Al's Big Red Machine

  So I've committed to play a week-long series of baseball games at the Reds Fantasy camp next January in my 60th birth year and it's been at least 25 years since I've owned my own baseball or softball glove, bat or any other equipment. Santa Claus didn't leave me the Dick's Sporting Goods gift cards I had on my list, so it was time to go shopping! And for this type of shopping, I don't even mind browsing, walking through stores without a clue. Shhhhh, don't tell my wife this because I've always told her I get a headache the minute I walk into a retail store.  In high school and college in the early 80s, I used a Wilson A2000 , which I scraped up $59 of my hard earned part time textile plant job money to buy. Today, the same A2000 gloves fetch for a pricey $300. That's an 80% price appreciation. I was like a bride shopping for her dress, tried on many gloves and couldn't make a decision. It took two trips to the store and multiple hours of onlin

After a few years of contemplating then talking myself out of pursuing, the arrival of my 60th birth year provided clarity, reflection on the experiences in life than can truly bring deep satisfaction to the soul. All of my life, I've been a passionate lover of the game of baseball as a player, coach and fan. While I wasn't blessed with sufficient enough talent to play beyond the college level, the game has defined who I am, how I've overcome obstacles and accomplished personal and business goals. "Field of Dreams" with Kevin Costner is my Notebook tearjerker.  I grew up idolizing the "The Big Red Machine" and names like Rose, Bench, Morgan, Perez held the same sacred status as those in my school history books like Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln. Throughout Little League, I often daydreamed about what it would be like to debut in the Big Leagues in a crisp red and white Cincinnati Reds uniform. Fifty years later, I'm finally going to get that cha

Welcome to Al's Big Red Machine Blog and follow my journey as I fulfill a lifelong bucket list experience at age 60 to play baseball as a Cincinnati Reds player.