I miss real extra-inning games, god damn it!

I know I can’t be the only person to cherish my memories of Oct. 26 (& 27), 2018. I got to Dodger Stadium 3 hours early, waited for Game 3 of the Red Sox-Dodgers World Series to begin at 5:10 p.m., watched nearly 8 hours of baseball (that alone is glorious in the extreme), until Max Muncy hit a walk-off homer to break a 2-2 tie in the 18th inning!

It was after 1 a.m., and I walked home on Cloud Nine with Randy Newman ringing in my ears.

It’s not likely I would ever get a chance to experience the utter joy of that long trip to the ballpark a second time in my life. But knowing that MLB has sucked the life out of the game to the point that it isn’t even a vague possibility just breaks my heart.

Someone (I think it was my husband, who left that historic game in the 10th inning to get his beauty sleep) posted this cartoon on my FB page. It made me so nostalgic for real baseball, I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes.

Sure, I’ll watch in my Top Deck season seats, I’ll take score and buy hot dogs and listen to away games on the radio, but I know there are special radiant moments that can never happen again, like Clayton Kershaw hitting a home run and pitching a complete-game shutout on Opening Day; like Marlin Miguel Cabrera spoiling an intentional walk by knocking a limp pitch into centerfield to score the go-ahead run; and like singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” after the top of the 14th inning in a game that seems like it will never end.

I still love baseball, but it’s not as resplendent as it once was, and it’s just weird that it’s by design.