was the third Japanese bomb to hit on the flight deck of the Enterprise. The photographer lost his life while taking this picture.

Great interview with ?uestlove

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:05:13 -0500

Great interview with ?uestlove:

?uestlove might not rap, but he’s still one of hip-hop’s best storytellers, and he had plenty of yarns…

Some Chinese upset w/ their basketball team for Georgetown brawl

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:20:34 -0500

Some Chinese upset w/ their basketball team for Georgetown brawl:

“In a country prone to nationalistic sentiment, most microblog remarks were surprisingly critical of the home team, a once-reliable champion that has in recent years fallen off its pedestal after losing some of its best players to retirement.”

Utoya: Norway Shooter Recreates Massacre for Authorities (via @Gawker)

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 23:10:58 -0500

Utoya: Norway Shooter Recreates Massacre for Authorities (via @Gawker):

Well, how’s this for creepy? Admitted terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed 77 people in a simultaneous bombing and spree shooting, took Norwegian authorities on a tour of Utoya—the island on which he shot 69 people to death and injured dozens more. Breivik was reconstructing the…

DC Decoder: How truthy were the GOP presidential hopefuls at the Iowa presidential debate?

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:47:05 -0500

DC Decoder: How truthy were the GOP presidential hopefuls at the Iowa presidential debate?:

dcdecoder:

Politifact has a quick fact-checking rundown of the candidates at the Iowa presidential debate Thursday night.

Here’s a few choice bits:

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney complaining about the expanding size of government:

“Back in the days of John F. Kennedy, the federal government…

Rick Reilly vs. the Yahoo! Sports bloggers

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:18:17 -0500

Rick Reilly vs. the Yahoo! Sports bloggers:

Wow. Damn. From Outkick the Coverage:

The Yahoo blogs … single-handedly beat all of ESPN.com.

Let me repeat that, the Yahoo blogs standing alone have more unique visitors a month than all of ESPN.com combined.

Great photo inside Guadalupe Street Coffee Shop.

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:51:33 -0500

Great photo inside Guadalupe Street Coffee Shop.

Gadgets: Please Stop Calling Gadgets Sexy (via @Gizmodo)

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:14:03 -0500

Gadgets: Please Stop Calling Gadgets Sexy (via @Gizmodo):

Dear technology journalists of the world: You know how you called that gadget you just reviewed sexy? Tell me, do you intend to fuck it, or do you simply plan to shove it up your ass?

It’s the @FooFighters playing a garage show. Watch this...

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 12:51:21 -0500

It’s the @FooFighters playing a garage show. Watch this while you wait for the President to speak to the nation.

Top Twitter follows for Dallas Cowboys, NFL news

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 11:46:53 -0500

Top Twitter follows for Dallas Cowboys, NFL news:

In my second contribution to DallasCowboysFootball.org, we put together a few of our favorite, lesser-known Twitter follows. Liked putting this together. Will definitely do more as the season progresses.

Very cool concept. I’m really interested to see how this...

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:58:50 -0500

Very cool concept. I’m really interested to see how this works. The platform and the news service seem to be made well for each other.

breakingblog:

BreakingNews teams up with Storify: We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Storify to bring our real-time curation to the social storytelling tool. Storify enables users to build their own social media stories with embedded tweets, YouTube clips, Facebook updates, Flickr photos and more. You can now select BreakingNews.com as a source on Storify to add breaking tweets, photos and videos that we discover from hundreds of news organizations and eyewitnesses around the world.

BreakingNews.com is also the first site to add “Storify” buttons – click it under a tweet, for example, and you can import it straight into Storify. Nifty.

Since BreakingNews is often the first to discover and verify breaking photos and videos shared on social media, our partnership with Storify provides a real-time resource for the tens of thousands of journalists using the tool. For example, during the Norway bombing and shooting, BreakingNews.com posted 155 updates on the story in 24 hours, ranging from YouTube videos and Twitpics to translated updates from Norwegian news organizations. Our agnostic curation is now available on Storify – just make sure you’ve added BreakingNews as a source in your Storify settings.

While @breakingnews on Twitter features 30-40 updates a day, we’re sending the full firehose of BreakingNews.com curation to Storify. Our editorial team is staffed 24/7, so the BreakingNews feed is always updated. Please let us what you think, and our thanks to Storify’s Burt Herman and Xavier Damman for working with us!

Nate Silver on the best skills for journalists

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:45:50 -0500

Nate Silver on the best skills for journalists:

I wish I knew who linked this on Twitter because it’s brilliant. It’s something to know these are skills we all should have, but it’s another to hear it from somebody of Silver’s stature.

The definitive profile on Michele Bachmann?

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 01:24:00 -0500

The definitive profile on Michele Bachmann?:

From the New Yorker. Definitely a long read, but it seems pretty comprehensive.