by Alan P. Rudy
Our freshman got promoted to varsity,
He was raking and dealing while at JV . . .
The big guys were facing adversity.
Why, oh, why have they done this to me?!
Wait, what? They’re not starting him at third?!
Coach’s sending him on a line drive to left . . .
The ball’s up the line, the catcher . . . my word,
Collision! The umpire’s tossed him, the turd!
Suspended three games for failing to slide
In his first game, his new teammates loved it.
Back in, he’s comfortable, emotions elide,
But pitching Game Two, oh! We almost died!
The guys quite like him, though not yet 15.
The coaches just start him, it’s still unexpected . . .
Almost rounding to normal, it must be a dream.
We worry and fret, while joyous and keen.
Alan P. Rudy, father of two ball-playing boys, is an associate professor of sociology at Central Michigan University.