all that equipment… helmet chest protector shin&knee guards all tucked down… low on knees between bulky batter and heavy-set ump everyone watching the pitch&bat anyway the catcher could be hiding anything and no one would know… maybe vaseline? maybe performance enhancing drugs? or an extra ball to fool everyone? they say there once was aContinue reading “Latest from Book of Baseball: “What’s the Catcher Hiding?””
Monthly Archives: September 2021
Latest from Book of Baseball: “Sometimes Opening Day Is in July”
Sometimes Opening Day is in July and everyone wants to know why but the Gods of Baseball will not say sometimes they play to near empty stadiums bleacher mannequins and knock-off crowd hums locker rooms stocked with Purell drums sometimes the W.H.O. is on first masked baserunners steal second and third and the Toronto BlueContinue reading “Latest from Book of Baseball: “Sometimes Opening Day Is in July””
Latest from Book of Baseball: “The Death of Baseball”
My Old Roommate and I were watching the NBA playoffs on TV. The score was close, the crowd was fierce, the announcers were hyperventilating, and I hadta do a lot of yelling at the screen. “In the name of Adrenaline!” I cried, “my team must win or else!” At the next timeout, to avoid theContinue reading “Latest from Book of Baseball: “The Death of Baseball””
Latest from Book of Baseball: “Todd Van Poppel”
Todd Van Poppel Todd Van Poppel pitching prospect limitless potential Todd Van Poppel Todd Van Poppel Oakland Athletics already unstoppable Todd Van Puppy Todd Very Pristine toast of ‘91 Beckett’s Magazine Wodd of Dollars Van Odd Cents sportscard show whole allowance In Todd We Trust We the Poppel believe just keep it safe in aContinue reading “Latest from Book of Baseball: “Todd Van Poppel””
Latest from Book of Baseball: “What Inning Is It?”
The Closer, our strongest arm, who holding nothing back for one final inning can blow away our opponent’s hitters, protect our lead, and save the game, is all warmed up in the bullpen. The crowd is on their feet. The other team’s lead off man heads to the batter’s box. But for some reason noContinue reading “Latest from Book of Baseball: “What Inning Is It?””
Latest from Book of Baseball: A List of Former Major Leaguers
And now I will compose a list of former Major League Baseball players… B’cuz I remember their names so easily. My summer action figures and childhood dictionary, I played with their syllables all season. Often as rhythmic and graceful as their on field play, so crisp and delicious sounding, you just wanted to bite rightContinue reading “Latest from Book of Baseball: A List of Former Major Leaguers”
Latest from Book of Baseball: “The Nervous Breakdowns of 19th Century Professional Ballplayers”
Pro baseball in the 19th century was very different than today. They hadn’t invented the hot dog or the national anthem yet. A guy would lead the league with something like a .500 batting average and could also lead the league with something like 1 homerun. A ticket could be had for 25 Indian headContinue reading “Latest from Book of Baseball: “The Nervous Breakdowns of 19th Century Professional Ballplayers””
Latest from Book of Baseball: “The European Starlings in the World Series”
The winner of this year’s World Series was a flock of European Starlings flying with precise coordination across a road near where I live… They’d never been the champions of Major League Baseball before, ever since 60 of them were introduced in 1890 Central Park by a guy who thought all birds mentioned in ShakespeareContinue reading “Latest from Book of Baseball: “The European Starlings in the World Series””
Latest from Book of Baseball: “A Sharp Line Drive”
When I played softball at Sarah Lawrence College I was awesome. Every Friday afternoon for my physical education credits I would show up at Marshall Field and get a lot of hits, score a lot of runs, and snag every fly ball that came my way. Never before had I been so awesome at theContinue reading “Latest from Book of Baseball: “A Sharp Line Drive””
Jonathan Bluebird Montgomery 