Merry Christmas and play ball

Published 3:15 pm Wednesday, November 3, 2010

I just visited my favorite nursery/gift center and had to check my calendar to verify the date and make sure that I hadn’t slept through October. This particular retail outlet has a huge area devoted to Christmas decorations and other holiday paraphernalia. I mean the last time I looked at said calendar the date was around mid-October, and baseball was still on television. Which brings up another question: when did baseball start to last so long? Back in the day the World Series would have been over for a month already, but the fans are still cheering for their favorite team to win. There is only one explanation for this confusing timeline: the end of baseball season and Christmas are now officially celebrated on the same day. What happened to the holiday season officially starting the day after Thanksgiving and the World Series being played while it was still warm enough to be outside and not have games called on account of snow? In the spirit of the baseball and Christmas seasons meeting head-on, I have created a rhyme to be sung to the tune of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”:

Take me out to the ballgame

Away from all the crowds,

Of holiday shoppers and crazy malls

Toy displays and decking the halls …

So it’s root, root, root for your favorite team

While the ump calls out to “Play Ball,”

For it’s one, two, Fox Sports here we come

Merry Christmas to all!

Judy Ziedman