Countdown to the 2009 season: Loving the game

100. The triumph of October.
99. Rick "Wild Thing" Vaughn and Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams both wore number 99.
98. Darren Daulton sliding on two knees that have been operated on a combined nine times. His sole reason for hitting the Vets' unforgiving Astroturf is to break up a double play.
97. Russ Hodges screaming deliriously, "The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the Pennant."
96. Legit throw-back jerseys.
95. The 1909 World Series. Ty Cobb against Honus Wagner.
94. Looking forward to Hall of Fame speeches from Manny Ramirez and Rickey Henderson.

93. Satchel Paige.
92. Kirby Puckett rounding first, pumping his fist and smiling as wide as possible.
91. Ozzie Smith doing the flip.
90. Mark Lemke coming up big in the post season.
89. The Red Sox coming back from a 3-games-to-none deficit. And knowing Yankees fans will never be the same.
88. John Updike telling us about Ted Williams' last at-bat:
"Like a feather caught in a vortex, Williams ran around the square of bases at the center of our beseeching screaming. He ran as he always ran out home runs--hurriedly, unsmiling, head down, as if our praise were a storm of rain to get out of. He didn't tip his cap. Though we thumped, wept, and chanted "We want Ted" for minutes after he hid in the dugout, he did not come back. Our noise for some seconds passed beyond excitement into a kind of immense open anguish, a wailing, a cry to be saved. But immortality is nontransferable. The papers said that the other players, and even the umpires on the field, begged him to come out and acknowledge us in some way, but he never had and did not now. Gods do not answer letters."
87. Sid Bream scoring on Barry Bonds to send the Braves to the World Series.
86. Victory parades.
85. Dwight Gooden in 1985, full of youth and talent. Cocaine not a blip on the horizon.
84. Vin Scully telling us, "If one picture is worth a thousand words, you have seen about a million words, but more than that, you have seen an absolutely bizarre finish to Game Six of the 1986 World Series. The Mets are not only alive, they are well, and they will play the Red Sox in Game 7 tomorrow!"
83. Joe Morgan, love him or hate him.
82. Ryan Howard against CC Sabathia.
81. Seeing a future star in Pulaski, sitting in the party pavilion in Reading, or getting great seats in Frederick.
80. Bill James has made a living on the statistical analysis of baseball.
79. The beautiful swings of John Olerud, Will Clark, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mark Grace
78. The diminutive Pedro Martinez throwing a fastball past the gargantuan Mark McGwire
77. Harry Kalas yelling, "That ball is outtah here."
76. Fernandomania.
75. Watching the Kiss Cam at Citizens' Bank Park, and seeing it pan toward the Mets' dugout and the unsuspecting David Wright and Willie Randolph.
74. Black-and-white footage from the 30s, 40s and 50s.
73. Reading a Jim Murray column about one of your favorite players.
72. Willie Stargell picking the Steel City up onto his shoulders and carrying it to the World Series Championship.
71. John Fogerty singing "Centerfield."
70. Robbie Alomar playing second base.
69. An umpire ringing up a batter.
68. Reading "Ball Four" and finding out a major leaguer like Jim Bouton could be so jaded, but he could also be excited about the magic of just being on the field.
67. Thinking, "I could do that."
66. Facial hair fads: Rollie Fingers. Jeff Bagwell. Dan Brouthers.
65. Knicknames. The Big Hurt. The Fordham Flash. The Sultan of Swat. The Ryan Express. Dizzy. Dazzy. Ducky. Rabbit. Tug.
64. The rivalries: Cards-Cubs, Dodgers-Giants, Phils-Mets, and, yes, Red Sox-Yankees.
63. Ty Cobb won 11 batting titles. But he was a jerk and never won a World Series. The gods of baseball are just.
62. Ernie Banks was a class act, who brought joy to Chicago and fans everywhere. He never won a World Series. The gods of baseball are as mysterious as the gods of our religions.
61. Greg Maddux floating a change-up past Jim Thome.

60. Knowing James Earl Jones is right.
59. Reading "Moneyball" for the first time and knowing baseball is a very different game from when you grew up. Even if you were born in the 80s.
58. Black-and-white photos of Ty Cobb, Chuck Klein, Walter Johnson and Connie Mack.
57. Brooks Robinson keeping The Big Red Machine at bay.
56. Voting for the All-Star game.
55. Cardinals fans.
54. The called shot.
53. Hearing Bob Costas, Sparky Anderson or Buck O'Neal tell a Story.
52. George Brett running out of the dugout, ready to turn Billy Martin and all the umpires into minced meat.
51. Reading stories about the veterans who came into Spring Training "in the best shape of their life."
50. Again Vin Scully. This time, telling us about a roll of the dice, as Kirk Gibson hobbles to the plate to face Dennis Eckersly.
49. Mel Allen welcoming you to "This Week in Baseball."
48. DiMaggio versus Feller.
47. Roberto Clemente in the 1971 World Series.
46. Ken Griffey Jr. robbing a home run.
45. Bob Gibson against Willie Mays.
44. Walt Whitman coining the phrase National Pastime.
43. Bobby Valentine watching Nolan Ryan warm up in the bullpen and thinking the big right-hander was about to pitch his last game in The Bigs. Then Ryan going out and tossing a no-hitter.
42. "Wait 'til next year."
41. 1941: The Splendid Splinter hits .406 and Joe DiMaggio hits in 56 straight.
40. Your first autograph.
39. The Hot Stove League.
38. Sitting in the sun and eating a hot dog.
37. Fenway.
36. Watching Ken Burns' Baseball. All 18 hours.
35. Villains. Barry Bonds. Roger Clemens. Ty Cobb. Steinbrenner.
34. Roosevelt's "Green light letter" telling us the country needs baseball.
33. It's the best place to hear The Star Spangled Banner.
32. Skipping work to catch a game.
31. Zolio Versalles, Willie Hernandez, Ken Boyer, Kevin Mitchell and Jackie Jensen have more combined MVPs (5) than Derek Jeter, Ozzie Smith, Dave Winfield, Warren Spahn and Duke Snyder (0).
30. Walking along Eutaw Street before a game at Camden Yards.
29. Coming home from dinner or a movie and listening to a game on the radio
28. Willie Mays racing to a ball in left center, his hat flying off.
27. Pennant races.
26. Spring Training games.
25. Yankee Stadium.
24. Joe Carter hopping toward first base as Sean McDonough tells the world, "Touch 'em all, Joe. You'll never hit a bigger home run."
23. Learning how to score a game.
22. A flyball down the line, just foul.
21. An stolen base in the middle of a ninth-inning rally.
20. Buck O'Neal, who could hit, manage, and scout while living a dignified life.
19. Watching a rookie get his first hit.
18. Cal Ripken going after a grounder behind second base.
17. The baseball cards you saved from when you were 13.
16. Christy Mathewson tossing three complete-game shutouts in the 1905 World Series.

15. Imitating eccentric batting stances.
14. Wrigley Field.
13. Being 34-years-old and taking your glove to the game.
12. Babe Ruth's home run trot.
11. An inside the park home run.

10. A movie that was better than a book: "The Natural." In the film, Roy Hobbs says, "Go pick me out a winner, Bobby." And, well, watch the clip.
9. The great debates: Williams V. DiMaggio. Mantle V. Mays. Hall of Fame or Hall of Very Good. To bunt or not to bunt.
8. Taking a trip to Cooperstown.
7. The first time you walked into a Big League park.
6. Underdogs: The '69 Mets. The '90 Reds. The '93 Phillies. The '08 Rays.

5. Lou Gehrig telling us he's "the luckiest man on the face of the Earth."
4. Your father's favorite player.
3. Heroes such as Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Hank Aaron.

2. Having a catch with dad.
1. The hope of Opening Day.