Pepper Games Are No Longer Banned

Today finally felt like baseball is not that far away. Pitchers and Catchers have already reported. The temperature was in the 50’s. And the Mets were playing pepper:

Pepper games bring me back to when I was a kid. Back then, before teams realized they could use the area behind homeplate for advertising, there was a simple notice to everyone at Shea Stadium:

NO PEPPER GAMES

Go back and watch a classic Mets game from the 80’s. The sign is there clear as day. Remember, this was back in a day and age where you could smoke in the stands and grab a beer on the way out of the ballpark.  That’s fine as long as you don’t play pepper. 

I’m sure there was avoid reason like fan safety, but it doesn’t seem like baseball without pepper games. Whenever you watch a baseball documentary like “When It Was a Game” or Ken Burns’ “Baseball” there was the old black and white footage of players playing pepper.  

I still remember playing pepper with my Dad and brother down at the park. I remember doing it at baseball practice. I’m such a baseball nut that when the weather got nice, some friends and I would have a catch and play some pepper. When my son gets older, I plan on doing it with him. 

These are the things I look forward to with my son. When the weather gets nice, I want to have a catch with him outside. I want to pitch to him and see that lefty bat in action hitting line drives all over the place. I want to play pepper. 

Most of all right now, I’m ready for baseball. The cool Spring days to the warm Summer nights. The cold endless October evenings. Baseball season is upon us. Time to break out the mitts. Time to break out the bats. Time to get that arm warmed up to toss the call around. 

I’m ready. I know my son is as well. 

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