AUGUST 2022 – Porter Schenewark, Boston, MA

Question

The sale of a 1952 Mickey Mantle card is about to break records. And, yet, some baseball memorabilia is just priceless. Share a story about a piece of America’s pastime you have that is invaluable to you, and let us know why it means so much. …Your grandpa’s glove? Tickets to a game? An autographed ball? We want all the details! Good luck!

Winner

The winner is…Porter Schenewark from Boston, MA!

A student at BYU Law School, Porter is still a complete Boston fan – Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, Patriots – and loves playing and watching baseball. Congratulations! 

Winning Answer

My most precious piece of baseball memorabilia is a baseball that has only been thrown one time.

When I was five, my grandpa was invited to throw out the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game. Because he was so nervous about messing up the pitch, he practiced and practiced with my dad while I watched. When the day finally came, we all loaded up and went to Fenway Park. As I watched from the seats, he walked out onto the field in his Red Sox jacket to throw the pitch. Because he didn’t have a baseball glove of his own, he had to borrow my dad’s. His name was up on the scoreboard and there was a brief silence while he wound up and threw out the first pitch.

All the practice paid off and the pitch was perfect. He smiled and waved, and the catcher walked out to shake his hand and give him the ball. Watching from the stands, I was beyond amazed. It was in that moment that I first started to develop a love of baseball. The Red Sox went on to break their World Series drought of close to a century the next year, making it even more special.

Today, the ball sits in my dad’s old Nokona glove. My grandfather passed away last year, and it is one of the few things I have to remember him by. Even though he is not around to talk about it anymore, the memories of his experience and my lifelong love of the game have endured. I am about to start law school which is very time-consuming, but I try to make time to play catch with my brothers, and to share the love of the game and of family that my grandfather shared with me.