By an amazing coincidence…Golf and Baseball

March 14, 2012

About six months ago I pulled a lower abdominal muscle. It’s in a spot where there’s no way to rest it; just about every move engages that region. A couple of trips to the doctor ruled out anything more nefarious, but I was told “it just takes time,” not the words an impatient person like me enjoys hearing.

Until last week, when it seems to have abated for more than a day at a time, I was unable to do just about any exercise. Even walking at a brisk pace was uncomfortable immediately and painful down the line. Needless to say, I’ve not been a happy camper. I used to pride myself on being in very good shape and quite active.

To make matters worse, I have my softball season coming up, with the first practice a week away. I’ve been able to jog lightly and enjoyed a light catch with my daughter, home from college on spring break. But I fear making sudden, jarring movements that might push me back to square one. On such component is batting. So I got the idea, hey, golf is similar to batting, just from a different direction. Why not go out to the driving range and see what happens. So with the weather yesterday in the low 70s, I went over to the local range on my lunch, bought the smallest bucket of balls they had, and went to it.

I took an interest in golf only recently, following a vacation where we stayed at a resort that was across the street from a course. We all took a complimentary lesson, and my daughter and I enjoyed it to such a degree that we bought a couple of clubs for me and a beginner’s set for her (which is gathering dust in the hallway). I have yet to play an actual game or take additional lessons, but go to the range once in awhile and manage to hit the ball fairly well, if not always straight, a good percentage of the time…for baseball.

Anyway, I am happy to report that as of this point, there’s no extensive discomfort other than the regular aftermath of not having used those muscle groups in awhile (but the day is young). So I hope to get through the first practice and take it from there, realizing I don’t want to hurt the team or myself by playing at a sub-par level.

Megan Brown over at Baseball Reflections posted this item about the similarities between the two sports. Lots of players enjoy the game. In fact, the veterans probably see spring training as a necessary evil between rounds.

Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb were enemies on the field; Cobb disdained Ruth for bringing the home run into popularity, preferring the practice of “scientific baseball.” But in retirement, they enjoyed taking to the links in exhibition matches. Tom Stanton published a fine book on the subject in Ty and The Babe: Baseball’s Fiercest Rivals: A Surprising Friendship And The 1941 Has-Beens Golf Championship (2007).

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