Field of Dreams
It is my belief that at this moment Jerry McKinnis has a baseball in his right hand, a baseball glove on his left.
It is my belief that at this moment he is on the highest mound there is and he has just taken the sign … and he is smiling.
R.I.P. Boss.
Jerry McKinnis passed away today.
The boss and I over the past dozen or so years had our moments, good and testy, about all things fishing, all things Bassmaster column-wise, but when it came to baseball …
… when it came to baseball, his other field of dreams, it was always a home run.
I remember the story I did about his baseball career, “My alleged career you mean db,” and found the team photo of the 1956 Seminole Oilers. There he was second from the left kneeling, a 19-year-old Sooner State League 11 for 11 pitcher, and my boss … Jerry McKinnis.
“How the hell did you find that photo, db?”
“Sources dude…”
“Ha, I remember that, remember every game, every pitch and play you know.”
I did know, those who have played within the bases, those who truly love the game remember all the nuances, all the stats, all of it.
It is for them, their safe place between the first and last pitch, between the home plate and the fences, between their Little League team and their…
“So db, who’s your favorite?”
“Um, I don’t know. Brandon, Paul, Shaw so many to pick one…”
“No not them, baseball, who is your favorite player?”
“Oh.”
Before I could answer, he told me who his fav was, “Me, my favorite are all those I see who play the game with a smile on their face.”
I just looked at him and smiled, the smile of someone who just heard possibly one of the best sports answers of all time. “Cheer for those who smile, db.”
I hope in my time with the Boss that I made him smile at least more times than I made him frown … I think so because none of his checks ever bounced.
I want to keep this short, let his family and others who have spent their lives with him have all the space they need.
The last time we were together, it was up on the mountain where he was building a home. I remember sitting there and watching an eagle fly below us as he glided over the river below.
“You know db, whether I threw a strike or a ball, every windup I ever took I gave it my best. I never took a play off you know.”
I knew that, be it with the Seminole Sooners as a 19 year old, or all that came to him throughout his life. I can say this about him, Jerry McKinnis in all the time I knew him, never took a play off.
He was in it all the way from “play ball!” until the big lights were turned off.
“Hey Boss, wanna have a catch…” now being heard up where every pitch he throws will be in a perfect game.
R.I.P. Boss, there is sorrow on the mound today.
db
Funeral arrangements for Jerry:
Friday Nov. 8, 3:00 pm
St James United Methodist
321 Pleasant Valley Dr
Little Rock, AR 72212
Monday Nov. 11, 2:00 pm
1st Baptist Church
721 Alford St.
Flippin, AR 72634
