The Crosby Chronicles: Baseball and birthdays

Due to my son’s school being closed on Monday, I had to take a day off of work to be home with him. That day happened to be my birthday, so the stars were aligned when I found out that April 1 was also the Dodgers’ Opening Day. And it was an experience that I will never forget (and I hope my son doesn’t forget either).

If someone asked me what would you like to see on Opening Day, there is no way I could have asked for all the wonderful moments that occured at Dodger Stadium. The fact that my boyhood idol, Sandy Koufax, threw out the ceremonial first pitch, and that Dodger legendary hall of fame announcer, Vin Scully, narrated the whole scene over the P.A. system was fantastic. I told my son that no matter how the game played out, the day was already amazing.

Little did we know what was to unfold. Clayton Kershaw, a southpaw like Koufax (notice how both of their names start with ‘K’, a letter that symbolizes a strikeout), broke a scoreless tie leading off the bottom of the eighth inning with his first career home run, then pitched a complete game, a shutout no less. Well, even the best Hollywood screenwriter could not have come up with such a scenario.

I’ll forever remember Monday’s game and the fact that my son shared it all with me. But my birthday wasn’t over with yet.

Later that evening, my son pitched a scoreless final inning for his little league team, striking out the side. He told me he felt inspired seeing Sandy Koufax. That’s the best birthday present a dad could ever have. Like father, like son.

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BRIAN CROSBY is a teacher in the Glendale Unified School District and the author of “Smart Kids, Bad Schools and The $100,000 Teacher.” He can be reached at brian-crosby.com.