Ever since Armando Galaraga was robbed of his perfect game, I’ve been searching for any and every baseball movie I could find. From Field of Dreams to Bull Durham to For Love of the Game – which is not a very good movie … but it’s about a perfect game so it works.

I never did get to watch all of Field of Dreams. I do remember in the past, when I have watched it, that it made me come close to tears in thinking about how long it has been since I’ve played catch with my Dad. I’ve actually never played catch with him, I played with my Grandpa, and I really miss him.

Grandpa would tell me, from time to time, that there’s magic all around. He’d watch his Cubbies or his Tigers and watch amazing things happen. He’d remark how magical some of the plays were. I’d ask him if he’d ever want to play baseball and he’d say “No … it’s not for me.” But somehow I think he’d like to have a go at it sometime.

In Field of Dreams there’s a character called “Moonlight” Graham. The character talked about what his dream was. He said:

Well, you know I never got to bat in the major leagues. I’d like to have my chance just once, to start down a big league pitcher, to stare him down and just as he goes into his wind-up, wink, make him think you know something he doesn’t. That’s what I wish. A chance to squint at the sky so blue that it hurts your eyes to just look at it. to feel the tingle in your arms as you connect with the ball, to run the bases, stretch a double into a triple, and flop face-first into third, wrap your arms around the bag. That’s my wish, Ray Kinsella, that’s my wish. Is there enough magic out there in the moonlight to make this dream come true?

Here’s to all of the “Moonlight Grahams” out there, who look at the blue sky with tears in their eyes. May their tears be tears of joy for a long long time.