Dale Murphy
by Charles Ghigna
A Brave young slugger,
A two-time VP,
A five-time Gold Glover
Who wore number 3.
A role-model teammate
Without ego or rage,
A clean-living player
In a steroid age.
Two home runs short
Of a trip to the Hall,
His legacy waits
To fly over the wall.
Charles Ghigna (Father Goose) is a poet, children’s author, speaker and nationally syndicated feature writer. He has written more than 60 award-winning books of poetry and been reprinted extensively, even in the ACT and SAT tests.
A Retrospective: The Wind-Up, and Watch
by Bruce Daniels
Baseball’s Hall of Fame hails a time-honored game,
That cannot be settled by clock.
Inning after inning, no team is winning,
I’d opt not to buy tickets or stock.
If one is so clever, a game can last forever,
A tie score all knotted at zip.
Ruth started the line-up, need new hitters to sign up,
Like Bonds who can make a round trip.
But we may never survive to see a line drive,
For me the game just drives me bonkers.
Be it Brooklyn or Yanks, if you ask me, “No thanks!”
The Bronx just bombed out, on to Yonkers!
This time-worn tradition should be sent to perdition,
The outcome has outlasted my strength.
Would there be sudden death? Please don’t hold your breath,
This game of ages is just so by its length!
Say “Hi” To Gary Carter
by Stephen Jones
Say “Hi” to “The Kid”
who never missed a beat/bat
of enthusiasm & protocol
even when his locker room
teammates were elsewhere
who believed baseball is a game
not of dollars & nonsense
who never cursed ‘cept once
in Game 6 the ’86 World Series
when on first base he swore
“I will not lose this damn game”
heart owning the whole thing
& who maintained a standard
beyond “behind home plate”
& something we could all learn from
Get Off His Lawn!!
by Michael X. Ferraro
Jamie Moyer, long of tooth,
Nabs a win at 49.
Never pitched to ol’ Babe Ruth
But babysat him one time.
Michael X. Ferraro is a TV writer/producer and author of Numbelievable: The Dramatic Stories Behind the Most Memorable Numbers in Sports History and Tased & Amused: The Shocking Poetic Recap of the 2010 Baseball Season.
Phil ‘n the Blanks
by James Finn Garner
The Northwest, known for its lumber,
Was at a loss to figure Phil Humber
Who deftly dialed the M’s number
In shadows, sun and penumber.
Could Starbucks have ended their slumber?
No matter, their bats were encumbered
In a masterpiece, shaded in umber,
The perfecto for new ace, Phil Humber
