Minor Story Is a Slice of Americana Pie

What a pleasure to read “Minor Details” by Steve Henson [July 25]. I, too, was a young Southern Californian playing for the Johnson City Cardinals of the Summer A Appalachian League . . . in 1981. Reading Henson’s piece, and looking at the pictures, it was obvious that very little has changed in this old Southern town. To paraphrase the James Earl Jones character in “Field of Dreams:” “It was like dipping myself in magic waters. . . . The memories are so thick I had to brush them away.”

The life of a minor league ballplayer is filled with hope and pure joy, mixed with dread and paranoia. I can really put myself in the place of these guys making $850 a month. We made $600 (Hey, how about a more realistic cost-of-living raise?). I also remember the “hotel” the players stay in. It was a place where certain young women made an interesting, uh, living. Our team featured Danny Cox, who won 18 for the ’85 NL champ Cardinals, and Curt Ford, who got to the show for a brief period. The rest? Scattered across the fruited plain!

STEVEN TRAVERS

Hermosa Beach