Apropos of the previous post…
A member of the Baseball Books group on Facebook posted about The Complete Handbook of Baseball, one of those paperbacks that would come out every spring.
I countered with my run of these guys (representative photo). These had team profiles with mini-bios of each club’s major contributors; some editions preceding this one had thumbnail sketches of the players.
But as I extricated this from the lower shelf of one of my bookcases I could help notice the deeply yellowed pages and the cracked binding. I was almost afraid to open it, lest it crumble in my hands, just like in The Time Machine.
I guess when they get to the point where they are no longer readble, the books no longer serve a “purpose,” so it might be time to toss them out. But that seems so disrespectful for something that has given pleasure for so long. In many cases, these books of my younger years serve as a point of nostalgia, which is probably why so many of us are reluctant to part with them (and other items such as baseball cards, which seem even more childish). From what I understand, Judaism prohibits the disposal of holy objects, such as prayer books and other texts. The Orthodox will collect such items and bury them as if they were a person. I would not characterize baseball books as sacred texts (for the most part), but that feeling of respect remains the same.
So I guess for the time being I will hold onto my old friends.
is available on Amazon.com,
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