Baseball has a lot in common with wine. Baseball and wine are like crackers and cheese — very simpatico.
For example, you go to a wine tasting, and you choose from a variety offered. A number of different types of wines are evaluated. Each has some benefit, some quality, some cache — ball players as well.
You may have a favorite, your star, or the ones that are strongest. Your go-to guys. The leader of the pack.
A winning wine and a winning baseball team bring real pleasure. Lasting enjoyment in fact. Not just for one season. Not just on occasion. You seek a level of consistency, even some predictability. “Ah yes, I recognize this! ” Or, “He got that timely hit, or… as anticipated, he threw that sneaky slider just in the right spot.” Such a nice finish, you might say, be it wine or the game.
Granted, like a ball player, a wine can have an off year, or two. Or it may take time to get to the place you strive for. Seasons bring variables, not always known or thought out in advance.
Some wines you stand-up and applaud; others you turn down, possibly even boo.
As there is no “i” in team, there is no “u” in wine. A team is fielded, selected, training, nurtured, brought forth. Grapes, in parallel, from seed to ground, selected and transformed into wine, and to cellaring over time. From the minor vines to the major bottling.
But, you may not be at all convinced that baseball and wine are akin. What’s wrong with beer you may ask. Well nothing at all – beer is awesome too. It’s just that at the moment, the game is on, and I am fortunate to have a superb Chardonnay waiting on deck. I think of the glass as the mitt — into which I pour the ball.
The wind-up and the sip…
