TODAY'S INSPIRATIONAL “MYTHOLOGICAL MAGIC”
When I was 12 years old, I wanted nothing more than to be the spitting image of the then Baltimore Orioles first baseman Eddie Murray. I spent hours trying to emulate his exact batting stance, and throwing style. He captured my entire imagination. I awoke every single morning to rummage through that day's newspaper(this was WAY before the internet mind you) with astonishing anticipation of what his previous night's batting statistics mounted toward his yearly totals! He was undeniably my very first true childhood HERO.
I would stay up every night the Orioles were being broadcast on national radio and listen to all the riveting play by play callings of the announcers and would break out into goosebumps
when ever Eddie came to the plate with runners in scoring position! Especially when the Birds(Orioles) were playing at home. As Eddie began his process of wiping off his bat with a bright white cloth, the crowd would begin to chat his name in broken syllable UNISON...... EDD-IE......EDD-IE.......EDD...IE..........
And on over 500 occasions, my hero Eddie delivered- crushing a 95 mile an hour pitch over whatever fence was in his path!! Unfortunately my baseball career was cut short in High School when I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. But my love for the sport never wavered.
Unlike any other sport, baseball is truly all about STORY. The tiny narratives between a pitcher and his catcher; the batter and his ability to control his mind over resined matter. Righties vs. lefties, historical averages about certain pitchers versus certain hitters. If basketball is the checkers of the sports world, baseball certainly holds the mantel as the CHESS players choice.
So when I watched a special the other night on the retirement of the Los Angeles Dodgers longtime announcer Vin Sculley, I was absolutely captivated by the side story of one very special Dodge fan than Mr. Sculley touched in the most special of ways.
Phil Wajdek has been blind since the age of 15. As his vision slowly began to fade, so could have Phil's life. But he had the fortitude to not let his disability define him. He chose instead to DEFINE HIS DISABILITY!! And define it he did!! He studied hard and eventually was accepted into Hastings College of Law. After college he thrived as a deputy district attorney, and later made quite a name for himself as a deputy district attorney!
In 1997, he met and married a CPA Jessie, who had been a lifelong baseball fan. Her ONE insistence upon getting married was that they choose a hobby that would suit them both. Well, given her fervent passion for America's favorite pastime, it didn't take long for them to settle on baseball as their hobby of choice!!
But due to Phil's blindness, he was completely dependent upon his headset to tune into the Dodgers legendary play by play caller Vin Scully so he could visualize the action in front of him based on the cues of Scully's in depth play by play calling. Sculley's voice became a beacon of Hope and Heroics, and for years created a mental template that Phil came to depend upon for his connection to a game that had completely taken over his heart and soul.
And the STORIES! Oh the STORIES!! For a true baseball fan, there are several hundred per game. Every coaches decision counteracted by the opposing team's management. Everything from defensive field adjustments to inning by inning player substitution's based on previous encounters at the plate and in the field. And these stories were all brought to glorious life by the strong, tenor of a voice that came from a Mr. Vin Scully.
Wodjak pointed to Scully's innate ability to stay on top of the action on the field, and rarely, if ever, getting distracted by his fellow cohorts in the announcing booth, thus making the experience even that more intimate for Phil!
Unfortunately, after 66 years of broadcasting LA Dodger games, this year was Scully's swan song. He retired at the end of the regular season much to the chagrin of Phil and his wife Jessie!
But what Phil Wodjak was left with was a lifetime full of memories all through the POWER OF STORY. Stories he will now be able to share with his friends and family. Stories that helped a blind man truly see once again..............
Nerdmaste,
Jeffrey Louis Martinez
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