by Stephen Jones
Back in baseball’s glory days
A plug or “chaw”
Stuffed in the back pocket
Was the norm.
In those summer salad days
Players in interviews
Or at their locker room ease
Smoked without a thought.
But time and culture changed;
Still, some habits – they die hard.
Stogie, wad and cigarette may have gone,
But not so the pinch between cheek and gum.
First this year, it was Tony Gwynn –
Remember the bulge in his rounded cheek
As regular as his steady swing? –
Who died because of that reason.
Now we hear Curt Schilling’s
Undergoing chemo and radiation,
But if all the reports are true,
His “Big C” is in remission.
In baseball some things
Are timeless –
Like a walk-off home run
Or a perfect double play.
But a bad, cruel habit
which shortens mortality?