It was 19 degrees in the sun Wednesday morning. It was so cold you had to defrost your hair before you could brush it. It was so cold it called to mind something Frank Gifford said early on the afternoon of Dec. 31, 1967, a few hours before kickoff at the Ice Bowl at Lambeau Field.
“I just had a nice bite of my coffee,” Gifford said.
There are no better days than these to think baseball thoughts, to close your eyes and dream of days when you aren’t tempted to pour scalding-hot water over your head in an effort to stop shivering. And thanks to the wonders of modern technology, all it takes is a few seconds to be transported instantly back to a baseball game, any baseball game of your own choosing.
This is how I find myself at Milwaukee’s American Family Field on Oct. 3, 2024, closing in on 8:30 p.m., local time, 9:30 back in New York. The Mets are trailing the Brewers 2-0 in the top of the ninth but have two men on against Devin Williams, now a Yankee, then the Brew Crew’s lockdown closer. Pete Alonso is hitting for the Mets. There’s one out. He’s worked a 3-and-1 count on Williams.
