My First Baseball Bat

Dad gave me my first wood baseball bat an Eddie Mathews signature model, 28 inches long when I was 10 or 11 ('66 or '67) shortly after he got me my first lefty glove (I still have it, so small! with a bullseye crudely hand inked in the center!) after a few years, it splintered near the handle I tried nailing it back together, the hickory shaft was tough to penetrate, but I kinda got it done, then wrapped the job in some electrical tape I found whenever I tried using it again, hitting a pitch sent shivers thru my hands and wrist like a lightning bolt shocking me before long, I left it in the sports closet Dad built into the canned goods cabinet in the basement he made for fall canning so whenever I opened the cabinet door, the wonderful smell of wood and leather combined with the rows of gleaming jars of fruits and vegetables delighted me! canned beans, peaches, pickles and more all lined up to select from when Mom or Dad would send me downstairs to choose side dishes for supper frozen meat was kept in the 8' freezer chest in Dad's workroom thru the door being sent for that was a special privilege my brother and I relished ( my sister, being 3 years younger, didn't get many chances!) I remember there were honorary sports relics in the closet on the top shelf a leather football helmet Dad's Uncle Depot wore before WW11 along with his old softball, the kind with the exposed seams (I still have it) wonderful memories from a magical time I will always treasure © james marshall goff