NEW YORK, NY – It was a one-hopper to the plate, delivered by a wily right-hander and fielded cleanly by the veteran backstop. There was a check of the runner at third, followed by a request for time from the home plate umpire. Fans applauded this basic – yet extraordinary – feat by the beaming battery, who then posed for photographs. As the duo left the diamond, the appreciative pitcher’s arms raised in a triumphant “V” and the cocky catcher pointed skyward to his pals in the upper deck. In that moment, all was good. Here’s how Gallagher’s One Pitch & Seinfeld Made A Sour Season Suddenly Sweet.
We are talking, of course, about the ceremonial first pitch in the final home game (sadly) of another disappointing New York Mets season. But for Nancy Gallagher, yours truly, Nancy’s battery-mate-in-life, Geoff Andrews, whose battle with a lung issue kept him from attending, and many of our friends and family, the unmet potential of this Mets iteration was washed away with that one fantastically fun moment. Indeed, diehard Mets fan Gallagher vastly outperformed the likes of Chisox fan Barack Hussein Obama II, Dr. Anthony Stephen Fauci, Curtis James Jackson III (aka Fitty Cent) and Conor Anthony McGregor.
The Fun Factor
Gary Cohen, the sublime play-by-play man for the Mets, has a way of putting things in perspective. While recapping Jerry Seinfeld’s brimming-with-optimism visit to the booth, Cohen summed up Seinfeld’s half-full approach to having that childlike enthusiasm that allows him to simply enjoy watching the team – even when they stink – rather than taking it so painfully hard. Ron Darling enviously added that Seinfeld’s positive philosophy/choice was a great way to go through life… All of us could use a little more “kid” in us. We could all stand to just take this fan thing as it should be taken; as an enjoyable distraction from life’s trials and tribulations. Watching your team lose shouldn’t be another trial. It shouldn’t be a tribulation. If if that’s what being a fan has become for you, then hit the reset button. Get that Fun Factor back in back in there. Find some humor in Lindor waving at nearly every 1st-pitch (not Nancy Gallagher’s) with a complete disregard for where the ball is. When Ednel Javier Báez foolishly gives you a thumbs down, give him four back – but don’t take it personally. Boo him the way you might boo a WWE villain, John Bradshaw Layfield for example – not as you would heinous criminal. To put it more succinctly, let’s heed Sargeant Hulka’s words,“Lighten up, Francis.“
Thank you Jerry. And thank you Gary, Keith and Ron.
Finally/most importantly, for those wondering how the Sam Hill we got to be out on that field having that much fun… It was for a charity. Nancy contributes to the Amazin Mets Foundation, which supports girls playing baseball, among other great causes. Pretty cool, eh? You may want to start donating…
On that note, that’s it for today, please feel free to comment below and come back tomorrow for a man that still has enough “kid” in him, Grinding Ax Walt, who needs every bit of it rooting for the Detroit Tigers from New Jersey.
