I really like baseball season! Opening day, an afternoon game at Principal Park, the playoffs…gotta love spring’s sport.

I also like Jerry Mathers (Uhm, FYI – that’s Wally’s brother, the Beave on “Leave it to Beaver.”) Has there ever been a better show about family? Granted – the exclusive dinner jacket on Ward and the exquisite dishwashing pearls on June are far from realistic, but then again, when has TV ever been realistic. (Like Jack Bauer is anymore “real” than Beaver Cleaver?)

So what’s the connection? I’ve been prepping for my upcoming series on the family – “Home Run!” — and baseball and the Beav keep coming to mind. They keep reminding me that there is no better place to swing for the fences – hit a homerun! — than with my family. (Yeah, I know, lame connection, but it works in my small mind!) So many times we give our best “swing” to everyone else, when home is really where we ought to be hitting our best!

Seriously, what a perfect time of the year to start thinking about the most important place on earth: your home. Your dug out. Your family’s locker room. The place where you take off your cleats and hang up your jersey each night, all smelly and dirty…and everyone understands. The best place to swing away with a 3-0 count, ‘cuz missing doesn’t mean you’re cut from the team. The one field where you can boot a ground ball and still come out next inning. Where the fans are all related, and the cheers are loud and long. Where team dinners are the best part of game day, practice ends with a tuck in, and coach is called mom. Or dad.

Ah, baseball and the Beave. Sort of makes you think differently about “home” field advantage.