"It's a Nice Night for an Evening" -- 2024 Oldtime Baseball in Cambridge, MA

My high school friend Max, a youthful Steven Wright of our Seattle classroom, often said things like, "it's a nice night for an evening" and "'Do I want cherry in my Coke?' That's something a jerk would say."

"Thanks, jerk."

Max's evening aphorism came back to me on Thursday during a beautiful night at my neighborhood's annual Oldtime Baseball, which brings dozens of amateurs and former pros to a public ballfield in Cambridge, MA, for a nine-inning combo of game, fundraising, and community. Headliners included Lou Merloni and Jonathan Papelbon, who each dressed in their Red Sox finest, played an inning, and posed for photos.

This event kicked off 30 years ago during a baseball strike, with added inspiration from a large collection of classic uniforms of all leagues, eras, and teams. Their sale table of fitted hats includes a chunk of what fans saw on the field.

I like big hats and I cannot lie -- since anything smaller than 7 5/8 is right out.

You can get as close to game action as you like and we started along the third base line.

This guy in the Seattle Pilots uniform got guff from left field fans every time he took the field and it's for reasons beyond their one year of existence. (I'll explain why soon.)

Pitchers handled about one inning each and managers cycled through lots of players, with pinch-hitter announcements a regular part of the night, most of them sponsored by a local business. (I suspect raising sufficient money for their charity gets you an at-bat.)

Former Red Sox catcher Lou Merloni started the game, squatted for an inning, and gave way to younger knees like Mr. Flexible in this bullpen. We stuck around to see Papelbon, who entered in the eighth. Sure enough, his second batter was pinch-hitter and sportswriter Jared Carrabis, who started this beef about 12 hours before game time.

As predicted, here's Papelbon firing a pitch into Jared's ribs.

Jared tossed his bat, took a couple "angry" steps toward Jonathan, and they put on a brief show of invective. Papelbon's 6" height advantage made their exchange even funnier and we fans laughed it up. One of many highlights that night.

My S.O. Sunny loves to spend money on a good cause, so bid successfully on this signed celebratory 1967 photo of Jim Lonberg. Will see if can add Yaz in the future! (Carl turned 85 the same day of this game. Concidence???)

I snapped this closer photo of our aforementioned Seattle Pilots outfielder. He caught so much crap from fans because you're looking at Jeff Maier, infamous for his catch of Derek Jeter's playoff homer against Baltimore. (Maier himself played ball at Wesleyan and wore this Pilots uniform in honor of ESPN's Jim Caple, who passed away last October and sported it for Oldtime Baseball back in 2006.) He must inspire quite a range of fan reactions.

Already looking forward to our return to Gooch's Corner next year! And always bring your glove to the park!