Friday, May 25, 2012

For the second time in three years the Minnesota State baseball team will compete in the NCAA Division II College World Series which begins Saturday. MSU (48-10) opens play at 4 p.m. (CST) against Southern New Hampshire in Cary, N.C.

Author and longtime baseball writer/columnist Brett Friedlander has agreed to cover the Mavericks for us during their World Series trek. Friedlander has been covering sports in the North Carolina area for many years and, in 2009, co-authored the book "Chasing Moonlight: The True Story of Field of Dreams' Doc Graham." along with R.W. Reising.

Moonlight Graham was a memorable character from the W.P. Kinsella book "Shoeless Joe" which was later turned into the academy-award winning movie "Field of Dreams" starring Kevin Kostner. Kinsella picked Graham to be part of his novel because he was a real-life outfielder who made it to the major leagues but never got to bat. He appeared in one game with the New York Giants without coming to the plate.


Friedlander, like many of us, wondered what happened to the real Moonlight Graham after seeing him in Field of Dreams and decided to do some research. His book is the result of that research and well worth reading.

Apparently Graham went on settle in Chisholm, Minn., where he became a revered doctor for the community for most of his life. He sat with patients through epidemics and wrote a treatise on blood pressure that became required reading at medical schools worldwide for many years.

 "I met  a lot of great people in Chisholm while I was researching the book and they've become good friends," Friedlander said. "I get back there every once in a while to visit."

There's a scene in the movie where Kevin Costner's character addresses Graham (played by Burt Lancaster) about his fraction of an instant in the major leagues: "For five minutes you came within ... y-you came this close. It would KILL some men to get so close to their dream and not touch it. God, they'd consider it a tragedy."

Graham replied: "Son, if I'd only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes ... now that would have been a tragedy."

If you've read Friedlander's book you know those turned out to be among the truest words spoken in a movie whose characters are highly fictionalized.

Anyway, we're pleased to have Friedlander writing for our newspaper and look forward to his coverage of the MSU team. Look for it in Sunday's paper.

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