Reviving the Art of Baseball Doggerel
Panic.
Curve ball.
Swing and miss.
Hits the dirt
then off
the right shin guard.
Panic.
Bottom of the ninth,
one out.
Runner on third.
Score tied.
Locate the ball.
Look the runner back.
Locate the ball.
Runner breaks, grab the ball.
Pitcher’s late
Toss
Too high.
Glove swipe.
R. Gerry Fabian is the author of three novels and four books of poetry. His latest book of poems, Ball On The Mound, a collection of original baseball poems, can be found on Amazon.
Herman Franks
We stole signs from the Germans and the Japanese,
and it wasn’t wrong for us to do so
While baseball isn’t life or death,
winning instead of losing is part of our way of life,
so it wasn’t wrong to steal signs in ’51
When Leo suggested it,
and Hank Schenz volunteered his telescope,
I was happy to be the spy relaying the signs
And if that could always assure victory,
we would have won a pennant or two
doing it while I was managing San Francisco,
instead of finishing second four years in a row
Bobby Thomson
Because of the way I was raised,
I struggled for years to justify what we were doing
I finally realized that,
even if you knew what pitch was coming,
you still had to hit it squarely,
and I deserved credit for doing so
Ralph Branca
I was among those taunting the Giants
earlier in the season, so some might say
I got a deserved comeuppance
in giving up the homer to Bobby;
I don’t think so, because of the spy
Bobby got more credit than he deserved
and I got more blame that I deserved
We’ll be linked as long as baseball is played,
and I’m at peace with my role in the drama
We have slipped from history,
mostly because we were known only to a few at the time
We were the front men or the agents of dummy corporations
who kept the price down when buying up the land
necessary for Shibe, Ebbets, etc.
to build the ballparks that bore their names,
the edifices that became legendary
This is our footnote
Bill Freehan
Born in Detroit
Played in Detroit
Died in Detroit
Mr. Motor City
If you’re a Yankees fan, you know:
You have no fingers anymore.
Every game, every ninth inning …
It’s been a steady, three-week diet
Of nonstop nail biting.
And now, after having started
Nine games behind, the Bombers —
Doggedly riding their bus, The Grinder —
Have chased and passed Boston…
There are only 22 games to go.