Baseball and time change, as do the voices we come to depend on to describe the action.  Too much change, for some of us, I fear.  It’s been two years since Marty left.  It seems…like light years.

Sign of the times?  There was a time when you went to a major league game to learn, not be entertained or to hear a statement on political correctness.  You went because you were interested…in baseball! Greg Hoard writes for today’s Press Pros.

There has been so much written and debated on the topic of winning in this space–some of it thoughtful and well-intended, some of it shallow and mean-spirited.  But in the end words that my dad once said to me are everything I ever needed to know on the subject, and might come in handy even in this day of trophies before triumph.

Time didn’t seem to matter to Tommy Lasorda. It didn’t matter if it had been a day, a week or years since you had last seen him, nothing changed. His greeting was always loud and warm, a verbal embrace that made you feel good about all things. Greg Hoard remembers a friend in today’s Press Pros.

Baseball mourns the loss of a legend. My sorrow is for the loss of a man of brilliance, a man of kindness and good humor. My sorrow is for the loss of a friend. Greg Hoard writes for Press Pros.

Do you remember?…Caught as we all are in the snare of Covid19, I find myself thinking about the things that matter most – memories from baseball.  Earl Lawson, the Hall of Fame baseball writer, and John McNamara, the former manager of the Reds, offered me their friendship and guidance in the early days of what turned out to be a long trail. Greg Hoard writes in today’s Press Pros.

Second Coming, Second Leaving….A mere six years after he was ushered out as a player prematurely, Tony Perez returned as the manager of the Reds for the start of the ’93 season. A mere six weeks into it, 44 games, he was fired! Read Greg Hoard’s Part II on Reds hall of famer Tony Perez in today’s PPM inside feature.

It’s been 35 years since hall of famer Tony Perez set foot on the field as a player for the Cincinnati Reds for the last time. He deserved a better exit than how it all came down. Classic Greg Hoard baseball in today’s Press Pros inside feature.

Given their deficiencies on the offensive line…one could be the loneliest number for quarterback Joe Burrow if the Bengals take him with the #1 pick in this week’s draft. And should they? Read Greg Hoard in today’s Press Pros.

A baseball card started it…Columnist Greg Hoard writes about his recollection of a 1957 Al Kaline baseball card, and how years later on a glorious spring training day he was blessed to meet Kaline in person. This past week baseball, and baseball fans, lost Al Kaline. Greg Hoard remembers him now with one of his best.

If you’re a reader…you have to enjoy the words and perspective of columnist Greg Hoard today – his reflections on other times, other people, and the obstacles that helped another, greater, generation of people survive hardship, and come through it, “just fine.” Share with others…today’s Press Pros feature.

I watched him as a kid, and waited a lifetime for the opportunity to tell him how much his example had meant to my childhood.  But when we at last came fact to face it wasn’t what I thought it would – hoped it would be.  I discovered that we all need a change of life. One of Greg Hoard’s best baseball stories to enjoy.