SAN FRANCISCO — Rinaldo Ardizoia sat near a bay window inside his pink San Francisco house, gazing at a bulky wooden television set — a 22-inch Zenith with a slightly rounded screen. Sounds from a ballgame — a cheering crowd, announcers’ banter, fastballs popping into a catcher’s mitt — filled his living room.
“Crawford, come on,” Ardizoia, 95, said. San Francisco Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford gently waved his bat, awaiting a pitch.
It was afternoon, and sunlight passed through a stained-glass window, casting a soft glow onto a shelf of baseballs with a young Ardizoia’s face printed on them.