No joy in Mudville -- should be Opening Day
But we have this:
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day:
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to the hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Casey could but get a whack at that—
We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat."
But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.
But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despisèd, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.
Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped—
"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one!" the umpire said.
From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.
With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But Casey still ignored it and the umpire said, "Strike two!"
"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud!"
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.
The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate,
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate;
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favoured land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light;
And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout,
But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.
Casey at the Bat, by Ernest Lawrence Thayer
Join in! Post your favorite baseball stuff -- poems, essays, photos, comic bits, great plays, trivia, memories and memoirs, etc.
Here's an awesome photo:
And ...
The Curious Case Of Sidd Finch by George Plimpton (Sports Illustrated, April 1, 1985)
He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yoga—and his future in baseball.
Link to the full article: https://www.si.com/mlb/2014/10/15/curious-case-sidd-finch
Wikipedia page (SPOILER ALERT): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidd_Finch
Let's have some fun!
= new reply since forum marked as read
Saw his full act at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Hadn't seen that.
"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter."
"I ain't ever had a job, I just always played baseball."
"I never rush myself. See, they can't start the game without me."
"I use my single windup, my double windup, my triple windup, my hesitation windup, my no windup. I also use my step-n-pitch-it, my submariner, my sidearmer and my bat dodger. Man's got to do what he's got to do."
"If a man can beat you, walk him."
"I never threw an illegal pitch. The trouble is, once in a while I would toss one that ain’t never been seen by this generation."
"Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don’t move."
"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you."
"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?"
"You win a few, you lose a few. Some get rained out. But you got to dress for all of them."
"My pitching philosophy is simple; you gotta keep the ball off the fat part of the bat."
"Mother always told me, if you tell a lie, always rehearse it. If it don't sound good to you, it won't sound good to no one else."
"Don't eat fried food, it angries up the blood."
But on a technicality, he was not the oldest professional pitcher. Bill 'Spaceman' Lee has that honor.
65-Year-Old San Rafael Pacifics Pitcher Becomes Oldest To Win
August 24, 2012
SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) — Bill "Spaceman" Lee, the 65-year-old former Boston Red Sox great, pitched a complete game for the San Rafael Pacifics on Thursday night, breaking his own record for the oldest pitcher to win a professional baseball game, according to the team.
"I've just solidified myself as the best old guy on the planet," Lee said with a broad grin as autograph-seeking fans mobbed him after the game.
The Pacifics beat the Maui Na Koa Ikaika 9-4 at Albert Park, with Lee pitching the full game even as he appeared to limp through the last few innings. He gave up eight hits, with no walks and no strikeouts, and even batted in a run on a base hit in the bottom of the fifth.
Lee, a left-handed pitcher, was playing for the Pacifics on a one-game contract. The independent team is heading into the playoffs with the Maui team this weekend to determine the North American League’s North Division champion.
Pacifics manager and former Los Angeles Dodgers player Mike Marshall nearly took Lee out in the top of the eighth inning. The Pacifics were up 7-4, but the lead-off batter hit a single on the first pitch.
Going into the inning, Lee had told Marshall, "If I get in any trouble, come get me," Marshall later said.
Lee was tiring, and his record-breaking win was on the line. However, as Marshall jogged to the mound, Lee held up his index finger, looked up from under his mop of white hair, and mouthed "one more."
Marshall turned around, and Lee retired the next six batters to win the game.
As he walked off the field afterward, Lee, a graduate of Terra Linda High School, dropped to his knees and kissed the ground, to loud cheers from the sellout crowd.
Marshall called Lee's outing "one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen on the baseball field."
The Pacifics will play the Maui Na Koa Ikaika again in a three-game playoff series starting Thursday night. More information about the games is available on the Pacifics’ website at www.pacificsbaseball.com.
In 2010, Fogerty became the only musician to be celebrated at the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony when "Centerfield" was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
BHF also has John Forgerty's 'Baseball bat' guitar
San Francisco Giants beat the Milwaukee Braves 1-0 on a Willie Mays home run in the 16th inning.
Marichal threw 227 pitches; the 42-year-old Warren Spahn threw 201 pitches.
Alvin Dark, Giants manager, called it "the greatest game I've ever seen by two pitchers."
