One of the reasons Donald Trump wants to open up the country in spite of fears of a second spike in the coronavirus pandemic is that he misses sports. He is especially fond of one game in particular. Yet, what sport is worth helping increase coronavirus deaths?
The president also wanted to open up schools again. That will place America’s children right in the COVID-19 expressway. Trump said that those who die will be warriors in the war against the coronavirus. Does he care whether the smallest warriors must sacrifice their lives in this terrible war?
Sports columnist for Yahoo.com Leander Schaerlaeckens wrote in his book The Games Do Count: America’s Best and Brightest on the Power of Sports that he recalled one of Trump’s memories of a game-winning home run. according to The Insider magazine:
‘I will never forget… the first time I saw my name in the newspaper. It was when I got the winning home run in a game between our academy and Cornwall High School. It was in 1964 and it was in a little local paper. It simply said, TRUMP HOMERS TO WIN THE GAME. I just loved it and I will never forget it. It was better than actually hitting the home run.’
One of Trump’s former teammates, Ted Levine, praised the president’s skill at baseball in a previous Insider interview:
‘He was just the best, a good athlete, a great athlete. He could have probably played pro ball as a pitcher. I think he threw 80 miles an hour. I was the catcher. He made my hand black and blue every day.’
During his 2010 interview on MTV, Trump boasted:
‘I was captain of the baseball team. I was supposed to be a professional baseball player. Fortunately, I decided to go into real estate instead. I played first base and I also played catcher. I was a good hitter. I just had a good time.
In a 2013 tweet, Trump bigly ad-libbed that he was “the best player” in New York when he was in high school:
‘I played football and baseball, sorry, but said to be the best bball player in N.Y. State-ask coach Ted Dobias-said best he ever coached.’
Schaerlaeckens noted:
‘While Trump is credited as a solid first baseman by several teammates, a limited look at his box scores revealed him to be a below-average hitter.’
What would have happened if the president was really skilled enough to play professionally? He certainly would have received the accolades — this time from the stands — had he made in the big leagues.
Several of the president’s old classmates have corroborated Trump’s skill. However, Schaerlaeckens said that it was unlikely any professional teams would have hired him. After all, he was not pinging on any professional team’s radar.
The sportswriter seemed to suggest that the president’s memory had faded over the years.
POTUS did play baseball for the New York Military Academy during his high school years. Still, there has been a deep skepticism over his skill. He played first base as one “who struggled at the plate, rather than a future pro.”
What would have happened if the president was really skilled enough to play professionally? Maybe, he would have been sitting on his tailgate in the empty Yankees parking lot trying to get the rare passers-by to take one of his signed photos. Instead, he has been making life-and-death choices about American children.
The schools are well aware that children tend to catch a rare mysterious inflammatory syndrome apparently linked to COVID-19. There are 64 children and teens in New York State who have this. Doctors say “parents should not panic,” because this is “extremely rare.”
Pediatricians say that the symptoms are:
‘[A] persistent high fever over several days and significant abdominal pains with repeated vomiting, after which the child does not feel better.’
According to a well-known pediatric infectious disease specialist who is at Children’s Hospital Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, and a member of the Infectious Disease Committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Sean O’Leary:
‘If [the child is] looking particularly ill, you should definitely call the doctor.’
Too bad Trump was just an “average first baseman.” The path to baseball might have kept him out of politics and out of our children’s lives.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
