Al Kaline, Jeff Daniels and What it Means to be 9

My best friend Tim told me he was reading a book about alkaline.

I was stunned.

We only checked out books from the school library by choice if they were about sports. It was an unspoken agreement. Why, all of a sudden, was he showing interest in the pH of water? Why did he care that akali can be defined as a base that dissolves in water? Where were his priorities? We had sports books to read!

Actually, we were in grammar school, so that was not my response. 

After asking Tim to repeat the name several times, it turned out the book was about the great ballplayer Al Kaline. And we weren't the only ones with Kaline confusion. 

BaseballReference.com's “Cool Names” list features Al Kaline because “some fans have noticed that his names when pushed together make the word alkaline.”

While I remembered the funny conversation about alkaline and knew about his Hall of Fame career, I rarely thought about the man they called Mr. Tiger.

Until, that is, I listened to a tribute song for Kaline, who died in April, by the actor Jeff Daniels.

Daniels was born in Michigan, a Tigers fan, and one of the defining moments of his childhood was heading to old Tiger Stadium when he was 9-year-old for “Bat Day.” He returned with a bat signed by his hero, Al Kaline.

The beauty of Daniels' song is that a few seconds in you are 9-years-old again.

You’re remembering how at that age the first time you saw a big-league-park each season the grass looked so green it was as if your eyes were playing tricks.

When you’re age 9, big leaguers seem old. They tower over you like superheroes, and no one is more larger than life than your favorite player. For me, and a generation of kids growing up in Milwaukee, it was Robin Yount or Paul Molitor. Today, it’s Christian Yelich.

In Detroit, if you were Daniels’ age, your hero was Al Kaline. Daniels sings:

Early summer 1964, 9-years-old and ready for more

Just like Christmas comes once a year, Tiger Bat Day was finally here

Backyard baseball I was destined for stardom. 

When I was him I hit it over Mom’s Garden

He was the hero I pretended to be. I was him, he was me.

But you can’t stay a kid forever, just like your hero can't stay young. You see Paul Molitor's starting to look like an older man, his hair turning gray. Paul Molitor can’t age can he? And if he can, what does that mean for you?

One day you realize you're older than some of the players you're watching. Pretty soon, their birthdate is the same year you celebrated your 21^st birthday. You find yourself rooting like crazy for aging veterans to hold on so you’re not older than every single player.

He was just a ballplayer and I was just a kid.

All I ever wanted was everything he did.

Just like him I reached for more than I could ever be.

My childhood hero died today along with a little bit of me.

Then one day your son begins to develop an interest in baseball. Pretty soon, his arm is strong enough that you're buying a glove to play catch with him. Each time you throw the ball, you recapture a little bit of that 9-year-old.

The game doesn't mean as much as it did to you when you were 9. You realize that's as it should be, but that it's also a big part of who you still are and always will be.

            Now decades later with that bat in my hand. 

            Some things take a lifetime to understand.

With that, Jeff Daniels walks us off.

I Vote for Jeff – Confidently

My first real conversation with Jeff Fleischer came one evening when we walked back from the Indiana Daily Student to the Brownstone Terrace Apartments.

I’m not sure if it was my sophomore or junior year. Jeff would know. He remembers everything.

At the time, R.E.M’s “Man on the Moon” was in constant rotation on the radio. I loved the song but  was perplexed by the lyrics. Jeff told me the song is a tribute to the comedian Andy Kaufman, who at the time I had never heard of. Jeff had and that led to more stories.

This became a pattern. If I didn’t know or understand something, I would ask Jeff. Jeff was insanely versatile whether the topic was sports, music, history or politics.

You should have heard our conversations about art and philosophy. They were legendary.

Actually, I never asked about philosophy or art but if I had I am sure his insights would have been stellar.

Since college, Jeff and I have attended sporting events, concerts and closed late-night diners after filing stories for the Daily Herald.

Jeff is the type of guy who would do anything for a friend, and also the type of guy who should be on Jeopardy!

Wait, he was, and I even drove him to the airport for that trip. Jeff enjoyed the experience but said timing the button is harder than it looks. The internet has let us down because I can’t find a link to that episode.

Since appearing on Jeopardy, Jeff hasn’t slowed down. He is a prolific freelance writer and in 2016 I was elated when his book, Votes of Confidence: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections, was published to critical acclaim.

Publishers Weekly wrote, “Fleischer’s well-contextualized, nonpartisan approach results in a valuable resource for readers looking to understand and become involved in a complicated system while avoiding spin.”

The second edition of Votes of Confidence was published earlier this year and the reviews were just as impressive.

ALA Booklist wrote,” Fleischer clearly and understandably explains how the American government came to be and how it’s supposed to work. … Fleischer avoids making the topic dry or boring by using conversational language and includes surprising facts that make this a very readable, engaging, and entertaining history of American elections and politics for young people. Highly recommended.”

This was my favorite, courtesy of the School Library Journal. “Written in a conversational tone, the text reads like course notes from a beloved teacher. Fleischer presents a potentially didactic subject matter in a digestible and organized manner. … This title is a history lesson, civics compendium, and call to action combined in one engaging volume.”

Ahead of middle school and high school graduation season, consider Votes of Confidence for the graduate in your life or any young person for that matter. Books can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound or wherever you buy books.

Jeff, thanks for the friendship, the stories and the knowledge over the years.

Let’s let Michael Stipe and guest singer/guitarist Bruce Springsteen play us off with my all-time favorite version of “Man on the Moon.”

The First Saturday in May

Some words in sports are like magic. Magic for the anticipation, possibilities and excitement they dangle before us.

Opening Day. Game 7. Amen Corner on Sunday at Augusta.

For many, me included, the words the first Saturday in May are in that category. This is the day reserved for the Kentucky Derby, the Run for the Roses, the year’s most anticipated horse race. Of course, there is no Kentucky Derby today, although race officials maintain a race will likely happen at some point in 2020.

With no Derby to watch, I spent some time thinking about previous races. My favorite Derby memory is from 1995 and watching Thunder Gulch gallop to victory at 25 to 1.

I had just returned to Milwaukee after my freshman year at Indiana University. Less than 12 hours later, I was on my way to Arlington International Racecourse with Grandma Cookie and Grandpa Irving and their friends for the Kentucky Derby.

Grandma Cookie was a huge horse racing fan. Each Friday, Grandpa would go to one of the only newsstands in Milwaukee that had a racing form.

My analytical Grandma would then spend most of Friday night looking at the past results of races and handicapping who would run well on Saturday. I was always fascinated by racing forms, in part because I didn’t then, and don’t today, fully understand all the statistics in the agate type. With most things sports related, I am a quick study. Not for the racing form, though, and that added an element of wonder to how Grandma made sense of it all.

Come Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa “were off” to use horse racing lingo, from Milwaukee to Arlington. They had a reserved table, inside, in the air conditioning. I would usually join them at least once and sometimes twice a year. They spent the afternoon betting on the races in the company of their good friends. They never made large bets. The money kept things interesting but for Grandma it was just the way to help her keep score; she was in it for the intellectual challenge. I always loved it when their horse was winning and Grandpa would bellow, “stop the race.”

It was so much fun seeing Grandma in her element at the track. I recall that Grandpa would alternate between a few of his own bets and also the horses Grandma Cookie would pick. They had one friend, Grace, who took the other approach. She liked to bet based on the name of the horse, particularly if the horse was a long shot.

When the races were done, they headed home to Milwaukee. They stopped at a restaurant to break up the ride, often at the Brat Stop or the Apple Holler (where years later my brother and I took our families apple picking).

On that first Saturday in May with Grandma and Grandpa in 1995, I somehow found myself with a win ticket on Thunder Gulch. I bet Grace had that one as well.

It was a pretty incredible day.

But the same could be said for every Saturday I spent at the track with Grandma and Grandpa.

Sir Isaac Meet Bob

In 1665, Isaac Newton retreated to his family’s estate after classes at Cambridge were cancelled because of the bubonic plaque. In the year that followed, he wrote the papers that became the basis for early calculus, began theorizing about optics, and as Mental Floss put it, “was also the time when his theory of gravity germinated.”

Yep. Guess he earned that Sir in front of his name.

In April, I, too, have been productive during the COVID-19 Pandemic. I caught up on the second season of Succession, spent focused time coming to a ‘working conclusion’ that the Birthday Paradox is a hoax and even disciplined myself to type the word camaraderie correctly without relying on spell check.

But would Sir Isaac be proud? Am I pushing myself hard enough? What could I accomplish in May if I focused?

My first idea was to write about the relative strengths and weaknesses of Euclidian and non-Euclidian geometry. But I’m also a bit wary of writing over my audience (no offense).

Oh, who am I kidding? Just because I threw around some big (or medium-sized) words there, I’m still the guy who struggled with 'The Given.' Let a different blogger take this on.

OK, what else am I passionate about?

I’ve read there is a robust debate in contemporary physics about realism vs. constructivism and how that impacts the way people think about the understanding of quantum theory and its instructional process.

Hmm, tempting. But, frankly, not sure it’s worth my time. After an initial perusal, I find most of the arguments weak and ineffectual. 

Really want something with more intellectual rigor. No fun in punching below your weight, right?

The third option is taking the idea of three-dimensional chess to the next logical level. Since four is greater than three, is four-dimensional chess actually what people should strive for from a strategic standpoint? If so, what percent better would it be? Why isn’t there more research on this?

I know I’m on to something here, but it seems a touch outside my wheelhouse.

Then, it hit me. 

ESPN may have the copyright for “30 for 30,” but after a cursory check I didn't see a patent for 31 blogs in 31 days in May.

The next logical question is a fair one. You do realize you’ve only written 15 blogs in 18 months? 

True, but I was just getting loose. Time for a blogging streak.

Be sure to read each of the 31 posts carefully as there may be a quiz at the end, and it will count toward the final grade.

However, I can be bribed.

Address me as Sir Bobproof or the blogging-incarnation of DiMaggio and your grade will almost certainly feature the first letter of the alphabet. 

The Times We Live In

I worked late – as I always did in those days – on 9/10/2001. As sports editor of the now defunct Boca Raton News in Florida, I came into the office in the early afternoon and didn’t leave until printing presses were humming around midnight. High school football had just started and the Florida Atlantic University football team was one game into its inaugural season.

Woke up the next morning, turned on the TV and realized everything had changed. So suddenly, so jarringly. Was in awe (and still am) of first responders such as the New York Fire Department.

We’ve lived through plenty of history since, but the COVID-19 Pandemic – while very different than 9/11 – is the first that seems to carry some of the same weight and significance. There is no one specific date in this Pandemic that will resonate the way 9/11 did and does, but this period is one my son Liam will tell his grandchildren about.

I wore an NYFD hat after 9-11 and today I would gladly wear one for the essential workers. The doctors and nurses – of course – are heroes. So are others – delivery drivers, grocery store employees and the like – who help people buy and receive necessities and keep at least some semblance of the economy going.

Since my wife Xiaoli’s mom and sister live in China, we were more familiar with the virus than many. We knew how strict the social distancing was, and is, even in areas such as Shanghai which fortunately have not had a lot of cases. With that said, we never would have thought the virus would have impacted America the way it has. In New York City alone, there have been more than 11,000 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Like so many of you, we are grateful for our health, trying to stay positive and determined to make the most of each day.

So far, Liam and I have had quite a run playing football. We were halfway to Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game streak before we took a day off.

Liam, 8, is at an age where, really for the last year or so, his vocabulary and expressions seem to expand each day.. Just yesterday, I asked him if he was ready for football and without missing a beat, he said, “I was born ready.”

While these are trying times for everyone, I liked Liam’s approach.

Let's give Liam the final word.

The Five for Feb. 23, 2020 -- Everything Coming up Liam

1. The best basketball player in the world plays for the Milwaukee Bucks, and yes, it is still a bit surreal to write that sentence.

His name, of course, is Giannis Antetokounmpo. In addition to Giannis’ remarkable skills, charismatic personality and wit on social media, the man – and his girlfriend Mariah – have impeccable taste in names.

Soon after announcing the birth of their baby boy, my brother texted me asking to guess the name. Given that Giannis is Greek and my brother has a son named George, I went with the obvious guess. Nope. Turns out, Giannis and Mariah followed the lead of my wife and me and named their son Liam.

Soon, my phone was blowing up with calls and texts from reporters asking for comment. They wanted to know if Giannis had consulted with us about names. Was naming our son Liam a catalyst for Giannis and Mariah? I didn’t play favorites with the reporters, whether they were of the ink-stained variety or "digital content specialists.” My answer, each time, was always the same.

I told them I understood and respected the question, but it wasn’t about seeking credit. And I closed by paraphrasing the Billy Tubbs line about his resemblance to Jack Nicholson. “If Giannis can get a little pub out of it, that’s just great.”

2. I just about lost it laughing when I heard this story from Sonny Amato, my college friend and colleague at the Indiana Daily Student. During a water break in a recent basketball scrimmage, his 7-year-old son Kieran told him that Kieran’s opponent thought he was on defense when he was on offense. Kieran said: “The best defense I can do is just not telling him he’s on offense.”

Kieran wasn’t done with the one liners. He recently told his dad, “When he goes on a date it won’t be to Dave and Busters because it’s too loud. Probably Eat N Park because it’s quiet and you can talk more.”

Perhaps he’s auditioning for the role of Lucas Scott’s son on the inevitable One Tree Hill reboot a decade from now.

3. Andy Jacobson, my friend and colleague at Trustmark, writes a great blog. You should consider adding it to your blogroll -- and after reading this post -- you’ll realize why his blog is not called “Andyproof.”

What type of guy is Andy? Two years ago both our families were in Florida and my family drove from Boca Raton to Miami to meet up with the Jacobson clan. Knowing how tough parking would be, Andy scouted out a parking spot on the street and stood there in the pounding Florida sun until we arrived.

4. Speaking of blogs, my friend Johnathon Briggs (who I worked with at PCI), was selected as one of five Dad bloggers to speak at the 2020 Dad 2.0 Summit in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 28. Johnathon has lived a remarkable life and his range of skills and experiences would make him a natural for a Dos Equis commercial (and hopefully a more in-depth look in a future Bobproof post). His blog, “Fatherhood At Forty” is warm and wise and never fails to move me. This post might be a good one to start with.

5. When I checked who else was speaking at the Summit, I saw that childhood friend Dan Kois is also on the docket. I really enjoyed Dan’s recent book, How to Be a Family: The Year I Dragged My Kids Around the World to Find a New Way to Be Together. His family even got the Today Show Treatment.

The Five for December 16, 2019

A sports and entertainment themed version of The Five.

1. The Milwaukee Bucks are rocking an 18-game winning streak. Now that is a fun sentence to write. In 2014, the Bucks won 15 games for the entire season. Even though the ultimate measure of the season will be what happens deep in the playoffs, got to enjoy and savor this. Many more Bucks thoughts to come throughout the season – some hopefully quite trenchant about the majority owners and management.

2. News of an upcoming Harvard Business School’s Case Study on the Milwaukee Bucks was released to large fanfare right before the start of the regular season. Since then, crickets. Surprised that to my knowledge no journalist had tried to get an update on when it would be published, Bobproof sent an email to the lead author, Anita Elberse, the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. We heard back from her assistant that “our office is expecting the case to be published in the next few weeks.” Stay tuned.

3. The first in-depth feature story I wrote for the Indiana Daily Student was on the great Erika Wicoff. Erika won three consecutive Big-Ten championships, a record that still stands. I can’t tell you how many times I checked to make sure that it was Erika with a “k” before submitting that article. Today, she’s a highly-regarded instructor in Indiana and she posted on Facebook that earlier this week she took advantage of the “warm” weather to sneak in another round of golf. Erika playing golf in December on the course owned by legendary IU golf coach Sam Carmichael is amazing.

4. Rarely Tweet but do enjoy going on Twitter several times a week to catch up with what people are saying. One of my favorite tweets – which has already been liked close to 800,000 times this week -- came courtesy of director Rod Blackhurst. He wrote, “In 1992 I was 12. My dad and I were in the Newark airport. I saw Joe Pesci and recognized him from HOME ALONE. I went up to him to ask for his autograph. Joe asked me who my favorite actor was. I said he was. He handed me a crisp $100 and said "That's the right answer, kid".

5. The Bears visited Lambeau Field on Sunday and the Packers triumphed 21-13. Can’t pass up the opportunity to reminisce about one of the most just outcomes in the history of the NFL -- the famous After Further Review Replay game between the two teams from 30 years ago. Enjoy.