What ever happened to the Invisible Man?

Remember the classic "Who's on first?" story recited by Abbot and Costello? I think everyone of us has heard it at one time or another, but if you haven't, then you ought to take the time to listen to it on You Tube or wherever. It ranks up there as one of the most famous comedy stints of all time.

Well, when we were kids, my friends and I would play games of baseball, even if there weren't enough guys to field a complete team. Perhaps it was because we'd have an uneven number of players or simply too few to play the usual game, so we would draft the "invisible man" to round out the team. This was our version of the now timeless rendition of "Who's on first?".

We'd divide into two teams, sometimes using only parts of the field and maybe not even all the bases. The team batting would "supply" the pitcher just to supplement the player pool. The pitcher might even have to act as the catcher for plays at the plate. Creative, I'd say, wouldn't you? The invisible man could then be substituted anywhere on the base paths that he was needed to take the place of a runner whose turn it was now to bat. If there was a hit, he'd advance equally, along with the batter. If there were plays on the invisible man, it would have to be referenced off one of the "live" players. We all had to keep track of him. It made quite good sense to us, and if there were disputes, we'd settle them diplomatically of course, or the game would end.

So what ever became of the "invisible man"? Was he traded, did he retire or has he simply faded from memory only to be resurrected by a former teammate who is blogging about him. The answer lies safely in the minds of those of us who knew him. As I recall, he never complained, you could always count on him to play wherever you needed him, and above all, he never said an unkind word about anyone!