Baseball Season Opens With a Dash of Imagination

Injuries to both of his legs had prevented Gibson from starting the game — injuries caused not by some freak accident, but by the demands of his profession. He all but hobbled to the plate, the bat in his hand more like a cane he was too proud to use.

His inability to anchor himself became painfully evident as he barely fouled off the first two pitches of an ace reliever we do not need to name. Then he hit a weak dribbler down the first-base line that mercifully went foul, so lame was his attempt to beat it out.

Ball one. Another foul. Ball two. Ball three. The ballpark was quiet as a church.

Now, with the count full and fate in the offing, the reliever threw. And Gibson swung. More accurately, he lunged, all arms and chest and shoulders, his hopes extending beyond his physical limitations.

Bat met ball. Ball rose into the twilight, up, up, and then down, down, to land beyond the right-field wall. In a time that seemed so improbable, it was said, the impossible had happened.

This Opening Day game over, we ran together onto the verdant field of our imagination, rejoicing in the season’s renewal.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/sports/baseball/baseball-opening-day-coronavirus.html