“Beezball been berry berry good to me!” is a comical phrase first heard across televisionland on November 11, 1978, in a Saturday Night Live sketch. The outstanding actor Garrett Morris proclaimed the famous words as fictional character Chico Escuela (“Little School”). Through the annals of time, the saying has become a beloved proclamation from fans from one end of the baseball world to the other.
More appropriately, in a unique way, “Baseball has been very, very good to me!” is precisely how I feel. While Escuela was extolling the impact on his life in a whimsical way that has gone from fantasy to legend, it has been the same for me.
Indeed, it’s not whimsical, but honestly, I am blessed by a brotherhood and sisterhood of baseball friends that I could not list even if I tried. Many have welcomed me into their baseball circles, and I am eternally grateful. I remember learning the game from our Dad, and how those experiences opened up a whole new world of friendships and camaraderie.
In my professional career as a sales representative for New Era Cap, I could sit in meetings with representatives from the major sports, including Major and Minor League Baseball, and to especially count Minor League teams in my territory as customers. Those relationships led to the opportunity to attend games by the Birmingham Barons, Memphis Redbirds, Huntsville Stars, Mobile Bay Bears, West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx, Knoxville Smokies, Louisville Bats, Nashville Sounds, and every Tennessee team in the Appalachian League.
Through New Era, opportunities existed to attend Buffalo Bisons games and many Major League games as I traveled through an extended territory. I have seen the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox playing in their home ballparks.
As a member of the Old Timers Baseball Association of Nashville, I’ve had the joy of attending our annual banquets where guest speakers, including Hall of Famers, everyday players of special status, announcers, and team owners, have addressed our attendees. These were not just special times, but moments of pure excitement when I could shake hands with baseball stars.
But those were not the best baseball places to visit, the best games I have seen, or where I met my best friends. It is much more than that.
The most significant friendships with my baseball brothers and sisters have come from the stands, banquet tables, conference rooms, ballpark suites, college coaches’ offices, breakfasts and lunches, and, yes, even the concession stand lines. Historians, researchers, and members of the Society for American Baseball Research are instrumental influences along with Birmingham’s Friends of Rickwood and Southern Association Conferences – and I cannot leave out podcast guests.
These are not just casual acquaintances, but deep and meaningful connections that have enriched my life. Once again, I could never list them all, but sometimes I have had a photo with them, and I can share a few of those images with you.
I hope you will agree that I am a blessed man because I have known special people from a life of friendships. Each one has honored me with a hug or handshake or by just allowing me to be in their presence; from the die-hard fan who always sits in the same seat at every game, to the team owner who shared his insights with me, to the young player who looked up to me as a mentor, each person has left a mark on my heart.
I have to mention my wife, Sheila, who says baseball is my other woman. To her, and all others, I claim the blessings that baseball has brought me. Yes, “Baseball has been very, very good to me.” I am deeply grateful for the friendships, the experiences, and the memories that baseball has given me. I hope you can feel the same appreciation for the community and friendships that baseball can bring.
© 2025 by Skip Nipper. All Rights Reserved.
