Yesterday afternoon, after several minutes of frustration, I hopped on to 𝕏–Twitter to see how many other Americans were having the same problem as my son and I were experiencing.
Sure enough, on Opening Day—of all the things—the MLB.tv app was not working. Didn't work on my television. Didn't work on his tablet computer, either.
We were excited to watch the first day of the season (not counting the games the Cubs and Dodgers played in the middle of the night in Japan a few days ago) and to pick out a game to watch together in my office.
Patience took over for me and I was able to tell him that it wasn't our fault and that hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of Americans were suffering the same fate as we were in this moment.
But I wasn't really that patient. Nor was he. "Papa, I think they need to get an update for the app."
I agreed. How could I not? So I went to update the app.
There was no update available. The app was plain not working.
Céspedes Family BBQ on 𝕏–Twitter posted:
I can't disagree with that take.
My tech-savvy seven-year-old went to update the app on his pad also, but he soon got distracted by all the other MLB apps that were offered.
But soon… bingo! The rotating baseball icon on an otherwise blank screen soon stopped spinning and we got to the dashboard. A slate of games awaited us.
I couldn't decide on one game to settle on, so I chose the "Big Inning" program which I had forgotten was even an option. It is similar to the NFL RedZone Channel and in baseball's case they have a "quad box" of games going at any one time, rotating to other games as the drama builds or if an inning ends on one of the current games.
The biggest plus? No commercials.
"Who do you want to win?" I could tell it was already confusing for the youngster.
"Well, pal, there's four games going on right now."
"Where's the Red Sox game?"
"Well that one's not on, but the last time it was on the screen, they were tied 1-1."
Several more hours of questions about and watching the National Pastime ensued. It was good.
One of the games that hung around on the screen was the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Miami Marlins. Normally, I wouldn't care too much about this game, but in anticipation of Opening Day, I had recently cracked open a book by Ron Shelton, the director of Bull Durham (1988).
In The Church of Baseball, Shelton tells a story of his first day as a Baltimore Orioles farmhand. In the mid-1960s, after signing his contract and then taking three red-eye flights to get from Santa Barbara to the home of the Rookie League franchise in Bluefield, West Virginia, he was approached in the hotel by a fellow rookie who introduced himself as "Ron Shelton."
The author Ron thought a practical joke was being played upon him, but it turns out that the other guy's name was indeed Ron Shelton. So, thinking quickly, as quick as he could without any sleep and having traveled across the continent, the author Ron became "Wayne" (his middle name) to avoid any confusion.
As they made their way to the stadium for practice and seeing a host of eager ballplayers at his position, third base, he moved over a slot and became a shortstop.
In the first game, an exhibition the very next day, Wayne found himself as a late-inning substitute at shortstop, making a great play in the field and winning the game with a bases clearing triple. The Orioles soon signed their top prospect, a then-shortstop and eventual 17-year MLB veteran Bobby Grich, so "Wayne" moved again and became a second baseman.
Wayne would soon get his name back, too. The "other" Ron Shelton didn't last very long with the O's, but ended up as a longtime baseball and basketball coach and associate principal in the northern suburbs of Chicago.
The "other Ron" would end up coaching his sons in high school and one son even went on to play briefly in the New York Yankees organization, eventually becoming a coach and managing several minor league clubs for the Yanks before moving on to a 15-year career as a major league coach.
So what?
I mentioned the Pirates/Marlins tilt. It's because the "other" Ron's son, Derek, is now in his sixth season as the manager of the Pirates.
The Marlins ended up winning, 5–4. They'll play again today.
Only in baseball…
As always,
Brian
P.S. – A couple links:
The Church of Baseball: The Making of Bull Durham: Home Runs, Bad Calls, Crazy Fights, Big Swings, and a Hit by Ron Shelton https://amzn.to/424wMFe
Bull Durham (1988) https://amzn.to/3FZeHko
