And now a Deeply Personal Note to close out this historic baseball moment for now – hopefully not the final chapter of this 2025 Team of Destiny for the season.

Two things:

First, baseball has long held a special place in my own heart.

The 1992/1993 run followed on the heels of the absolutely worst thing that ever happened to me and fell in the midst of a depression that saw me repeatedly contemplate ending my own life – smack in my mid 20s. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the communal joy that united the city and the genuine warmth and camaraderie it created in galvanizing where I lived — in our downtown TO core at least and therefore in my own life — was the background for sparking a life-altering relationship that probably played a role in saving my life. This does sound dramatic, but as it happens it’s not an exaggeration. I was asked recently how I survived what I did back then and I could identify a number of factors, supports etc – baseball was a big one.

Then again, Game 5 of the ALDS series against Texas and the Bautista batflip on October 14, 2015 happened to this city in the midst of probably the second most excruciating episode in my family’s life and the fact that I was at the game with my children – it has meant a great deal to us all. Memories we will never forget, a life-affirming moment, lessons learned about fairness and karma and a walk home that brought down the city – reminiscent of the World Series run some 20+ years earlier. This time I had a 10 and a 13 year old in tow. That game, that moment, that night, helped to get us through the worst of it all then.

And now of course in the fall of 2025, I am slowly but surely coming out of six lousy, miserable, painful, uncomfortable, disruptive, harrowing even months of post-surgical recovery. Not life-threatening necessarily, but certainly disabling and very, very difficult. When I bought the tickets to the post-season, of course we had no way of knowing how far we’d get. I stocked up at the lowest imaginable price anyway, getting discounts by strategically working the system but I did get 2 tickets for every postseason game, right on up to Game 4 at home of the World Series – and may we get there, if there’s any justice in the world.

I also had no way of knowing when I purchased the tickets for our family, whether I’d be able to go to even one game, even at home. Indeed, there were several games where I had hoped to go but ultimately couldn’t. My wound healing is one step forward two steps back some days and still a bit more unpredictable than I had hoped. Some days are better than others and it’s all a matter of luck but also requires a ton of planning. Some days I was able to pull it together but it’s not without effort. Attending each time has taken a lot out of me and come to think of it, I’ve only actually managed to go to two games, so far, albeit they sure were important games – Game 6 and 7 of the ALCS Oct 19 and 20.

Despite the challenges in making this happen for my family, seeing their joy in being there and occasionally being able to be there myself = priceless! And profoundly healing. It’s tough to stress about the rest of your life at the ballpark. Physical pain dissipates or even disappears. Although I’m paying for it now, mind, the next day strain is palpable and debilitating – still well worth every penny and I wouldn’t change a thing.

Second – WHY LAWYERS LOVE BASEBALL

Baseball is a game of hope. Every single time a batter gets in that box, there is still a chance. It’s absolutely not over till it’s over. You stay with the team. Win or lose you show loyalty. And you choose hope.

I cannot say it better than this piece published more than a decade ago in The Advocate Society’s magazine by a lawyer who, well, loves baseball. It’s a great read. Delve in here:

Why Lawyers Like Baseball by Peter Hrastovek Fall 2014 The Advocates’ Journal