June 19, 1846

by Raphael Badagliacca

Baseball is a dance
That steps through time
Beginning in this hallowed place,
These Elysian Fields

Named for that storied
Space where sister muses,
Numbering nine, inspired
Every kind of play.

They danced the dance
That set the stage
With symmetry and elegance
With beauty and grace

Handing down from page to page
The moment when the pitcher winds
The moment when the batter hits the ball
The moment when the runner rounds the base

Stepping from decade to decade
Freeing us to measure time
In outs and innings
Bringing home an ageless diamond.

Our friend Raphael writes:

“Bardball friends:

“I am the baseball historian for an event next weekend:  a ballet performance scheduled for June 27 celebrating the first “base ball” game which took place in Hoboken, NJ on a stretch of land called ‘The Elysian Fields.’

“I’m calling the performance BaseBallet.

“It will be an open air performance on a field in nearby Jersey City, NJ. There will be four dances which I call first base, second base, third base and home. As baseball historian, I will read four narratives and original poetry. Music: Bach, Beethoven, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and John Fogerty’s ‘Centerfield’.”

 

Yankees 8, Toronto 4

by Stephen Jones

In far-off Buffalo,
Where midges fly
And the Blue Jays of Toronto
Now play their home games …

It was something special,
Something never seen before:

When the dust had settled,
At the end of the first inning,
People scratched their heads:

They’d just seen the Yankees turn
A 1-3-6-2-5-6 triple play —
The first in baseball history.

 

Cy Slapnicka

by Michael Ceraolo

Cynical sportswriters called me Sly
because I played fast and loose with the rules
We nearly lost Bob Feller because of it,
but his and Bill’s desire for him to remain with Cleveland
because of our rapport as fellow Iowans,
plus the Commissioner’s decision
to save the owners from themselves
by forestalling a bidding war,
carried the day for us
We weren’t as fortunate with Tommy Henrich,
but we got lucky again with Lou Boudreau
Two out of three is a good batting average in rule-breaking,
so I guess maybe the sportswriters were right

MLB All-Books-of-the-Old-Testament Team

1B   Ezekiel Bonura
2B   Juan Samuel
SS   Ezra Midkiff
3B   Hosea Siner

LF   Daniel Robertson
CF   Von Joshua
RF   Aaron Judges

C    Malachi Kittridge

LHP    Babe Ruth, Genesis Cabrera
RHP    Joba Chamberlain, Micah Owings, The Song of Eddie Solomon

MGR    1 and 2 Kings Kelly