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Field of Dreams (1989)

by Bob McKenty

This “Field of Dreams” was once a field of corn
Until a voice mysteriously sends
Kinsella on a quest. A ballfield’s born:
Necropolis for Shoeless Joe and friends.
More voices. Off to Boston to enlist,
If necessary, kidnap (petty crime).
A surly writer (Sixties activist).
They’ll cross the country and the bounds of time
To give dead Moonlight Graham his first at-bat
Against a big-league pro. Emergency!
Doc Graham to the rescue. Who is that
(The catcher)? Looks familiar. Can it be…?!
A corny story certainly. So why
Does “Wanna have a catch, Dad?” make me cry?

 

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Max Carey

by Michael Ceraolo

When I played,
my claim to fame was stealing bases;
I even patented sliding pads
Later,
when I was involved in the girls’ game,
I winced every time a player
had to slide in those skirts
We should have let them wear baseball pants

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May 16th, Washout at Fenway

by John Grey

When was the last time
rains were this Biblical
Any minute now I’m expecting
two of every animal
to traipse in from the outfield
not a bunch of ballplayers
high-tailing it to the dugout
like they’re eking out an infield hit.

And how irreverent the downpour
splashing over the Green Monster,
slapping against the Pesky Pole,
flooding the pitchers’ mound
where Roger struck out twenty,
the base paths where Fisk danced
his winning jig in ‘75,
even the batter’s box where Ted Williams
swung his devilish lumber
on the way to averaging .400.

Still, it’s early and the Sox are
trailing big time.
So it’s a washout courtesy of the baseball gods.
With any luck,
that 0-6 score will drown.

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, and Red Sox fan, recently published in Stand, Washington Square Review and Rathalla Review.

 

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Casey Hageman

by Michael Ceraolo

When I was pitching in the minors
I threw the pitch that killed Charles Pinkney
I was very much affected by it:
it showed me a baseball career, and even life itself,
isn’t guaranteed to anyone,
and also led me to fight for what I believed in
I pitched little more than an inning
for the Red Sox in 1912 and was ineffective,
so they sent me out to Jersey City
A couple months later Boston wanted to sell me
to a different minor-league team in Denver,
but said I would have to negotiate a new salary
Denver wouldn’t pay me what I was due under my contract;
I said I would accept the lower salary
only if Boston would make up the difference
They refused to do so, and also refused
to let me buy my release,
after first agreeing to let me do so
I refused to report to Denver and,
with the assistance of the Fraternity,
sued for the balance of the salary due me
It took many years, but I finally won,
by which time, through interest and penalties,
the amount I had originally sought
had grown to a considerably larger sum
And that wasn’t my only fight
I got back to the bigs in 1914
and pitched decently but was traded during the season
The second team refused to pay me
the $240 bonus promised in the contract
I again went to the National Commission
and again they ordered the promised payment
Those two challenges were two strikes against me;
baseball didn’t give me a third strike:
I was never again offered a major-league contract
I don’t begrudge the current players:
having to deal with those who run major-league teams,
they earn whatever they get

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Shunya to Zero

by Rajesh Oza

They all wear Zero
On the back of their uniforms.

Mathematics’ invention of nothingness
Was a team effort!

Mesopotamians around 3 B.C.
Mayans circa 4 A.D.
Indians named it “shunya” in the mid-fifth century.

Onward to Cambodia,
China, and Islamic countries,
Before 0 joined 1 in the West.

Baseball’s exclamation of a perfect game
Is a team effort!

A catcher calls the first pitch;
A pitcher throws the last one.
In between, fielders play flawlessly.

For sharply hit balls, groundskeepers must keep the field free of bad hops;
On a 3-2 count, umpires shall not erringly call a strike a ball.
And the weather gods will contain the rain in pregnant clouds.

The scoreboard wears Zeros
Across nine innings of perfection.

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.