Pedley's Ponderings

I’m on the record in this space for falling out of touch with Major League Baseball. After my Chicago Cubs won it all in 2016, I felt my professional sports Mt. Everest had been summited. Consequently, I took a break – they finally did it, so who cares?

All I paid attention to was the playoffs. The MLB’s season is a marathon and with kids, a mile-long to-do list and other obligations, I paid little attention during the regular season.

That changed last year, though.

The pandemic brought with it a wave of cancellations, including the first half of the baseball season. Starved of sports and any semblance of normalcy, I renewed my MLB Radio subscription in July 2020 when the season returned. I had let it sit dormant for four years but figured what the heck – $20 for every single game from every single team, including the postseason, wasn’t bad.

I put the Cubs on in the background while at work, cooking, doing dishes and completing yard duties. It was nice to hear the crack of the bat and the canned crowd noise eventually grew on me. At the very least, it conjured thoughts of normalcy.

I picked up where I left off this year. My subscription apparently automatically renewed itself, and I now tune into Cubs games whenever I can. I’m finally starting to regenerate my love of professional baseball.

It’s always been my favorite sport. I played ball from second grade through graduation, and though I also love football, I was always too small and too unmotivated to improve myself. I was decent enough at baseball and found it worthy of my time.

The Cubs have been my team since I started caring about the Majors. They were always on WGN growing up, and though I never invested too much time into them, I’d watch a few innings here and there. That changed in junior high and I’ve been a dedicated Cubbie ever since.

I have loose dual allegiances. I also root for the Seattle Mariners on the American League side, but that’s a fruitless endeavor. They haven’t made the playoffs in two decades and aren’t worth the cuss words I spew at them. Nonetheless, I still listen to that garbage when the Cubs aren’t playing.

Despite my warnings, a friend of mine decided to start rooting for the M’s this year. I repeatedly told him he was an idiot, but the harassment fell on deaf ears – he even bought a Mariner’s cap. They had a decent April and he was pumped, but I again called him an idiot for thinking that mattered. I will eventually be proven right as injuries and a young lineup are starting to lay reality bare. The Mariners were no-hit twice before the calendar even flipped to June – horrendous.

I think the Cubs have a shot at making the playoffs and even winning their division. The Mariners decidedly do not. No matter how everything pans out, I’ll take solace in listening to my favorite teams play, even though I hit pause for nearly four years.

Play ball.

Nick Pedley is the news editor of The Hartley Sentinel-The Everly/Royal News.