Springboarding from the second oldest park in baseball—Fenway opened in 1912, Wrigley 1914—we played in one of the newest when hosted by the Miami Marlins. This was the Chairman's last hurrah, airmailing the centerfielder and one-hopping the wall to win a tournament semifinal. Such is the beauty of the game: Once you do it, no one can take it away from you. When a man hits a baseball on the sweet spot with a good wood bat, he doesn't even feel it. Everywhere else you do.

This visit was a big one for close pals Smiler and the Chairman, charter season ticket holders when the city was first awarded a franchise.