Only in Baseball

by Michael X. Ferraro

Foul poles which are fair,
the hidden ball trick.
Ivy-covered walls,
Willie and The Mick.
Baltimore chops,
in-between hops.
Don’t you love the
stale gum from Topps?
The bullpen phone,
two-out rally.
Farm league down South
name of Sally.
Lazy pop flies,
hustle base hits.
Phantom D.P.’s,
battles of wits.
Nice guys finish last,
The Babe called his blast.
Insurance runs
and radar guns.
Rain delays, then
lost in the sun.
Dropping a hammer
can buckle the knees.
With ducks on the pond,
a suicide squeeze?

Today’s poem was read before a throng of 6,000 in Reading, PA, on June 28 after the Reading Phillies-Richmond Flying Squirrels game, thanks to the poetry contest sponsored by the Berks Bards.