Burt Saxon

My favorite White Sox lefty in 1952 was Billy Pierce.  I learned to pitch by watching him and Warren Spahn and Whitey Ford on television. 

My favorite White Sox lefty this year is a minor leaguer named Noah Schultz from Oswego, Illinois.  Oswego was our arch rival in the  early 1960's.  I pitched off the same mound that recently featured the 6'9" Schultz. Schultz is now The Great White Sox Hope.

Most of my friends and relatives want to know why I still support the White Sox.  I cannot answer this question. On this, the final day of the season, the team has already lost 100 games and rumor has it may soon move to Charlotte or Nashville. 

Some of these same friends and relatives wonder why in these crazy times I even pay attention to baseball at all. I understand where they are coming from There are too many wildfires and too many shootings to keep track of them all.  A former President is using his mugshot to raise money.  Recently I went to return a library book and found a young man sleeping near the door.

But I can give a reason why I am looking forward to the playoffs in October:

When all else fails, there is always baseball…. And the dream that this year's Great White Sox Hope might become the Billy Pierce of my grandkids' generation.

Burt Saxon, who served as Connecticut Teacher of the Year in 2005, pitched for the Knights of Carleton College in the 1960s.