The Baseball Code

In the tradition of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Karate Kid, The Baseball Code is a story about the passing on of wisdom from generation to generation, from father to son, from teacher to student, from coach to player. It is a story about goodness; about why we tell the truth and why sometimes we don't; about always doing your best; about playing fair and putting the team first; about understanding that giving up what you want isn't the same as losing and that sometimes a sacrifice bunt is the right play.

Terry Richards is a retired math professor, struggling with grief and loneliness after the loss of his wife. Noah is a ten-year-old boy down the street whose father has recently moved away. When Noah's baseball rolls into Terry's yard, their friendship begins with a simple game of catch and conversation.

Terry also recalls his conversations with his wife, as with bittersweetness he remembers their first date, their first argument, and the rose garden they planted together in the back yard. He thinks about his father and the talks they had playing catch after dinner. He knows that his dad not only taught him baseball but also taught him right from wrong and what it meant to have honor. He passes that wisdom on to Noah as he shares with him his love of the game. He calls those values, "The Baseball Code."

Like a Field of Dreams (Shoeless Joe) and The Sandlot, The Baseball Code is a story about the love of the game; about the smell of a well-oiled glove; about the feel of the handle of the bat as you turn it in your hands; about running across an expanse of green grass on a hot summer afternoon, gazing up at the spinning red seams of a white baseball as it cuts its arc against a bright blue sky, timing your strides and the reach of your arm so perfectly that the ball drops into your mitt like a plum ripe from a tree.

Terry teaches Noah the fundamentals of the game: Always hustle, watch the ball into your glove, get to the bag early for the double play. Together, they build a field to practice on with their friends. They weather the ups and downs of the Summer League season-the disappointment of bad calls and unfair decisions, humorous incidents of coaches who can't play the game, and the exhilaration of making the winning play.

The Baseball Code is a story about the relationships that give life meaning and the beauty of the things that connect us. It is about the gardens that we plant and watch grow; about the fields that we build and play on; about the gifts that we give and the sacrifices we make as together we share the pain and joy of living.

Gary L. Watts is Professor and Dean Emeritus of the University of Jamestown, Jamestown, ND, and an honorably retired minister of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He has a Ph.D. in philosophical theology and a M. Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary. He holds a B.A. in mathematics and English literature with honors in English from California State University, Northridge.He taught philosophy and theology for twenty-five years at the University of Jamestown, ND, where he also served for eleven years as Vice President/Dean for Academic Affairs. During that time he was awarded Professor of the Year, received a Templeton Foundation Award, and was Director of the Center for Character and Ethics. He also served on the Ethics Committee of the Jamestown State Hospital, as a Founding Board Member of the South-Central Educational Cooperative, and on the Advisory Board of the Education Doctorate Program at North Dakota State University.He is the author of a number of journal articles and of the book Painful Questions: Facing Struggles with Faith (Herald Press, 1999).Following retirement, Gary and his wife, Myra, moved to Spokane, Washington, where he worked for several years at his daughter's law firm researching, writing, and reviewing briefs; he also taught graduate and undergraduate courses in philosophy at Whitworth University. Gary and Myra have three grown children and four grandchildren who also live in Spokane.Gary is a lover of baseball. Like the narrator in The Baseball Code, at eight-years-old, he actually did win the trophy for Most Improved Player in the Apalachin, New York, Little League, and after moving to Los Angeles, he and his father did see Sandy Koufax throw his first no hitter.