Baseball in Mexico City Feels Like Football in California

by Rajesh C. Oza

As comedian George Carlin famously said,

“Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life.
Football begins in the fall, when everything’s dying …

In football you wear a helmet.
In baseball you wear a cap …

Football has hitting … and unnecessary roughness.
Baseball has the sacrifice.”

So what did the Giants and Padres sacrifice
In Mexico City’s elevation?

The beauty of a 1-0 shutout;
So many flailing arms in spent bullpens;

And a congested scorecard that seemed to replace
Baseball’s home runs with football’s touchdowns.

As the Giants’ announcer Jon Miller said repeatedly,
“¡Adiós pelota! ¡Adiós pelota! ¡Adiós pelota!”

 

Dr. Oza is a management consultant and facilitates the interpersonal dynamics of MBAs at Stanford University. His recently completed Double Play, written in Stanford’s novel-writing program, will be published in 2024 by Chicago’s Third World Press.

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