Baseball Essays
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January 12, 2019 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: You May Be Right – It’s time for the Piano Man
John Angelos wasn’t playing the Big Shot, but the Orioles’ executive vice president was talking about a Matter of Trust when he announced that Billy Joel would play the first concert in Oriole Park’s 27-year history. “This is the perfect marriage of baseball and live music,” Angelos said Thursday about the July...
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January 5, 2019 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: Resolution is just a word
The day after the new year started, my wife, Barb, said the gym at which she works, Anytime Fitness in Jacksonville, was busier than usual. She hadn’t thought about New Year’s resolutions. I’ve never paid attention to them, either. Well, maybe a little bit. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be healthier,...
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December 29, 2018 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: With a little help from my friend
It has been three years since I left The Sun, since I started on a journey for which there was no defined path. It has led to BaltimoreBaseball.com and Athletes Serving Athletes, but first it led to a friendship that was a gift. I wanted to share that gift, and a story...
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December 22, 2018 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: A Christmas story
It’s difficult when you’re a kid to grasp the concept that it’s better to give than to receive. To be honest, it’s difficult to grasp that concept when you’re an adult. There are people who not only seem to get it but live it every day. And while I enjoy giving more...
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December 15, 2018 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: The gift of love
The backyard ball field with the chicken wire backstop and the marble bases carefully set at ground level was my sanctuary. It was where I would go to use my imagination, making up rosters and playing imaginary games with a Wiffle ball that I pretended was a baseball. It was where I...
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December 8, 2018 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: Covering the Orioles’ longest season
The famed aviator, Charles Lindbergh, once described flying as “hours of boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror.” Lindbergh, who was a devoted St. Louis Cardinals fan, didn’t know he could have been referring to the 2018 Baltimore Orioles. I covered 126 Orioles games in 2018. Most of them were less than...
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November 24, 2018 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: Thankful for blessings amid life’s storms
The initial plan sounded like a tale from the old west. Dave Glenn and his dad, Mike, had sent the women and children out of town before a dangerous stranger arrived, threatening all that they owned. But it wasn’t long before they decided that they, too, should leave. Hurricane Florence was bearing...
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November 9, 2018 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: Buck Showalter writes a letter to Baltimore
When I met with Andy MacPhail about the Orioles job, I knew Baltimore was a great baseball city. I knew what the tenor was like, I knew what the atmosphere was like. When I was at ESPN, I was at peace with my life. It was a great time. My son was...
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November 3, 2018 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: The search continues
We were assembling joggers for the seven participants from Athletes Serving Athletes to compete in the marathon relay of the Baltimore Running Festival when I realized we were in the shadows of The Warehouse at Camden Yards. Except we weren’t really in the shadows, we were in the dark before sunrise, when...
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October 13, 2018 at 7:00 am
Calling the Pen: A father’s pride, and a daughter’s love
You know the clear plastic sleeve on older wallets? The part where people keep their driver’s license or other form of ID easily accessible? All it takes is a flip of the wrist to show the guy at the bar you’re of age or pick up a package at UPS. That’s where...
