By Rich Ferri
A season without baseball?
It’s never happened, not through world wars, player strikes and owner lockouts, earthquakes and 9/11 – baseball has always been played. Baseball is at the heart of the American psyche, and presidents have seen the value of continuing the national pastime through the toughest times, as a symbol of American perseverance.
Then on March 12, 2020 the unthinkable happened – baseball was shut down because of COVID with no schedule for restarting. It was a tough time to be a baseball fan. Spring has always meant spring training, a chance for the shivering fan up north to think about sunshine and warmth and the eternal optimism that comes with a new season.
Then, in the blink of an eye, gone.
Finally, in late May, a glimmer of hope. Training camps reopened. Players reported. The Yankees and Mets got the green light to hold spring training in their home stadiums. Still, there were setbacks, players tested positive. More delays. Was it all a tease? Would we lose baseball for the whole season?
“Frozen in Time” is a fictional account of what it was like to be back on the field that first day, from the perspectives of a budding superstar, a genuine superfan, and the umpire that worked home plate.
As some say, the white foul lines on the ball field stretch to infinity…