A few good reasons to watch baseball.....

Chicago White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik















Houston Astro's catcher Brad Ausmus

My partner John is an avid baseball fan, I mean really avid. This was something to get used to when we first met. C'mon, there are not too many gay men who buy cable's premium package to get all the sports channels.

My father loved baseball and almost made it to the majors until a bad leg break ended his chances to play the game. I'll never forget the first time I saw the film "Field of Dreams." I called my dad in tears to tell him that I loved him. He was John Kinsella. When I was caring for him in 2004 as he battled lung cancer, we always managed to find a game to watch. Dad was a walking stat book on the sport, so I was always well informed. He passed away in September of 2004.

When John and I moved to Chicago in December 2005, part of the excitement for my partner was moving back to the city that has the "cathedral" of baseball: "Wrigley Field." I have to admit, to watch a game at Wrigley is not just watching baseball, it's an experience. It is all about the sights, sounds and the atmosphere my father spoke of so frequently.

Wrigley Field or "The Friendly Confines" as it is called by locals, sits adjacent to the largest concentration of Chicago's gay community in Lakeview's North Halsted district or "Boys Town." White Sox fans call Wrigley: "the world's largest gay bar" Wrigley hosted the closing ceremonies of the "2006 Gay Games." If you make one visit to the home of the White Sox's Comiskey Park or U.S. Cellular Field, as it is known these days, you'll know Wrigley Field is truyly the place to watch baseball. Wrigley Field is surrounded by all these great bars and restaurants and tree-lined neighborhoods (Wrigleyville.) Comiskey is surrounded by, well, nothing.

Bleacher seats are the best bet at Wrigley. When it gets hot all the guys shirts come off. Someone always emerges as the "bleacher hottie" (city attached if from out of town) making them, say, the "Minnesota bleacher hottie." Of course the players themselves are not exempt.

If John and I are watching a game at home, I'll utter an occasional: "Ooooh, who's that?" and John always knows the answer. "That's Brad Ausmus" my partner exclaimed as we watched the Houston Astros. I was really starting to get something out of this. Nothing however would perpare me for the Chicago White Sox's Scott Podsednik.

We were in the left field bleachers as the cross town rival White Sox and Cubs played the last game of the north side series. The Cubs, down two games, soon exploded in a home run frenzy. Podsednik was positioned close to our seats. I soon began to notice certain stances that Podsednik took in between plays. To the average spectator, which was basically everyone around me, Podsednik's antics went completely unnoticed until I pointed it out. Everyone gay in attendance caught on pretty quickly. The outfielder soon became a welcome distraction.

Podsednik showing off his bat early on with the Milwaukee Brewers












The Cubs would go on to win the game 15-11. That game was played on the heels of White Sox coach Ozzie Guillen's infamous rant referring to a Chicago sports writer in derogatory gay terms. Making our way out of the stadium I couldn't help but chuckle at a T-shirt with the picture below declaring: "Ozzie's not gay. He's a homoSOXual." This photo was taken when the White Sox won the 2005 World Series. The photo is real and has not been tampered with or retouched. It seems a certain White Sox player couldn't contain his excitement and planted one on ole Ozzie.


I could go few places with this one, but I think the photo speaks for itself. Indeed, there are a few good reasons to watch baseball.