Baseball and Community: The Moth Podcast

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Welcome to the Moth.

I'm Larry Rosen, and it's October.

It's time for sweaters, leaves turning, and pumpkin spice, and perhaps, most importantly, if you're a baseball fan, the World Series.

Well, there's a lot to say about the series and about October baseball in general.

This is why I am thrilled to be joined for this episode by a beloved Moth storyteller and my really good friend, Manish Jane.

Manish has worked in baseball for 21 years as a producer, writer, photographer, photographer, and the host of several baseball-themed podcasts.

Hello, Manish.

Hello, Larry.

Thanks for being here.

Thank you for having me.

I love you.

I love the moth.

I love baseball.

Let's go.

So

you've always told me that October baseball is a complex experience.

What is that about?

October baseball is the best.

October baseball is the worst, especially if your team is in it.

For those of you listening at home, I have an old English D on my head.

I'm a born and raised Detroit Tigers fan, and I've always got some type of Detroit paraphernalia for the world to see.

And as of this moment, not to time stamp the episode, but the Tigers are playing the Guardians in game one of the wildcard.

So my heart is beating 4 million miles per minute.

I hope it doesn't come through on the podcast, and my stomach is in one giant knot.

When I was walking to the studio today with my Tigers gear,

I had strangers yelling out to me,

How you feeling?

Scoobs looks good.

I hope you all do okay today.

I mean, baseball is a cheat code for connection.

I don't have to know anything about you, you don't have to know anything about me, but you see the logo on my head and you understand the stakes of what we're all dealing with right now.

And honestly, I don't think there's anything else in my life at least that instantly connects me to a stranger more than baseball, especially in October.

All right, let's hear a little bit more about this connecting power of baseball.

We're going to play a story by Bridget Flaherty.

Bridget told this in a Detroit story slam where the theme of the night was dazzled.

Here's Bridget, light of the balls.

Hi.

In 2007, I took my two and a half year old son to a baseball game.

We lived in Dayton, Ohio, and someone had given us some free tickets to see the Cincinnati Reds, so we drove an hour and a half to the stadium.

I was under no delusion about what it would be like to take a toddler to a baseball game.

I fully expected that we would walk around the stadium, do some of the kids' stuff, eat stadium food, maybe watch a little bit of baseball, and then drive home.

But that is not what happened.

Ian was completely enthralled.

He loved the wave and cheering and he got to meet Mr.

Redlegs and he actually enjoyed watching baseball.

And that day began a love of baseball in general and the Cincinnati Reds in particular.

In fact, I had to start DVRing Cincinnati Reds baseball games, for those of you that remember when we used to have to do that,

because he watched baseball like other toddlers watch their favorite show or their favorite movie over and over and over and over again.

And he would stand in front of the TV acting out what he saw on screen, hitting and throwing and sliding and cheering.

By the time he was in kindergarten, he knew the entire Cincinnati Reds starting lineup, their names, their numbers, and their positions.

So when he was 10 years old, I arranged for a special treat for him to go to see the Cincinnati Reds at spring training in Arizona.

And I really didn't know what to expect, but I had heard that if you showed up on a day when they didn't have a game, that you could watch them practice.

So we did that.

We got there early and we sat on the little bleachers outside of the practice fields.

And lo and behold, we were just a few feet away from his idols.

And he was just over the moon.

He had brought a brand new ball and a Sharpie, hoping to get some signatures.

And other than the two of us, there were only like a handful of other people in the stands, all of them young men with binders full of baseball cards, hoping to get signatures.

After practice was over, all of the players had to leave through a gate.

And so all of these guys with the binders had their cards out and they were yelling for players' names, hoping to get some signatures.

And Ian was standing beneath them holding this bright white ball and a sharpie, silently hoping for autographs.

And the starters completely ignored all of us.

And once the starters left, the guys with the binders left.

But Ian stood there hoping to get some signatures from some no-name players.

And he did.

He got a couple of signatures.

And while he was showing me the ball with the signatures on it, we heard the gate close and the very last person left the field.

And so he turned around and held out the ball and said, will you sign my ball?

And this guy smiled at Ian and said, Bud, you don't want my signature.

I'm not a player.

He was wearing a red polo shirt and khakis.

And Ian said, but you're a red, right?

And he's like, well, I guess so.

So he signed Ian's ball and then he said, you know what?

I'll do you one better.

Wait right here and I'll be right back.

And he came back in a red golf cart and he told Ian to hop in.

So we hopped in the golf cart and he took us around telling Ian about his daily routine as the groundskeeper.

And he told us the history of the facilities.

And Ian was so excited.

He was asking all kinds of questions.

And I'm not sure who was having more fun, Ian or the grounds keeper.

And then he stopped outside of a locked door.

And he looked at Ian and he said, you want to run the bases?

Run the bases where the Cincinnati Reds run?

Yes!

And the groundskeeper pulled out the largest ring of keys I've ever seen, and he opened a door that went directly onto the field.

And Ian stood looking around in awe.

And he said, well, are you going to run the bases or not?

And so Ian ran those bases

with the biggest smile on his face, cheering like he had just hit a home run.

And then he jumped onto home base.

And our new friend in his red polo shirt and khakis gave Ian a high five.

And in 15 minutes, The head groundskeeper of the Goodyear Arizona spring training camp gave us a memory that we will have forever,

proving that sometimes it is kindness that is more dazzling than fame.

Thank you.

That was Bridget Flaherty.

Bridget is a writer, entrepreneur, and consultant living in Dayton, Ohio.

Bridget believes that stories connect us, joy sustains us, and kindness makes makes life worth living.

If you'd like to see photos of Bridget and Ian at the baseball stadium, we'll have those on our website.

So check out themoth.org forward slash extras.

All right.

So, Manish,

you, after hearing this story, you actually said to me that anyone at any age would feel the same thrill that Ian felt running those bases.

Explain.

Are you kidding me?

That's the dream.

That's where the big leaguers get to stand.

You know, I wasn't lucky enough to run the bases like Ian did when I was 10, but I was lucky enough to get a free bat at bat day, a little mini bat from Old Tiger Stadium.

And I would stand in my backyard narrating to nobody in particular.

It's game seven,

World Series.

The Detroit Tigers are down three to nothing.

Bottom of the ninth.

It's a full count.

Manish Jane.

Dust the dirt off his cleats.

He steps into the box.

Picked up a pebble, gingerly tossed it it in the air, and with one mighty swing,

it's up there.

It's going.

It's over the fence.

The Detroit Tigers are your World Series champion, and the city of Detroit is pouring into the streets.

Parade streamers are flying in the air.

We've done it.

And that feeling never goes away.

You know, baseball has the ability to turn an 80-year-old into a 10-year-old.

All right, thank you for that.

I will have another story about baseball pacepolin connection right after the break.

Back in a moment.

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Welcome back.

Rob Warren told this next story at a Twin Cities story slam where the theme of the night was wonders.

Here's Rob.

Life is the moth.

Hi, I've been a baseball coach for 20 years.

A couple of years ago, I was coaching a team of 12 and 13 year olds, and I'd known most of these kids for years.

I'd coached them in various teams, and it was late July.

And late July for 12 and 13-year-olds means it's the playoffs, which is very exciting.

My team was pretty good.

We'd won most of our games, but there was one other team that was better than us.

And that team was better than us because the three coaches of that team had rigged the player draft so that they had the three best players.

And so they beat everybody, which was awesome.

And as luck would have it, on this July night, we had to play that team in the playoffs.

And it was a beautiful Friday, July evening.

It was late at night, 8 o'clock, which is late for 12-year-olds.

And it was under the lights, which is very exciting for 12-year-olds.

And because it was so late, all the families were there.

There were 75 or 100 parents spread out around the game.

And the game started out really well for us.

We were ahead 8 to 1 after two innings.

And I'd like to tell you that it's because our team played really well.

And we did play pretty well.

We hit the ball and we caught the ball.

But the truth is, we were ahead 8-1 because the umpire had made three or four awful calls.

And all of them went my team's direction.

And as a result, I got to watch the three coaches.

in the other bench go through the three stages of coach meltdown.

And the first one is you throw shit.

And the second one is you passively, aggressively yell out at your own players things that are actually directed for the umpire, but you have plausible deniability because you're talking to your own kid.

And the third stage is like on TV where you interrupt the game and you go out and you

throw things and kick dirt.

And they had done all of that after two innings.

The third inning, my team scores another run.

And it was another bad call by the umpire.

And they lose their minds.

The three coaches come running out of the dugout and they surround the umpire and there's some shoving and there's definitely swearing and yelling and raised voices.

And I should tell you now that the umpire is working by himself and he's 14 years old.

But worse,

behind them are 75 grown-ups who are also losing their minds.

About a third of them are yelling at the umpire.

And about a third of them are yelling at the coaches.

And all of them are yelling back and forth at each other.

And there's people standing, there's red faces, they're swearing.

It's chaos.

And so my instinct is try to help this poor 14-year-old umpire.

So I come out of the dugout, and before I can even get halfway to home plate,

the coach runs over and gets in my face and asks me what the fuck my problem is.

And so, screw the umpire, he's on his own.

And so

I turn around and I gather my children up.

I gather my kids and I take them all out to Left Field, way out in Left Field by the fence.

And this is where the wonders happen.

I get out there with my kids, and Tommy's the quiet kid who never talks.

He says something once a day, and everybody listens.

He's the quiet leader, right?

And Tommy says,

those guys are assholes.

This sucks.

And I think about some sort of corrective action about his language, but under the circumstances, I let it go.

And a few minutes later, the umpire, who has somehow escaped, comes over and he says, coach,

the other team is ready to resume the game.

We need you to get your team back out on the field.

And so I look at my guys, and they kind of huddle without me saying anything.

They talk, and Tommy speaks for them, and he says, we don't want to play with those bastards.

This sucks.

This is no fun.

And I realize at that moment that I've totally succeeded, right?

They value.

fun,

integrity, being a grown-up, respecting the game, and I'm very proud.

But at that point, the umpire interrupts and says, Well, guys, you're ahead nine to one, but if you don't go back on the field, it's a forfeit.

And so, I look at the guys, and they don't even talk this time, they just look at each other and they kind of shrug their shoulders, like, hmm, it's the way it is.

And so, I tell the umpire, We forfeit.

And let me know if you need help getting safely back home tonight.

Thank you.

That was Rob Warren.

Rob is a father, university professor, and baseball fan living in Minneapolis.

He hasn't been a baseball coach for a few years and says he misses those summer nights at the ballpark.

Arimanese, let me just ask you, what was your take on Rob's story?

What I absolutely love about this particular story is that it shows even in our worst moments when you had a bunch of grown adults acting like fools.

You had these children, and these children said, we'll take the L.

We may lose the entire season.

But guess what?

This is baseball, and spring is going to be right around the corner.

And we all get to start fresh with a clean slate, 0-0 tied for first.

And this is going to bring us together.

This is going to make us stronger.

And we're going to come back next season and we're going to win with integrity.

And I hope that you adults out there can learn a little bit of something about how to actually enjoy this wonderful game of baseball.

Okay, I promised I wasn't going to ask this, but I'm going to ask it.

What do you hope to see with October baseball?

Oh man, that's a loaded question.

I mean, the obvious answer is obviously going to be, I would like to see my Detroit Tigers win because they haven't won since I was one years old.

But if I'll take my fan hat off for the moment and just put my I Love Baseball hat on,

there's three teams that have never won the World Series.

And last year we had our Battle of the Behemoths.

We had the Yankee Dodgers.

We all had fun with that.

But I really like it when a new community gets to experience something and celebrate something that we all work so hard for in the summer.

And yes, as a fan grinding for six months, it is work.

I would love to see, sorry, Brewers buddies, I would love to see the Vetter Cup be showcased on the global scale.

And that would be the Seattle Mariners versus the San Diego Padres.

But don't worry, Brewers fans.

Now that I've said it out loud, I'm pretty sure I jinxed it.

So congratulations on your first World Series title.

That brings us to the end of the episode.

So, Manish, first of all, thanks so much for being here.

Thank you for having having me, Larry.

I love you.

I love the Moth.

This is the only place that would get me to not watch a live Tigers baseball game.

So, as much as I do love you, I'm about to go and see if my heart is broken.

Okay.

Hope it isn't.

We'll see.

And to everyone listening from all of us here at The Moth, enjoy your October.

Oh, before we go, if you are looking for another story about baseball, our friend Manish told a wonderful one about visiting all of the U.S.

baseball stadiums in one season.

We featured it on the Moth mainstage and on the Moth Radio Hour and the podcast.

You will find a link to it in the show notes and also on our website, themoth.org forward slash extras.

Larry Rosen is a master instructor at the Moth.

After 25 years teaching, directing, and practicing theater and comedy performance, Larry discovered the simplicity, power, and beauty of true stories.

Shortly thereafter, he found the Moth.

As they say, timing is everything.

This episode of the Moth Podcast was produced by Sarah Austin-Janess, Sarah Jane Johnson, and me, Mark Zollinger.

The rest of the Moth's leadership team includes Sarah Haberman, Christina Norman, Marina Cluché, Jennifer Hickson, Jordan Cardonale, Kate Tellers, Suzanne Rust, and Patricia Uregna.

The Moth Podcast is presented by Odyssey.

Special thanks to their executive producer, Leah Rhys-Dennis.

All Moth stories are true, as remembered by their storytellers.

For more about our podcast, information on pitching your own story, and everything else, go to our website, themoth.org.

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