The book that launched the cliche

Why Time Begins on Opening Day by Thomas Boswell (Doubleday, 1984)<a onclick=”window.open(this.href, ‘_blank’, ‘width=100,height=153,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0’); return false” href=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/boswell.jpg”><img title=”Boswell” height=”229″ alt=”Boswell” src=”http://baseballbookshelf.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/images/boswell.jpg” width=”150″ border=”0″ style=”FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 5px 5px” /></a>

This was the book that started it all for me (even though it was not the author’s first release). When I read Boswell’s collection, it opened up a world of sports columnists who expressed the moment in a few hundred words, rather than an entire book.

I used to think it was "cheating" for sportswriters to make extra money off work they had already done, but as I became less cynical (about some things), I realized this was the only way to present to an audience in that pre-Internet era.

Boswell, a long-time writer for the Washington Post, was described as  "a student and unmatched chronicler-philosopher" of baseball by one of the all-time greats, Shirley Povich. "I am a ballpark wanderer," Boswell offers as his first sentance, and things improve from there as he shares his observations on how fans anticipate the event that harkens warm days, comfortable nights, time spent with family and friends, and the carefree ambiance of nostalgia.

Of course, for many this is an illusion, recalling younger days when our biggest worry was if we could get another ice cream or stay up an extra hour. This sensation applies more for those who actually go to the game than those who only watch it on TV or follow it in print. Being at the ballpark, separating yourself from the daily headaches and responsibilities, is a brief respite that Boswell captures so eloquently as he writes about contemporary and past players, managers, strategies, even a single at-bat, one thought process.

True baseball fans go through a limbo following the end of the World Series, even nowadays when the informational aspects never seem to end, thanks to awards, fall leagues, fantasy league preparation, and the constant stream of information meant to keep them connected during the long cold winter. That’s why Boswell nailed it when he chose the name for this collection and why it still rings true: time had been standing still, waiting for Opening Day to come and release us from the "imprisonment" of the off-season.

Boswell’s resume includes such other baseball collections as How Life Imitates the World Series (1982); Strokes of Genius (1987); The Heart of the Order (1989); Game Day: Sports Writings 1970-1990 (1990); Cracking the Show (1994); and Diamond Dreams (with phtographer Walter Iooss) (1996).