BY: Betty Stack
It is Baseball and Apple Pie, or should I say “Peach” since we have the giant peach off I-85 coming right through Gaffney, South Carolina. Just look at the baseball, if it is not high school it is those dreaming daddy’s and momma’s cheering on the young ones at the local fields on a Saturday afternoon, or weeknight evening. Yes, herald yourselves to Pickens, Anderson, or Oconee Counties any time right now and there is baseball fever from t-ball on up. The recreational fields are full of promise, and of course the showcase, better known as “travel teams,” have hit the market. To hear them talk it is as if these kids are being looked at and recruited from age 8 and up. This is all kind of hard to believe, but I am falling into the trap as well, cheering on grandkids and friends’ children as they “aim for the stars’ with the golden bats. And the same scenario is going on across South Carolina, and every other state in America. It is baseball, summer, and a rite of passage for many.
Head to the local Anderson area and there is a beautiful set of fields off Martin Luther King Boulevard. Why you can even get a large hot pretzel and a Styrofoam cup of iced tea. Do not ask for unsweet they do not carry it- only the sweet will do. Travel another piece up Highway 81 towards 153 and you find the home of the Little League World Series in Easley, South Carolina. At this ballpark, spectators will find Sno Cones, burgers, traditional hot dogs, and even some fried cheese sticks. My youngest grandson loves to go collect the foul balls there and exchange them for candy. You must be quick to beat Nate to the foul line.
Yes, the local ball fields have really come a long way in the last few decades. There are covered areas for those folks who want to avoid the weather’s sweltering sun, or nature’s bath when it decides to interrupt some game time. In fact, most of the tournaments do not want cash for the tickets, instead it is now a cash app. The best advice is to take a tail gate chair, a comfortable one, or a seat cushion with a back. Those games run long, and the seat back helps prevent achy legs and joints. And remember these kids are the ones you will be watching play at the local high schools soon, and I do mean sooner than later. Time passes, so go enjoy, grab a cold drink (non-alcoholic of course) and support the local counties. You just may see someone who makes it to the big leagues one day. But the best part is just being part of the fabric of a summer baseball community. – and of course, local South Carolina. Now if you feel savvy head on down to Greenville or Spartanburg and catch one of the Greenville Drive games, or the Hub City Spartanburgers. The kids will love it, and these young men are some of the best, besides each one is hoping to make it to the big time- much like the young ones. It is baseball, the all-American sport of summer- and of many people’s lives. And do not forget to grab a hot dog, and a cold one, and watch out for those foul balls.