Can Baseball Save Memorial Day?

 

The headline is facetious but makes a point.

Surveys report over 50 percent of Americans don’t know the meaning of Memorial Day. The national holiday honors those who lost their lives in military service for the United States.

Millions who live in this nation only know Memorial Day as a holiday from work and school.  An opportunity for cookouts, drinking beer, outdoor recreation, visiting people and places, and the unofficial beginning of summer.

The significance of the historical day is not lost on Major League Baseball which will show up and pay tribute to our fallen heroes on Monday.

At 3 p.m. (local times) home teams across the country will pause for an extended moment of silence. In a nation that needs more unity and gratitude this gesture is most welcome.

Teams and umpiring crews will have discretion regarding details of the National Moment of Remembrance.  The Twins play in Chicago against the White Sox on Monday afternoon.

MLB players and umpires will wear a red poppy on the left side of their jerseys and shirts with “Lest We Forget” language included. The poppy is a globally recognized symbol for those who died in battle.

These elements and others at ballparks on Monday will be appreciated by those who are passionate about the holiday.  With the millions of fans who follow the nation’s baseball teams, the Memorial Day remembrance will educate other Americans about the sacrifice made by past generations to make the freedoms of today possible.

To their credit, the Twins have long recognized the contributions of military members on Memorial Day and so many other times as well.  Patriotism is on display at Target Field, from the National Anthem to ceremonial first pitches.  See the comment below from former Twins marketing leader Patrick Klinger.

Baseball has long played a role in the recognition of Memorial Day in the Twin Cities. Starting in the early 1900s the minor league Minneapolis Millers and St. Paul Saints, rivals in the American Association, played each other on holidays including Memorial Day.

The so-called “Streetcar Series” had a morning game in one city, then a second in the other town.  With streetcars in vogue, it was convenient for fans to travel between Nicollet Park in Minneapolis and Lexington Park in St. Paul.

The series went on for nearly 60 years. A bitter and high stakes rivalry that saw players riding the street cars with fans and fights on the field. It came to a halt, though, in the 1950s when buses replaced streetcars.

The times were changing, too, regarding stadiums. In 1956 the Millers moved into their new home in Bloomington.  Metropolitan Stadium, built to attract a MLB franchise, opened that year and there were no streetcars from the cornfields of Bloomington to the Capital City. St. Paul opened its Midway Stadium in 1957 as a counter move to attract a MLB club.  Minneapolis and its stadium won out with the Washington Senators relocation to the Met for the 1961 season and they have forever been known as the Minnesota Twins.

A poignant reminder of Memorial Day’s importance is felt by those who visit Fort Snelling National Cemetery.  Only those who served in the miliary and their families can be laid to rest at the cemetery that is located adjacent to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The 436-acre site is Minnesota’s only national cemetery.  It is the final resting place for over 260,000 souls.

The headstones include those of my parents and two uncles, George Shama and John Fitchette.  My father served in World War II and was stationed in Panama.  He liked to jest that during his time in Central America our nation’s enemies couldn’t wrest control of the vital passageway under his watch.

My dad loved America. When he was in Panama, he vowed if he could survive the war and return home, he would go downtown and “kiss the pavement” on Hennepin Avenue.  I presume he did so.

While my father came from an immigrant family, my mother had relatives here dating back to the American Revolution.  She was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

I guarantee they knew about Memorial Day.  They might even have known the holiday that began in 1868 was first referred to as Decoration Day.