One of our very own makes it to the `bigs’

This may not be about art … or is it?  Depends on your definition of art, I suppose.

One of our hometown boys, Don Long of Edmonds, has been promoted to hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates of major league baseball fame.  If you catch their games on TV, you’ll see him regularly when the camera pans the dugout.

Is baseball an art form?  Close enough.  I admit it – I’m star struck!  This is a guy I know from neighborhood parties.  Mill Creek has Grady Sizemore (Cleveland Indians) and Edmonds now has Don Long.  Keep your eye on him!  I sure will.

It's exciting to know a major leaguer and to know that he is a genuinely nice guy.  Prior to being hired by the Pirates, Don Long was a minor league scout for the Philadelphia Phillies.  I pictured him on the road a lot and living a baseball life that is not all that glamorous, as profiled in Hollywood films like “Bull Durham.”  But I guess he has paid his dues.

According to the Pirates’ website, Don experienced some success as a minor league manager before being called up to the majors. 

The only thing better might be if he returned home and ended up in a Seattle Mariners uniform.

After growing up in Edmonds, Don Long attended Meadowdale High School.  He and his wife Dian and their two boys still live here – in fact, just a few houses from us.

My daughter delivers the Edmonds Beacon to their house every week.  Diane is one of those Edmonds walkers you see out there pounding the pavement every day.

One of my favorite memories of Don and Dian occurred on a snow day a few years ago, when all the kids and parents came out to sled down the hill on our street.  Don and Diane made everyone hot chocolate and somewhat more festive beverages for the adults.

That party went on for hours.  Let’s hope Don Long’s stay in major league baseball goes on for a good many years.

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(Edmonds artist Glenn Steinberg’s views on art and related subjects appear regularly in the Edmonds Beacon. He can be reached at www.coolartdude.com.)