Local Life

Retro RFH Baseball Bench Time

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  • RFH Baseball boys in the dugout circa 1970s
    Photo/George Day

Baseball season at RFH should be in full swing right now. COVID-19, instead, struck the season out and benched all high school players in the game.

They can’t get onto the field now and will likely miss the entire season due to the pandemic. Yes, they’re in a necessary, undeserving time out. Everyone is.

And while a time out is usually served for bad behavior, that’s not the case now. Dugout time is also time spent anticipating going up to bat and, hopefully, knocking the ball out of the park. That’s what the hope is with flattening the pandemic curve these days. Knocking it out of the universal, nationwide, state and local ballpark. Isolation is necessary in accomplishing that end, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy stresses daily.

Some bench/dugout time had seemed like a revving up, time of reflection and togetherness with teammates. That shows in this Retro Pic of the (George) Day from the 1970s at RFH. Yet, one thing that’s not happening with the benching of this season is the togetherness time before going up to bat.

So, we take a look back at isolation together in the dugout. The boys are looking quite pensive in this photo. There are a few familiar faces — one sadly no longer with us, some still around the towns and one who was the batter in our most recent look back.

Recognize anyone? There are a couple pictured who many still see around the towns. Some are, sadly, gone. What do you think they were looking at in their contemplative dugout time?

Thanks, once again, to George Day for capturing yet another classic moment at RFH!