Monday, July 17, 2006

There's Some Crying in Baseball

Over the weekend, I watched Field of Dreams with my son. I know that he didn't really comprehend what he was seeing, but it was still pretty cool.

I love this movie, and I don't think that I really knew just how much until recently. And yes, I cried a little while watching it, but that happens every time I see it. The scene at the end is what gets me, and most other guys that I know.

If you are not familiar with the movie then this might not make sense, but there is this scene when Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is talking to his father John on the field. His father is not an elderly man, but a young man with his whole life ahead of him, prior to Ray's birth. (Remember the title!) Ray only refers to him as John, but he knows that it is his father.

The conversation ends like this:

John: Well, good night Ray.

Ray: Good night, John. [They shake hands and John begins to walk away]

Ray: Hey... Dad? [John turns]

Ray: [choked up] "You wanna have a catch?"

John: I'd like that.

And that's when the tears begin. Every time.

For every little boy that grew up tossing the ball around the back yard with his dad, this scene is a killer. But why?

For me, it's simple. As a kid, I always looked forward to my dad coming home from work, putting on a mitt, and having a catch with me. Then I got a little older, went to high school and quit playing baseball. I quit having the catches too.

I had my developing life to deal with, and having a catch with dad just wasn't cool anymore. There were other people to hang out with, and football practice was starting too. In short, my childhood effectively ended when I stopped having the catches with dad.

As I sit here and worry about my wife and son, my job, my mortgage payment and my taxes, I can't help but miss the innocence of my youth. And this movie, particularly that scene, brings it all to the surface.

And I can't wait to toss the ball around the back yard with Jake.

Comments:
I love that movie too. And while this scene always gets me, the scene where Doc steps off the field to help Annie completely shreds me.

I'm all veklempt now...
 
movie was fantastic....don't wish for him to be older before you know it you wake up and he is starting kindergarten...it just goes by way to fast!!!
 
My dad cries at that scene too.
 
Brooke - That is a rough scene too, especially since I love Burt Lancaster for being in Atlantic City.

Greta - Maybe that will be the case, but I can't believe that it has only been 4 months since he was born. It seems like longer to me.

Mac - Like I said, any man that has ever tossed the ball around the yard with the old man can relate.
 
that whole movie gets me. but yes i cry at the same scene as you do. i never really played catch with my dad, but the symbolism is the same for whatever it "was" that you did as a child with dad.

i think in your last post you mentioned something about having 4+ acres to take care of... i can think of no better reason to take care of it than to spend time with your family out there playing "catch". great post.
 
For me, the part of the scene that gets me is the realization Ray has that it's his father as a young man, "before life wore him down." It's the recognition that his father was young once too, and with dreams. It's a moment when his father stops being an image, myth or whatever, and a human being. In a sense, it's where Ray grows up.

And of course I love the line (earlier in the movie):

"Is this heaven?"

"No, it's Iowa."

That kills me every time.
 
You think my sons would feel the same way if I toss the ball to them?



probably not
 
MGC - The stmbolism is the same, baseball or otherwise. I think that is the first "great post" that I have ever received, so thank you very much!

Bill - Actually, that line is said twice. First by Shoeless Joe, then by John Kinsella. I like how the father shakes his head and says "I could've sworn it was heaven."

KJ - They absolutely would! It's all about the connection baby!
 
Confession time: I cried during A League of Their Own.
 
Egan - I cried too in that scene where Rosie O'Donnell bent over. Ugggh!
 
That movie makes me BALL MY FREAKING EYES OUT every time. Oh. Heart-clencher.
 
Great movie, need to see it again :)
He is too young to know ,but hey, you can always watch it again and again :P
 
Well, I didn't cry (as I recall) during "Bull Durham" but I think that movie, more than any other, captures the life of the most professional athletes. (And Costner is in that one too!)

Field of dreams is the dream; Bull Durham is the reality. Together, they are everything you need to know about sports.
 
btw, i am going to visit/work family in iowa, so i will look for those ball players.
 
Not to be a downer, but for Dilf and the rest of the world that had shitty fathers, that scene causes tears, too.

For what they never had.

Thank you for your commitment to be a good dad. Even if your politics are misguided, you're a good guy.
 
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