by James Finn Garner
.
Now the Tigers’ voice has been quieted.
He saw teams that won, and fans that rioted.
He saw a man play in the bigs after jail.
He saw a boy pitching tell his baseball a tale.
He saw a flawed man win 31 games,
The careers of good men go up in flames.
He watched a beloved ballpark decay
And the City of Wheels fall by the way.
Yet he knew in the end it was only a game.
God’s plan ignores things like money and fame.
A bat’s just a branch, a mitt is just leather.
Baseball’s true worth is bringing people together.
Some night, when a hit curves decidedly foul,
We’ll hear a faint voice with a sweet Georgia drawl,
Say, chuckling with fathomless love for it all,
“A man from Paradise just caught that ball.”
.
Posted 5/5/2010
Posted on 05/5/10
Published in Ballparks, Detroit Tigers, History, James Finn Garner, Pure doggerel, The Game Itself | Link to this poem | 7 Comments
Brither Patrick wrote,
I remember we always used to joke that he knew where everyone at the baseball game was from and what seat they were sitting in!
Link | May 6th, 2010 at 3:12 am
James Finn Garner wrote,
What? You mean…don’t tell me he didn’t! I figured he had a big chart on the table for every seat in the park!
Another Childhood notion destroyed!
Link | May 6th, 2010 at 3:55 am
Pete Tig wrote,
Very well done, Jim, and what a pleasure to read it on “Calvin Matters.”
Link | May 6th, 2010 at 6:06 pm
Stephen Jones wrote,
Great! Wonderful!
Link | May 7th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
gruley wrote,
Loooonnnnnnnng gone. The strapping Mr. Garnter hit that one a mile …
Link | May 7th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Stu wrote,
Indeed, Jim. This is one of your best ever.
Link | May 10th, 2010 at 3:07 am
The Daily Fungo by Mike McClary :: Detroit Tigers Baseball: Yesterday and Today wrote,
[...] I posted this on Twitter last week but it’s worth mentioning again: James Finn Garner crafted a nice poem on Ernie Harwell at Bardball.com. As usual, it’s great. Check it out here. [...]
Link | May 11th, 2010 at 10:53 pm