Main Line Banter: Thinking about baseball in December?
There is an aura of cold, almost foreboding, and eerie, about Citizens Bank Park at this time of year.
The Philadelphia Phillies’ baseball cauldron of concrete and steel is like a slumbering crater of a volcano that will soon erupt from its off-season dormancy.
Its 43,661 seats are empty, its $10 million HD scoreboard is dark, and its blocks of surrounding parking lots are only sprawling asphalt slabs in a vast uninhabited wasteland.
Most passing pedestrians and drivers of vehicles of all kinds go their way, not even glancing twice at this $500 million slice of South Philadelphia that is full of “things.”
It was those “things,” the essentials of professional baseball,” that captured the interest of a lifelong Phillies fan and former longtime manager of Tredyffrin Township so intently that he decided to author a book about them.
More precisely, make that Norman Mawby decided to invite a group of his baseball fan friends to join him in authoring a book about those important things at the ballpark.
And, so “Balls, Bats and More!” came to print 10 years ago in both hardcover and soft cover versions.
The “and More” topics in the book, in addition to balls and bats include gloves, uniforms, hats, shoes, tickets, scoreboard, video room, bases, collectables, and the list goes on.
The eclectic group of friends that contributed chapters are Paul Hagan, winner of the 2013 J.G. Taylor Spink Award presented annually to a sportswriter “for meritorious contributions to baseball writing;” Michael Rellahan, Daily Local News reporter; Bruce Mowday, retired Daily News columnist and reporter, and still active author of many historical and general interest books, including “Richie Ashburn … Why the Hall Not? The mazing Journey to Cooperstown,” (As an aside, Mowday is now working
on a new book about the Danelo Cavalcante prison escape and capture.)
Other contributing BB and M friends are Jim Salisbury of Comcast Sports Net, Lou Beccaria, retired president and CEO of the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation who once played with Reggie Jackson on an American Legion team in Cheltenham, and now principal of Beccaria & Associates, a consulting health care and non-profits firm ; Hench Murray, first head of school at Strafford’s Woodlynde School, educational consultant and the radio voice of Penn football, (he also played American Legion ball
with Reggie Jackson;) John Bochanski, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Physics and Chair of Rider University‘s Department of Computer Science and Physics; his sister, Michelle, a physical therapist in Media; Terry Dougherty, former executive director of Philadelphia City Rowing; Jessica Corry, former communications specialist for the Chester County Intermediate Unit; Michael Fortney, formerly of the Chester County Book and Music Co.; Bruce Leith, The Phillies Director of Concessions Development; Leslie Small, former Delco Daily Times copy editor/sports; John Hollnger, The Phillies Coordinator of Retail Merchandising, Tom Burgoyne, the Phillies Phanatic, and (in the interest of full disclosure) this columnist.
(Extra inning footnote: Back in 2009, Norman and Vince Carrocci, his Penn State roommate of years gone by, co-authored “Part of the Parade” a book profiling many behind-the-scenes people at Citizens Bank Park who keep these sports” arena operating successfully. This book is still available online at partoftheparade.com.)
Ok, you ask why are you writing about the 10th anniversary of a baseball book in the middle of the Christmas advent season?
The answer is that money has become the primary essential of the game.
When one baseball player, Shohei Ohtani, just became, thanks to free agency and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the highest paid player in the game’s history, at $700 Million for 10 years, or $70 Million per year (Bryce Harper earns “only” $30 million) baseball was bound to capture one’s thoughts … or at least the money has!
When “Balls, Bats and More” was published in 2013, the average payroll of all 30 Major League Baseball teams combined (about 800 players) was a mere $93 Million!
Seems to me, acknowledging that in our free-market world people of super abilities in any profession should be “appropriately compensated,” that mega money like Ohtani will be paid would make a world of difference to a grand slam of charitable organizations that provide life-changing services to countless people in need and benefit us all.
Just saying, that’s all!
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Tredyffrin Library gets $35,000 Donation.
The Friends of Tredyffrin Public Library presented a donation of $35,000 to Tredyffrin Public Library during the Library Board of Trustees meeting last week. The presentation took place in the library’s new Maker Space, which will open in early 2024 with support from the Friends of Tredyffrin Public Library and the McLean Contributionship.
The contribution includes $20,000 to support adult, teen, and children’s programming, and $15,000 for equipment and supplies in the new Maker Space. The Friends also continued their support of the Museum Passes Program which began in 2016 and allows library card holders to visit over 20 venues in the area at no cost.
In the past five years, the Friends organization has donated more than $200,000 to Tredyffrin Public Library.
Members of the Friends also volunteer in various capacities for the Red Fox Book Shop, the main source of the funds it donates to the library.
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Finally, nobody asked, but are you taking a Required Minimum Distribution from your IRA or 401(k)? Sandy Gorman, of T and E Care, reminds that you “may be able to reduce your reported gross income and save money on your Medicare Part B and part D premiums by making a Qualified Charitable Distribution directly to charity.
“Your financial institution can work with you to make this easy contribution to T and E Care (or other local non-profits like Berwyn’s Daemion Counseling Center) in helping T and E Care meet the needs of local families with rent, utility, medical, education and other bills.”
The Last Word: Good day, good luck, and good news tomorrow.
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