Darrell Davis: Baseball on my cell phone

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun looked like a video-game baseball player on my cell phone, holding his bat right-handed and not flinching as the computer program stated: “Ball in play, run(s).”

I cheered. I’m a Brewers fan who couldn’t watch the game on TV and couldn’t access video streaming on my phone. I had to be told in print that Braun batted in a run during the eighth inning of the Brewers’ 3-1 victory Monday over the Chicago Cubs. Milwaukee’s victory gave it the National League Central pennant.

Long-term baseball fans used to listen to World Series games on their portable radios, visualizing the players, the action and the ballparks instead of actually seeing them on television. Every pitch was described on my cell phone: “Called strike, 92.7 MPH four-seam fastball.” Pitching changes, caught stealing and groundouts were all described. I drew mental pictures, as I do when I’m listening to events on the radio. Not seeing the game on TV didn’t diminish the fact that my favourite team has qualified for the next round of the playoffs.