Column: Aaron Worm, Behind the Mic

I don’t know why I love baseball so much. I was never very good at it. I had a bad glove, slow bat and weak arm. The catcher could drop the ball, kick it, chase after it for 10 feet and still throw me out trying to steal second base.

I was decent in fifth and sixth grade as a pitcher and a catcher and set a junior high record with most walks in a season, but that was my peak. I eventually got cut from the team my senior year.

Most people reminisce of their proud achievements in the past in athletics. I don’t have that kind of history, but it will always be my favorite game even though I never excelled at it.

I spent most of my youth hanging out at the ballpark every Sunday during the summer in Young America, watching my dad play town team ball. I never had the best seat, but always had fun sitting next to the left field fence in foul ground, hanging up the wooden numbers on the scoreboard after each half inning. My dad still plays a few innings here and there for the town team he manages in Montgomery. Not too bad for someone that is 55 years old.

My brother, Nick, was a standout player at Montgomery-Lonsdale and was a pitcher for Waldorf and the University of Illinois in Chicago in the late 1990s. My brother, Phil, did not have much personal success in high school but caught the final out at first base when Montgomery-Lonsdale won the state title back in 1999. He ended up pitching at the University Of Wisconsin-River Falls for a couple of years before the school cut the baseball program. My youngest brother, Ryan, is currently going to the University of Minnesota and plays for the club baseball team.

All three of my brothers play baseball each summer for the Montgomery Mallards town team. Baseball is in the genes of the Worm family even though the talent gene seemed to skip me.

Baseball is one of the few games where there is no time limit. Golf and tennis are two others I can think of. I think most baseball fans as kids spent days in the backyard pretending to be at bat with the bases loaded, with two outs, a full count and their team down by three before hitting the game-winning home run. Now as an adult just give me a hot dog, a scorecard and a ball game and a summer day doesn’t get much better.

My youngest son, Isaak, is just starting to understand baseball a little. He hits the ball off the tee and pretends it’s a home run. We have to work on rounding the bases. He usually just runs around in a circle.

This is a great week for baseball fans. The Tigers open up their season at conference rivals Owatonna on Thursday, and the Twins begin their regular season at Baltimore on Friday (the Tigers home opener is April 12 against Mankato East, and the Twins’ first game at Target Field is April 9 against Albert Pujols and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The crack of the bat, sound of the ball hitting the mitt, call of balls and strikes and the cheers of the crowd is music to my ears.

 

KATE Radio Sports Director Aaron Worm’s column appears every Monday in the Tribune. He can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekdays on The Breeze.