In the immortal words of the great Ernie Banks – “Let’s play two!”

Although doubleheaders aren’t all that uncommon for teams located on the East Coast and Midwest regions of our great country because of summertime thunderstorms (and an occasional hurricane), they are quite rare for us out here on the Left Coast; and I have to admit that I am actually quite excited about today’s twin bill. Perhaps being retired has more to do with this than anything else because even though I would follow regular Dodger day games on the radio while at work, being able to actually sit down and watch two full Dodger games would have been impossible, were I still on the job.

Today’s doubleheader brings back fond memories of my childhood, as I vividly recall attending two such doubleheaders at Dodger Stadium as a young boy. Although I couldn’t tell you the dates of those doubleheaders, or who the Dodgers played, or even if they won, lost, or split the games, I do recall that as an 8 or 9-year-old, I was an absolute pain in the ass for my father – I know this because I took my own son to quite a few day games when he was that age, although (thankfully) no doubleheaders.

I specifically recall bugging my dad for Dodger Dogs (yes, we had them back then), peanuts, soft drinks, Cracker Jacks, frozen chocolate malts (my favorite even to this day) and, of course, an assortment of Dodger hats, mini-bats, helmets, pennants, and a variety of other Dodger souvenirs which, invariably, ended up in the trash (if only I had know that there would one day be an eBay in our future – or personal computers, or the internet for that matter).

I also remember getting absolutely fried during the first game (sunblock hadn’t been invented yet) and then nearly shivering to death during the night cap of what was then called a twi-night doubleheader (and probably still is). I can still hear my mom screaming at my dad as she applied aloe vera lotion to my bright red arms and face (Solarcaine hadn’t been invented yet either).

But what I remember most about those seeming endless days is that I was at Dodger Stadium and, more importantly, I was with my dad.

So as I sit through five or six hours of baseball in my recliner today, and regardless of whether the Dodgers win, lose, or split, my dad will be right there with me in spirit.  And dad, I promise not to be a pain in the ass for you, although I dearly wish that I could be.

Oh how I miss my dad.