by Michael Ceraolo
I was a better pitcher and a better writer than Bouton,
but he had played for the Yankees and so received
all the superlatives from those who hadn’t heard of me
and even if they had, probably didn’t realize
I actually wrote my books myself
I had had a good year for the White Sox in ’63,
but when they wanted to put a clause in my contract
prohibiting me from writing without their consent,
I retired from baseball
Years later I testified for Curt Flood in his suit
and I was proud to have done so, though he lost
And that led me to my one regret in baseball:
that I, perhaps having an even better case,
hadn’t been the one to challenge baseball
From a historical standpoint, Brosnan taught or confirmed for me several things. In 1959, if a starting pitcher lasted only 4.2 innings and left the game with a lead that his team preserved, he could still get credit for the win—if the official scorer felt he deserved it. Pitchers brushed batters back more frequently back then. With only eight teams in each league, ballplayers cared greatly about finishing in fourth place instead of fifth (the second division) because they earned a couple hundred more bucks for doing so. (Though a World Series share is a ton of money these days, players earn so much now the subject seldom comes up in the newspapers.)