I grew up a baseball-obsessed boy at a time when there were lots of boys who shared my obsession. I was born in Boston and raised in Maine, a suburb of Boston, so I was a Red Sox fan. It was unavoidable, a birthright. The 1950s was an era of excellence for the Red Sox — unfortunately, that excellence was exclusive to one player, Ted Williams, a prickly hero. The team itself was mediocre at best, year after year. I was thrilled by the excitement of baseball’s integration, of the breakthrough and careers of J … (read more)
