on perspective

by lboros on Apr 30, 2007 9:21 AM EDT in News Comment 47 comments

what a shame; what a pity.

i would like to thank the many fans of various teams who posted their condolences here yesterday. i'm betting that most of them didn't have much of a connection to josh hancock --- had rarely if ever seen him pitch, didn't know a whole lot about him. many of them identified themselves as fans of rival teams in the nl central, so presumably they have no particular love for the cardinals. but those people were touched by yesterday's news and genuinely shared our sadness; they posted their thoughts here out of concern for their fellow fan, a sense that there's some universal connection that binds us.

it's obligatory when something like this happens to say that death puts it all into perspective --- it reminds us how little the games, the winning and losing, really matter. true, as far as it goes. but it's also true that being a fan is largely about abandoning perspective. this is a willful, deliberate choice; we know going in that the attention, money, and emotional energy we commit to baseball is way out of proportion to the game's true affect on our lives. yet we make the investment anyway because it's in human nature to do so. people need symbols and rituals, we need tribes to belong to, we need to feel occasionally like we're part of a heroic struggle; our teams and our games provide a largely harmless outlet for those impulses.

if we truly wanted perspective, we would acknowledge that people of josh hancock's age, or even younger, die every single day. they get shot in iraq or murdered in drive-bys in our very own communities. they're struck down by drunk drivers, killed in industrial accidents; they die of cancer or heart failure; they commit suicide. each of those passings means the same thing as the one we are mourning today --- potential lost, loved ones bereaved. but they rarely give us pause; they rarely stop us in our tracks and make us ask ourselves, "how am i ever gonna care about this silly game again?" quite the contrary, we'll segue directly from nightly news footage of bodies in the streets to the first inning of the cardinals' game --- and we'll do it without missing a beat. too bad about those people who were bombed in southern wherever, but goddammit is reyes ever gonna get out of the first without giving up 3 runs???

that's in human nature, too. you can't feel the weight of every life lost in the world, in the country, in your town; you couldn't function if you did. that's another reason we abandon perspective so enthusiastically --- for the sake of our sanity. all of us, baseball fans and non-fans alike, attribute great significance to endeavors that we know are truly insignificant. but every once in a while, we don't have the luxury. as cardinal fans, we feel like we knew josh hancock; we feel like we know his teammates and friends. the loss is a personal one; it's not an abstraction. hence the jarring intrusion of perspective into a realm of our lives where, very consciously, we are trying to give perspective the slip.

i'm going to try to remember these things when i think about josh hancock. i'm going to try to remember that perspective is always there to be had --- not just when a ballplayer dies or when some other tragedy strikes. i'm gonna try to remember that the same universal connection which moved fans from across the baseball world to express their sadness here yesterday, binds me to every person everywhere who is stung by sadness.

derrick goold has remembrances of hancock at Bird Land.

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A little late so sorry...

Just visiting from BCB and wanted to post where fans would certainly see.

I was shocked and sadened to see the news yesterday and send out condolences to all here and everywhere who knew and loved Josh Hancock.

Hopefully your family can get through this...unfortunately, again.

RIP.

by azweber9 on Apr 30, 2007 9:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Important observations you make, lboros.

I think we would all be a lot nicer to each other on a regular basis if we felt "all one in our humanity." I never felt more at one with others than immediately after my father's unexpected death, when I realized life is fragile and all too short. I would have truly died rather than inject unkindness or hostility into another person's day. In some ways, I was at my best as a fellow human being during that time.

Might I suggest that we try to remember we are universally bound with each other not only in times of sadness, but in good times and in times when we are struggling to be better also?

by dfrancon on Apr 30, 2007 9:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

well said

by plh903 on Apr 30, 2007 9:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don't post much,

...but your words, Larry, were so eloquent, I had to check in for just a minute...yes, of course there are those awful things going on in Iraq or Darfur or the south side of Chicago, every day and every hour...but it is worth remembering that it's Baseball that helps us get through those other things, so when something like this happens in the game we love to the team we love, it somehow makes everything a little worse...we'll get through this somehow...but if this makes us maybe treat each other a little bit better (your wife, your kids, your employee, the guy in the car next to you who just cut you off, the Astros fan who just posted for the 120th time why the Pujols HR off of Lidge was a fluke)then maybe there is something positive we can take away from this.

by tbell61 on Apr 30, 2007 9:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well stated, Lboros

I agree with everything you said. We are all people, and we are more alike than we are different. Thanks for your thoughtful perspectives. As always, you find the real meaning and gives us all something to think about.

by michajo on Apr 30, 2007 10:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

thanks

lboros, thanks for such an insightful post today. you have an incredible knack for saying the right things in precisely the right way, and for that, we're all better off.

we'll miss josh, for sure. go cardinals!

by Dizzy Dean on Apr 30, 2007 10:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

beautiful post lboros

thanks

also, thank you fans of other teams and rivals who have come here and commented and offered condolescences and compassion. it moved me.

by Rentboy on Apr 30, 2007 10:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well said

The right words and sentiment, and at just the right time. Well done.

by waveflux on Apr 30, 2007 10:19 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thank you

Your words are perfect this morning.

by sirensofsilence on Apr 30, 2007 10:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

waveflux and rentboy took the words right out of my mouth, figuratively speaking.

Personally, I think we got hosed on that call.

by TurdFerguson on Apr 30, 2007 10:27 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

You Tube Tribute

Don't know if this has been posted or not...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFA1Sgu_hRU

by PopUp Rolen on Apr 30, 2007 10:32 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Bound to everyone everywhere

Few have said it better than John Donne, in his Meditation XVII:

"Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."

RIP, Josh.

by levistahl on Apr 30, 2007 10:37 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Amen

"I don't believe what I just saw!" ~ Jack Buck

by itsalemmon1019 on Apr 30, 2007 10:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well said, lb...

We went through a similar process here in Virginia, on a larger scale, two weeks ago with the VA Tech shootings. It's unfortunate that it takes something like this to snap you back to reality, even if it's just for a brief time, but like you said, it's human nature.

by cardsrul on Apr 30, 2007 11:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

thanks to all above + below

for the kind words.

by lboros on Apr 30, 2007 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep...

I hope this perspective lasts awhile--at least for me. Back when DK died, we didn't have VEB as a soundboard for our grief. I heard condolences from the Cub fans who are my friends, but didn't really think it extended much beyond that. After the number of posts from Cub fans paying respects to JH, however, I'm seeing our rivalry from a different perspective, a more friendly perspective.

When our teams meet again in July, I'll certainly be back to "Beat The Hell Out Of Them!!" mode, but without the usual, all-consuming vehemence. I was taught to hate all things Cub by my father, who was taught the same by his. It's a tough nut to crack, especially since, in our culture, demonizing your sports rival is not only tolerated but encouraged (it sells lots of ads and merch). But my grief over JH has been comforted some by the multitude of sincere condolences expressed by our rivals (and not just the Cubs). For that, I thank all of you. Right now, I still feel the competitive spirit with all of you--and want to see the Birds battle through this, beat you all fair and square, and win the division again.

But that outcome doesn't have the urgency it had in my life a mere 48 hours ago. This horrible experience and the sharing of it here has brought me a newfound repect and empathy for our rivals, our Chicago brethren in particular. They rose to this tragic moment with class and kindness, which reminded me that we truly are part of the "Baseball Family" and not just our respective "Home Team Family." Our factions will always struggle against each other, but there is a bigger, human picture. And perhaps that's the true, sometimes forgotten beauty of this game we all love.

by rockin redbird on Apr 30, 2007 11:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

From one fan to another

Yep, this Cubs fan is checking in to say thanks for the above comment. I, like you, have been taught to despise all things Cardinal, in a baseball sense. I think most fans are respectful enough to know that Cards fans and Cubs fans can get along all but about 18-19 games during the season. none of us wanted this to happen, and no decent person would want a game to have been played under the circumstances yesterday.

Today, we move on, and on the Cards next trip to Wrigley, I will be rooting for the Cubs to win, but for now, Cards, have at it with the Brewers. Win for Josh Hancock. We'll do our best to beat the Pirates tonight, and we'll help each other out in this NL Central.

Take care, and good luck!

by secdelahc on Apr 30, 2007 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The most eloquent words about

the meaning of baseball I have ever read. Thank you LB.

by Zubin on Apr 30, 2007 11:12 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Nice post at Deadspin

http://deadspin.com/sports/josh-hancock/rip-josh-hancock-256275.php

by effin fisk on Apr 30, 2007 11:18 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

WOW!

Thanks for posting that! That was really powerful! That said it perfectly!!!!!

by onebigdummy on Apr 30, 2007 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

A kid's perspective

Lb, you've really taken a step above this and captured why we as the Cardinals family feel so strongly about this one soul's passing.

Yesterday I took my daughter to the neighborhood park, and there were two guys in Cubs gear with their sons, 11 and 12, wondering what to do now that the game was cancelled. They were respectful, but at the same time they drove down just for this day, and now the day was lost. One of the kids asked me, without condescension, if the guy who died was a good pitcher.

With your words, I can see that the kids were trying to take the measure of the moment - how much does the death of this man, who was not of my family, whose name was never a headline before today, truly affect me? How much should it?

I suppose they had a long five-hour drive through the evening to ponder that. In a way, it wouldn't surprise me if this incident ended up forming some kind of core ethical bedrock for those two young boys, not quite men.

by taiko on Apr 30, 2007 11:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

thats

why I read this blog. You're a poet lboros.

by eglasier on Apr 30, 2007 11:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes.

It's humbling. It's almost embarassing. But it's true...

You know, when I saw the Dali Lama speak he said something that stays with me: "I was in Washington D.C. on my visit and I found myself thinking... Here I am in the CAPTIAL of the richest country in the world... why are there people homesless and starving on the streets?"

I think about those words quite a bit. About the meaning behind them. About what it says about community, culture, economics, etc...

This post was poignant. Here I am in New Jersey, the sun is warm and bright. The birds are singing, and I have so much to do today. Instead, I've been reading everything I can about Josh. And I'm ashamed to admit that I know practically nothing about what is going on in Darfur, or maybe even worse, I don'teven know a single one of my neighbors. I feel very disconnected from my own humanity today.

by onebigdummy on Apr 30, 2007 11:34 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thank you

Thanks to the fans of the other teams. We really appreciate the support.

I have finals this week...well, technically one paper left and an exam. These things always get to me.

When my grandmother died at the end of March 2001, I struggled to get by the remainder of the semester.

Redbirds Fun
2006 WS for JB and DK57 RIP: Josh Hancock

by cardsfan84 on Apr 30, 2007 12:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well said, Larry

Thanks.

by mdarshan on Apr 30, 2007 12:24 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks Larry

JH32. RIP Big Guy.

by Alxfritz on Apr 30, 2007 12:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Excellent work

Both you and Will at Deadspin.

On Saturday, I was helping a friend move, so I didn't have the time or energy to visit the blog. When I was finally able to catch up Sunday morning, I had just heard about Josh and did not want to waste time reading about a "stupid game" with such a heavy heart.

Now, I see the 250+ unread comments sitting there and I can't bring myself to read it. It was a frustrating loss against a hated opponent, that has now evolved into a meaningless contest. But more importantly, the thoughts and feelings that existed at that time have now become obsolete, replaced by a new reality where expectations and prejudices have been turned on their heads.

What Larry said about sports being about freeing yourself from perspective is all too true. It is too easy to devote your free time to baseball (or football, music, movies, videogames, whatever) and ignore the sorry state of affairs in the world around you. Something like this invades your safe little escape and you can either shift your perspective to the better or you can crawl further into the hole, with your eyes shut, fingers in your ears and your mantra "la, la, la, I can't hear you, la, la, la" repeating endlessly.

I love baseball and, with little exception, I think my passion is within the limits of acceptable escapism. But we need to learn from events such as this. To spend more time to talk to your relatives. To better know your neighbors. To experience all that life has to offer. If it's nothing more than checking off a couple more stadiums off your list of places at which to see a ballgame.

Because, as I learned when my father passed away when I was 19, everything can change in an instant and it's gone forever.

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

by Solanus on Apr 30, 2007 12:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

I needed these exact words today, and have a feeling there are many others who did, too.

RIP #32

by dorfmunder on Apr 30, 2007 1:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Does ESPN have tonight's game?

I just heard an ad on Dan Patrick's show. That'd be nice.

by sdrone on Apr 30, 2007 1:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

yes

espn.com has it listed as such also.

by eglasier on Apr 30, 2007 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes

it has been planned all season to be a nationally televised game.

Walk your dog, not Pujols.

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 30, 2007 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yep.

It's in full HD glory which is more than what I get out of market on Comcast. I'm SO switching to DirecTV after the season. I can't believe Comcast isn't carrying the GameHD channel on Extra Innings.

DFA Juan Encarnacion and Preston Wilson!

by STLCardinalsFan on Apr 30, 2007 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Comcast doesn't carry ESPN HD?

Even Charter gives us that!

by bailorg on Apr 30, 2007 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Comcast carries ESPN-HD

they don't care GameHD which is what extra innings plays the HD out of market games on.

Walk your dog, not Pujols.

by Hardcore Legend on Apr 30, 2007 4:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know about comcast, but

I switched from Dish to Direct for the extra innings scam and I'm really annoyed at the pitcher quality in general of Direct TV. They (Direct tv) really compresses the video of its normal channels and it is very noticeably a poor picture quality.

by redbird2006in on Apr 30, 2007 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Curt Flood Book

Meant to mention this - Border's is having a clearance sale and the hardcover book on Curt Flood was on sale for $6

by sdrone on Apr 30, 2007 2:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

This most certainly makes you pause

Saying tragedies like this "puts things in perspective" has become something of a tired cliche, but Josh Hancock's death certainly helps us all to remember that there are people in those uniforms, playing the games that matter so much to us.

When I heard that Tony La Russa had to call Hancock's dad, I really felt for him. No one should have to make a call like that. And, of course, you hope never to receive such news, either.

An event like this does remind all of us that there are more important things and my heart certainly goes out to the Cardinals team and their fans as they try to get through this as the games go on.

Bless You Boys

by Ian C on Apr 30, 2007 2:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

its gonna be awhile

but, i feel like the cardinals will be back stronger... its odd that this has happened on probally the lowest point of this short season... after losing saturday I was downright mad, but i heard the news sunday i really understood how baseball and life are the same. ive kinda used baseball as an outlet, a way to forget about the day, relax and enjoy something that is constant... but sometimes life mixes with baseball... just like now. The players are like family, we dont know them personally, never met them, but yet we do know them. just the other day i told my wife that chris busted his head and had to get stiches.... her concerned reply... Chris who? Thanks JH your family is in my prayers.

by bennythejet on Apr 30, 2007 3:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Beautiful post, Larry

One of the best pieces of short writing I've seen in a long time.

by bailorg on Apr 30, 2007 3:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Excellent post.

Thanks lb

by cards13 on Apr 30, 2007 4:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

just dropping by

as you probably guessed by my sn I am a Cubs fan visiting from BCB. I just wanted to say how sorry I am.

I spent 4 years down at WIU and got a much better perspective on the Cubs-Cardinals rivalry than I ever did in the Chicago suburbs. I met and became friends with a number of Cardinals fans because I found them to be good baseball fans. I was back in Macomb this weekend when news came out and I sat with those Cardinals fans and we tried to put into words how we felt.

I've been sitting here for a half hour trying to find a way to put my words down on this website but I can't find the right words so I'll just end with this.

RIP #32

by mikeFromBCB on Apr 30, 2007 4:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thank you Mr Birdos

Thank you for harnessing perspective and delivering it in such an insightful way.
Your words are both healing and uniting, and there are no two better words to describe what is needed in a time like this.

I am a Cub's fan with a few close friends who are Card fans. During the season we tease, we talk smack, we make outrageous bets, but at the end of the day we are first friends and could not imagine hating something that any of us so dearly loves.
So yesterday, when I heard the news, I felt the pain of my Card friends as I would for myself. And in doing so, it embraced the entire Cardinal Nation. I was reminded that while we use baseball to filter our lives, baseball is also the force that brings us together and binds us in a very special way.

by CubAlex on Apr 30, 2007 5:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Condolences to all the Cardinals Family and Fans

My prayers and condolences to you all in this difficult time. Your posts have been heartfelt and loving. My family in St. Louis are huge Cardinals fans and I come visit as often as I can and we get to a game together. My sympathies to you all-
an AthleticsNation.com friend

by OaklandLongtimeFan on Apr 30, 2007 6:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

thank you

that, lb, was the single most moving blog piece i've read. thank you for your words, all of which ring very true.

by roebirds on Apr 30, 2007 7:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I shared this with some fellow baseball fans

And one response I got was:

"If this wasn't in a newspaper, it should have been."

I agree. I know you won't send it anywhere, but this is far better than any of the journalism that's covering the issue. Bravo.

by mojowo11 on May 1, 2007 1:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hello from WSJ.com

"If this wasn't in a newspaper, it should have been."

Well, now it has been - I came to this blog entry from WSJ.com's Daily Fix.

Very well written.

by szefromwsj on May 1, 2007 5:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

thank you

Thank you for expressing this so eloquently for us all. It still amazes me how touched I am by something that happens to this collection of people I don't know.

I posted a comment about this and your posting with the URL to your site on http://journalsportsmedia.blogspot.com/. I hope that's OK.

thank you.

by thatsawinner on May 2, 2007 1:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs