My Birthday Present

Listed as: Lot 26: “Bay Bombers” Original Painting by Ron Lewis

Soooo. I know you’ve been trying to figure out what to get me for my birthday. And, these days it’s not even that easy for me to figure out what I want. We are no longer in the halcyon days of my youth. Those days, I just filled in the blank with the newest King’s Quest, Space Quest, or boxed set of baseball cards. Those days, I was so sure of what I wanted for the next special occasion that I pretty much had a running list in my head.

These days? Other than a few more ducats in my pocket, I’m not so sure what I need for my upcoming birthday. A book of some sort? Sure. Clothes? Meh. Music? People still pay for that? Concert tickets? Yeah, lemme check the schedules.

But then I stumbled onto this bad boy, and everything crystallized. The auction even ends on my birthday. This artistic achievement reminds me of the days I used to visit my father in San Francisco and we’d watch this crew batter pitchers into submission.

One of these things just doesn’t quite belong here of course. Well, two if you count Will Clark, who only hit more than 23 home runs once more after this painting was accomplished. In 1989, though, Kevin Mitchell hit 47 home runs and drove in 125 runs and definitely belonged in the team picture. Of course, in 1988 he only hit 19 home runs, and he never hit more than 35 again after 1989 and well, the power explosion, and geographic proximity to Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, well it seems… Never mind. Kevin Mitchell was the bomb. I will not open that pandora’s box.

Instead, I’ll think back to a simpler time. A time where a painting like this would have immediately zoomed to the top of my running list of birthday presents for me. Ah 1989, where have you gone?

[P.S. – Damn nostalgia. Just started googling things and now I want this signed picture a little more than the painting. Guess I’ll start one of those rotating birthday present lists again. It’s never too late to be young again.]