LFS: The Storyteller

©2015 by Lee Frederick Somerstein I love baseball, especially its history. That is why I am upset by the decision from Commissioner Rob Manfred that Hits King Pete Rose will forever be banned from baseball because he bet on the game both as a player and manager. That Rose did, indeed, place bets – even on his own team – is not in question. In fact, he stupidly admitted in his news conference after Manfred’s announcement that he still bets on baseball to this day. He definitely deserved a severe punishment. What bothers me is the commissioner’s – and Major League Baseball’s (MLB’s) – petty vindictiveness and hypocrisy. What bothers me even more is that even though Rose technically could be eligible for a plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF), that august institution still refuses to consider his entry because of the baseball ban. In 1991 the HOF passed a rule that bans anyone on baseball’s ineligible list from entrance into the hall. The HOF Board of Directors could ...

Tuesday September 17-Thursday September 19 – Sheridan, WY-Butte, MT-Spokane, WA-Renton, WA After completing my final interviews in Sheridan and writing them up, I make a beeline for home and hearth. Even so, it is still a three-day drive. Now that my work is done I can revisit a couple of favorite campgrounds from early in the journey – the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest near Butte, MT (where a galloping herd of elk greeted me at sunrise one day) and Riverside State Park near Spokane, WA, out in the boonies but ten minutes from downtown. I relax and enjoy driving I-90 as it heads for the Rocky Mountains. From this point on, even the Interstate cannot detract from some of the most beautiful country in America. --- After 70 days and 10,244 miles I am home. In a sense, it feels strange to be off the road. Faithful canine companion Trooper and I have been in a pleasant routine. Every couple of days it’s been a new location, new people, new experiences and new stor...