Between games of a doubleheader, with the blistering sun beating down on the Kennedy Park Baseball Fields in Aurora, Eric Green was nowhere to be found. About 10 minutes before the start of his second game, boom. Green emerged.
“Had to get to the car for a few minutes to feel some air conditioning,” Green joked.
Refreshed, Green was asked to recall his earliest baseball memory.
“T-ball,” said Eric, 34. “My dad was always the coach of my teams, and I thought that was really special, not only because he was the coach, but because he taught me everything I know about baseball.
“He got me my first glove. I didn’t even really try other sports because baseball was it for me.
“His favorite player was Willie Mays (who passed away two days after this interview), and my favorite player was Willie Mays.”
Within earshot was Eric’s father, Bob.
“When he was little, he used to come to all of my softball games,” said Bob, 65. “That was a lot of fun having him roaming the stands with his little buddies while I was out there diving and running.
“Of course, when he was in Little League, then traveling leagues and then high school, I’d be at every one of his games.”
For the past 12 seasons, Bob and Eric have been teammates in the Denver Jewish Softball League, which means for the past 12 years the two have reunited each Sunday morning, a weekly rekindling of their love for the game and for each other.
Bob and Eric, teammates on MisHEAgas Bombers, are one of many father-son duos who play in the Denver Jewish Softball League. The Green tandem looks no further than their own bench to find another father-son set of teammates; Scott and Ethan Richardson also play for the Bombers.
Scott, who works at Seattle Fish Company, started playing in the league in 2004. His oldest son Ryan played in the DJSL for 11 years, before relocating to Texas.
“How marvelous is that?” said Scott, 61, the team’s pitcher. “I love it, being out here at the same time.
“I’ve got a Father’s Day picture of the three of us from a few years back.”
Scott is a member of multiple leagues and plays three or four games a week. Ethan, 26, a chemical engineer, joins his father in another league during weeknights.
“It’s a lot of fun, especially now that I’m out of the house and kind of doing my own thing,” said Ethan, the Bombers’ outfielder.
“Getting to see my dad every Sunday, getting to come to the field to play with him, is great.
“I really enjoy the time together.”
Ethan’s earliest sporting memory is typical of a younger brother.
“All I remember is going to my brother’s games, even when he was only seven or eight years old,” said Ethan. “I’d run around the field and do laps running the bases after the game.”
Fathers and sons. There is a certain romantic quality about that, particularly in this sport.
“It’s so relaxing being with him (Ethan) in this league, where you play for fun here,” said Scott. “You see people that you went to high school with, people you might not have seen in a while.
“Then you see their kids playing, and it’s a great time.
“Watching your own kids get a great hit, or make a great play, you just feel proud when you’re coming off the field.”
Said Ethan:
“I love it because we can be on the same field at once. Growing up, he was my coach, but now that I’m older and I get to be on the field with him as a player, it is just a different view on things.”
The commissioner of the DJSL, Michael Morris, notes that there are father-son combinations “almost on every team.”
“Part of the league is that we’re not so competitive that teams are dropping people as they get older for younger or better players,” said Morris.
“So, we’re able to maintain those connections and relationships on the team, which is a good thing.”
The/ Bombers are the defending champions of the 12-team DJSL. The name of the league’s champions are engraved on the “Yiddish Cup.” Much like the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup, some of the DJSL champions drink from the Yiddish Cup after winning the title.
“You bet, I drank from it!” said Bob Green.
As for Bob and Eric Green, Sundays aren’t the only time the father and son play for the same team. Bob is chief financial officer of Conesco Storage Systems. A year ago, Eric, a software engineer, joined the business.
“He got a business information systems degree and he has been with healthcare companies implementing software systems,” said Bob. “About a year ago he came to work with me so I could retire someday.”
Whenever that happens, Bob does not mean retirement from softball.
“I hope that I’m still playing when I’m his age,” said Eric, the Bombers’ second baseman. “It’s really impressive that he’s still going, and I can only hope that I will do that, too.”
Our visit to the DJSL, by pure coincidence, was on Father’s Day.
“There’s nothing like playing with your son,” said Bob, who plays catcher for MisHEAgas. “You relish in each other’s achievements. Eric has watched me age and slow down quite a bit, but he’s still very encouraging.
“He pushes me, which is great. I used to push him when he was the little guy and yeah, now I’m slow and achy.
“We are out here on Father’s Day and I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing than playing softball with my son.
“Yeah, it’s great.”
The back of Bob Green’s MisHEAgas jersey does not portray his last name, but says “Sey Chey,” in honor of Willie Mays, who was nicknamed the “Say Hey Kid.” To hear Green’s chance and memorable encounter with Mays, who passed away two days after our IJN interview, tune to the June 27 episode of the IJN Cast.
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