by Fred Lovato
Media wondered
Could Shohei handle spotlight?
Bat flip quashed concerns
Baseball Parity, Chicago Parody
by Dr. Rajesh C. Oza
Had the Dodgers
Lost just one more game,
This sub-600 season woulda been lame.
The winning percentage
Of most every other team,
Was surely a parity-lover’s dream.
Leaving aside the Angels, Marlins, Rockies,
And the historically bad White Sox,
All the other ballclubs had their shots.
Within sniffing distance of the wild card,
A couple of wins here and there
Woulda given your team a playoff share.
If the Mets and Tigers coulda
Advanced to the second round,
My Cubbies, too, shoulda stuck around.
Yeah, there may be MLB pair-a-tee,
But as Steve Goodman’s Dying Cubs Fans know
They still play the blues in Chi-ca-go.
Dr. Oza’s novel Double Play on the Red Line sits at the intersection of Ernie Banks’ Cubs, the Negro Leagues, riding the El, wrongful convictions, immigration and friendship. It will be published in October 2024 by Chicago’s Third World Press.
Go-juu/Go-juu, 50/50
by Dr. Rajesh C. Oza
In Japan, on July 5, 1994,
A mama flipped a coin;
A papa flipped it once more.
Go-juu/Go-juu: a Japanese number, now Dodger Blue!
Glove in hand, Papa wanted a boy;
Hugging a doll, Mama wanted a girl.
Regardless, their healthy child was a joy.
Go-juu/Go-juu: a Japanese number, now Dodger Blue!
On a Miami night, some 30 years later,
Some fans wanted a stolen base,
Others wanted a 400-foot homer.
Ain’t a swifty 50/50 out-of-the-ballpark nifty!
For all baseball fans, what a joyous treat
To watch Shohei Otani
Achieve his tremendous feat.
Ain’t a swifty 50/50 out-of-the-ballpark nifty!
Christmas in September
On the 19th of September,
Ohtani gave to me…
10 RBIs
6 total hits
5 extra bases
4 runs scored
3 home runs
2 stolen bases
1 playoff berth
And the founding the 50-50 Club!
Mr. 51-51
by Fred Lovato
Historic milestone
proof positive that Shohei’s
not from this planet
