I live on Long Island and commute to work in Manhattan by car. I drive to the East River on the Long Island City side where I park and take the subway 2 stops into the city. The distance is 19 miles and when I was young and training for the marathon, Ben Geizhals and I (see photo) would run the 19 miles into the city once a week. It was quite a t …
Do you know what I mean? Did it ever happen to you? Did something suddenly come out of nowhere unexpectedly and happen so fast? It happened to me last week. I was driving along the Grand Central Parkway, in lane and observing the speed limit, when two cars came upon me weaving through the traffic as if in a careless contest or race. You’ve seen …
I live on Long Island and drive to work in Manhattan. Actually, I drive 19 miles from my home to the Queens side of the East River and take the subway two stops to my office in Manhattan.I take various driving routes without using Waze and bide my time by making Bluetooth telephone calls and listening to books on CDs. Once school is out traffic lig …
Last week I finally got to play with my son David and my grandson Jackson, all together in a row, on the Gotham Batmen softball team (see photo). It's been a long long time coming and I can truly say that it was one of the greatest moments of my life!Can you imagine that Jackson hit a long homerun which I caught on video tape, David got the game en …
The name Aaron is a most significant one in history.Aaron was the older brother of Moses and his partner in all of his accomplishments. In Hebrew the meaning of Aaron is lofty; exalted; high mountain. The second name (first until recently) in all of baseball history in the baseball encyclopedia is Hank Aaron, one of the very greatest players ever t …
When I was young my first job out of law school was as an investigator for the National Labor Relations Board and one of my first cases involved the Long Island Press against which an Unfair Labor Practice Charge had been filed. My job was to interview the Long Island Press Editor David Starr, present him with the allegations, record his responses …
Last Friday the Batmen lost our season opening game 8 to 6. What's worse is that I walked someone with the bases-loaded and two outs to cost us the game. I have carried that loss and that misstep with me all week and it haunts me, yet motivates me to do better in tonight's game. I try to console myself with the thought that I should be appreciati …
This blog is dedicated to Paul Napolitano who invited me to be his guest at the Yankee home opener this past Monday. Like a little boy, Sunday night, I was all excited in anticipation, but Mother Nature conspired to frustrate me as there was an unusually heavy Spring snowstorm in the night. When I awoke Monday I found that everything was blanketed …
I don't want to jinx the Yankees or Aaron Judge by writing about their present ALCS standing, but this story grows out of it. On Tuesday night Paul Napolitano took me to game 4 ot the American League Championship Series, which was a "must win" as our Yanks were down 2 games to 1. The first half of the game went poorly and we were losing 4-0 with …
In July I blogged about my Obsession with 6'7" 282 pound Yankee rookie Aaron Judge and my perception that, post All Star Game and his Home Run Derby win, he was losing his batting mojo and my related frustration. His post All Star game .179 batting slump inexplicably continued for an agonizing 6 week period. Then September arrived and Judge seem …
After winning the first 3 games of the 4 game "Subway Series" against the cross town Mets at Yankee Stadium and Citi Field Wednesday night, the rubber game was last night on the Mets home field. Gotham was represented by 200 members, family and friends due to the stalwart ticket acquisition and organization by Corey (Met fan) Bearak. Attending a …
There are many ways to define "after life".For me it is being the oldest player in a highly competitive slow pitch softball league where most players are in their 30s and old is 50. I am the pitcher and playing Manager for the Gotham Batmen and one of my teammates is my soon to be 50 year old son David. The plan for this season was to have his son, …
When I was young, being a Yankee fan, I was obsessed with Mickey Mantle. Mantle was the Yankee Key Man (last 3 letters of first name and first 3 of second). The Mick, despite his frequent injuries and leg problems carried me through the thrilling 50s and much of the 60s. His career ending was sad and he once said if he knew he was going to live a …
One of my favorite questions that I ask in an interview is "Who is your favorite historical figure?" The answers are both interesting and revealing. Recently an interviewee said Abraham Lincoln. Clearly, he is a worthy choice. However, it might be too obvious. My favorites are those where the person digs down. Joanne turned the question on …
My son David and I have played on the Gotham Batmen softball team for many years. I am the Batmen pitcher and David plays alongside me at third base. Last week the umpire asked me my age and after telling him I then pointed out that my son was also on the team. At the end of the next inning the ump called David and me over and, surprisingly, put …
Fridays With Fred
A perfect way to send you into your weekend