The Batting Cage Opens Today and I Can’t Wait

I don't care what anybody says, there is nothing like opening night. Be it baseball, football, a play at the theatre or a music performance on stage.  The excitement builds until it's showtime!!!! Well, my opening night is today when the Quincy Park District opens the Batting Cage for the season. I love to frequent “The Cage” if for nothing else to prove to me that I can still hit.  I played baseball for 25 years and loved every minute of it. So for me to go to the cage and hit baseballs just fires me up (even though I fractured my tibia in the "Cage" with a foul ball off of my left leg two years ago).  It brings back memories of some great times in my youth and it’s such a great stress reliever too.

I was told the fast pitch machine hurls baseballs at 78 to 80 miles per hour and I hit those pitches quite well if I may say so myself . Last year, Jamie Moyer’s fastball in the majors was 80 mph so in my mind there’s got to be a Major League Baseball team in need of my services somewhere (are you still listening Yankee Manager Joe Girardi?).

To me it is infectious. I never lose the appeal to swing the bat and smack the horsehide. And when I hit it good, I still know it. It is funny to watch the faces of the Quincy Park District employees (usually kids) when I ask for tokens to get in the cage. They look at me with a face that says “Sir, are you serious?”  I guess they think  there’s no way he’ll hit anything. Well on the final day of the Batting Cage season last fall,  I hit 92 of the 100 pitches I faced. Not bad for an “Ole Poop”.

Last fall I was asked by a friend just how long will I continue to go out to the Batting Cage? My answer was…”I may not be able to swing but come out and watch me bunt when I am in my 80′s”.

The Batting Cage is located in Upper Moorman Park in Quincy. This area features mini-golf, paddle boats,  concessions, fishing, a playground, disc golf, bicycle rentals, a shelter house and the batting cages.  Reservations can be made for birthdays and other parties.