Years of Tears

I left the field crying.

My team went to extra innings and we lost.

I did everything I could do to help my guys win.

It was hard to walk away from the field.

I did not know how I was going to continue with this sport.

The game left a permanent scar.

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The year was 1983.  The team was my beloved White Sox.  Oh boy, that was our year.

They were a scrappy and gutsy team.  They were all gamers.  No real heroes.  Just darn good players that made things happen on the field.  "Winning ugly" was our rallying cry.

The Sox won the division and faced the Orioles in the playoffs.  Back then, only four teams made the postseason.  A team only needed to win four games in a seven game playoff to make it to the World Series.

Down three games in the series, the South Siders made an incredible effort in the fourth game at grand old Comiskey Park.  The match was a scoreless tie after nine innings.

Over 45,000 of Sox faithful were at the game.  I was in the right field stands with my dad.

At well over the three hour mark, with the temperature in the mid-50's, we started the tenth inning.  Our starting pitcher, Britt Burns was still on the hill.  With one out, and 0-1 count and Cal Ripken Jr. on deck, Burns threw a fastball to Tito Landrum.  He crushed the ball into the upper deck of left field.

The scar that is etched in my brain mirrors that homer.   Long and deep.

We still had hope.  The heart of our lineup was at the plate.  Fisk, Baines, Luzinski and Paciorek.  They could not execute.

Game over.

I cried all the way from the seats, down the ramp, out of the ballpark, into the car and all the way down the Dan Ryan expressway until we reached home.  My heart was broken and my spirit crushed.

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Last night we played the Tappers.

The game went extra innings and they topped us by a single tally, 4-3.

It was a crushing defeat.  Tears did not stream from my face but that 30 year scar was torn open.

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Even in a losing night, good things happen.  Like what you ask?  Well, how about a Cougar/Tapper postgame party hosted by the Danielsen family.  Gulping and gorging along with giggling and goodwill always make a gloomy night greater.  The pictures are low quality but the party was high quality!

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Unlike Major League Baseball in 1983, all teams in our softball division make the playoffs.  In fact, the last time we beat the Tappers was in the playoffs in 2011 on the way to our championship run.

We are looking forward to the  postseason rematch with our rivals.