by Barbara Gregorich
Fully extended,
pointed at dead center,
the bat
threatens
obliteration,
liquidation,
annihilation.
Dead wood.
Pure jive.
But pulled back,
balanced near the shoulder,
gyrating at its fulcrum,
ready to swoosh
across the plate
and smash
a scorcher
into the power alley,
the bat
comes
alive.
Barbara Gregorich is the author of She’s on First and Jack and Larry: Jack Graney and Larry, the Cleveland Baseball Dog, and also conducts a terrific presentation on When Women Played Baseball. See her website for more details.