Imagination Is The Ticket

Legends are the product of imagination.

Point a camera and they can start to fade. First come the black-and-whites and then the color back pages. Television moves quickly these days and can drain some life from the game.

But baseball legends will survive as long as there is imagination.

They will exist for those who dream of wearing flowered shirts and watching batting practice on lazy Florida mornings. And for those who understand that baseball is more about art and dance and music and magic than it is about numbers.

That kind of imagination is cultivated on late-night radio broadcasts and in shadowy old ballparks. Listen if you want to find the game’s rhythm and watch if you want to climb inside its dusty soul.

You will no longer need proof that Babe Ruth called his shot or that Josh Gibson hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium or that Satchel Paige was the greatest.

You will be able to hear Humberto Sanchez’s fastball and see Phil Hughes’ curve and feel Jose Tabata’s power.

It’s there for those who imagine.