| 19 February 2010
Baseball was somewhere in the back of my mind in 1986, for a kid who loved basketball at an early age and especially then at 12 years old.
But after watching Game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, a Sox fan was born out of sympathy and empathy.
I still don't blame Bill Buckner. Bob Stanley's wild pitch to score a run didn't help any.
That's when first met Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, although not in person.
Still, every time spring training rolls around and I think about pitchers and catchers reporting, I can't help think about those old Sox teams and Oil Can himself.
He threw for Boston from 1982 to 1989, and after stints with the Montreal Expos and Texas Rangers was out of the league and bounced around trying to hold onto the mythological figure he'd become in the majors. But his love for the game - much like myself - remains strong. And now at 49 years old, Oil Can wants another shot at the show - or at least that was the story last year around the time.
"Satchel (Paige) being my idol and knowing he didn't come into the (majors) until he was in his early 40s, that's always been in the back of my mind," Boyd told The Boston Globe back then. "Now, I've been given back the fastball I once had. I want to play."
As I sit writing with multiple NBA story deadlines to meet and making yet another entry in this History Black series, my mind is off in Arizona.
At the end of March, I'll make the trek down to spring training for three days with my brother-in-law, just to sit back and watch some baseball and take a break from reality.The Sox will be off in Florida getting primed for another long season of baseball.
I'll be all the way in Phoenix or Tucson watching a game or six dreaming about the bigs.
And somewhere out there Oil Can will be dreaming the same.
The History Black Series - Honoring Black History Month:
February 1: Muhammed Ali
February 2: Gary Payton
February 3: Bo Jackson
February 4: Dr. J
February 5: The Junkyard Dog
February 6: John Starks
February 7: Barry Sanders
February 8: Spud Webb
February 9: Craig Hodges
February 10: The Fab Five
February 11: Ice Man
February 12: Buster Douglas
February 13: Harold Miner
February 14: Reggie Lewis
February 15: Hoop Dreams
February 16: Travis Outlaw
February 17: Rasheed Wallace
photo: bigscards
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