Great that you're imparting your love of "The Game" to your grandsons. The great American continuum. My son, about to turn twenty, is a bonafide baseball nut. He's even been following the season from New Zealand, where's he's been studying this semester.

And that is what being a Grandfather is all about....good for you!

There is nothing better than sharing with your grandchildren.

That's really a nice blog....I wonder who has more fun, but somehow I think it's equal!

Wonderful way to connect. My husband and son share your love of baseball. The way they have ritualized that shared passoon is to "collect" trips together to basebsll stdiums across the country. These special memories are extraordinary. 22 stadiums/games so far and more to come. Our son and his wife are having their first child and I am ready to bet that this "hobby" will span 3 generations in almost no time.

How great that your grandson knows that the Phantom Homer" is not Simpson.

As a lover of the game, I have always said that the loss of baseball cards as a popular attraction for kids has hurt the sports popularity with young kids. The collector's market have made collecting baseball (and other sports) cards to be an expensive hobby for the elite. I collected avidly as a kid in the late 70's and early 80's. To this day, if you named a player I could give you their estimated stats. If you name a team, I could come close to giving you their starting line-up and starting rotation. The teams make significant money off of the high-end business of card collecting now, but I believe that it is a net loss for them in the long run.

What a great memento for your grandson.

btw, just saw on Mad Dog Russo's cable program that there is a book Baseball Card Generations, written by a 19 year old about the same type of generational passing on of the sport. Don't know more than that, but timing was right and can't imagine it wouldn't fit your gift pattern for an 8 year old. Look like a relatively short paperback.

Generation to Generation L'Dor Vador

It is great to be able to share with a grandson. And to be able to still play ball with the young'un.

Lovely story - and he will always remember those moments. He is Lucky to have such a vigorous and engaged grand father.

L'dor v'dor.

When I was a kid in the mid fifties I used to sit in the basement with my little black and white TV and score as many Yankee, Giant and Dodger games as I could . With my long neck glass bottle of iced cold Pepsi at my side I would score and memorize players numbers as I listened to Mel Allen , Russ Hodges , Red Barber and Vin Scully make the calls. I can still recite the starting lineups of ALL of those teams. You are lucky to be able to share the passion with your grandson. Living on the Left Coast my piers did not know Major League baseball until the later 50's. Hell......I watched Bobby Thompson's pennant winning home run off Ralph Branca in September of 1951 on TV ! They let us out of school to watch the 2PM start ! I was 7. So my piers in California love baseball but I have it in my genes ! My kids and grandkids enjoy the game. I am wired for it. We share other passions. Football, Basketball and The Great Outdoors . I watch baseball alone . With my trusty pitch count clicker that Mel Stottlemeyer gave me .

Hollander Sends