Spring
– and gossip – is in the air at local baseball, softball
venues
The purple blooms on the tree in front of my house were a clear
sign of the changing of the seasons this week, but the gray and
black on my television screen may have been a lovelier sight.
The Major League Baseball season got under way on Sunday, with
my beloved San Francisco Giants starting off strong earning two
wins in their first two games at the time of this writing.
Spring – and gossip – is in the air at local baseball, softball venues
The purple blooms on the tree in front of my house were a clear sign of the changing of the seasons this week, but the gray and black on my television screen may have been a lovelier sight.
The Major League Baseball season got under way on Sunday, with my beloved San Francisco Giants starting off strong earning two wins in their first two games at the time of this writing.
Baseball is big in the Breen household, with trophy cases the signature design element in the boys’ rooms. Photos of the kids playing Little League line the hallway and a Barry Bonds home run-counting bobble head on my son’s dresser still stuck on 762.
The allure of baseball lies not just in its history and traditions, but in its accessibility. Some 600 kids play Hollister Little League baseball each year, coached by dads and moms and cheered on by grandparents and other relatives. Hundreds more play Hollister Heat softball and Babe Ruth baseball, crowding the Veterans Memorial Park parking lot six days a week.
A typical spring day in my house consists of watching ESPN highlights of the previous night’s baseball games over a bowl of cereal in the morning, packing my older son’s bat bag into the truck as he heads to high school and later to after-school baseball practice, then the comfort in knowing that on most nights – when the reality show options are few – we’ll have the option of watching a Giants’ game on TV as the evening winds down.
As much as baseball and softball in Hollister are athletic pursuits for kids, they are a socialization opportunity for parents.
Cars stream in to Vets Park after work on weekdays, with families unloading bleacher seat cushions and blankets as they set up to cheer on their team. Kids who don’t have a game that day usually find some friends and set up a game of pickle or wall ball within the friendly confines of the park. Moms share news and gossip with each other and dads do too – either bragging about their son or complaining about his coach.
The snack bar is a popular dinner spot in the spring, with chicken and carne asada burritos and tacos worth the trip – even if you don’t care about the baseball being played.
Over at San Benito High School, the booming voice of Paul Gillies echoes over the varsity baseball field as he introduces players on the P.A. system while on the other side of the complex freshman parents set up lawn chairs or sit in the back of their pickup trucks to watch their sons work toward one day being introduced by Gillies.
The Baler softball team continues to dominate on its windswept field, within earshot of the baseball complex, while Hollister Heat players work back at Vets to continue that legacy.
On some nights and Saturdays it seems that half of Hollister goes through the gates of Vets Park, either to watch, play or coach youth baseball or softball or to play adult softball – another competitive-slash-socialization exercise.
Memorial Drive becomes the center of town in the spring, as kids play and parents cheer, in between sharing their “did you hear about …” stories.
It’s one of the many things that make Hollister a great place to live. Sure, other cities have “more things to do,” but it’s hard to beat places that charge no admission, allow parents and kids to hang out together, enjoy good, cheap food and catch up on or stir up the latest gossip. That’s Hollister.
Want to read more from Adam? Check out his blog at http://thebreenblog.blogspot.com. Adam teaches newspaper and yearbook classes at San Benito High School and is a reporter with The Pinnacle. He is former editor of the Free Lance.
