On September 16, 1960, Warren Spahn struck out fifteen batters, setting an all-time Braves record, on his way to the first no-hitter of his career. The thirty-nine-year-old pitcher won 4-0 over the Phillies — in his 20th season!
This poem by Franklin Pierce Adams was first published in 1912 in his book, In Other Words.
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The burden of hard hitting. Slug away
Like Honus Wagner or like Tyrus Cobb.
Else fandom shouteth: “Who said you could play?
Back to the jasper league, you minor slob!”
Swat, hit, connect, line out, get on the job.
Else you shall feel the brunt of fandom’s ire
Biff, bang it, clout it, hit it on the knob—
This is the end of every fan’s desire.
The burden of good pitching. Curved or straight.
Or in or out, or haply up or down,
To puzzle him that standeth by the plate,
To lessen, so to speak, his bat-renoun:
Like Christy Mathewson or Miner Brown,
So pitch that every man can but admire
And offer you the freedom of the town—
This is the end of every fan’s desire.
The burden of loud cheering. O the sounds!
The tumult and the shouting from the throats
Of forty thousand at the Polo Grounds
Sitting, ay, standing sans their hats and coats.
A mighty cheer that possibly denotes
That Cub or Pirate fat is in the fire;
Or, as H. James would say, We’ve got their goats—
This is the end of every fan’s desire.
The burden of a pennant. O the hope,
The tenuous hope, the hope that’s half a fear,
The lengthy season and the boundless dope,
And the bromidic; “Wait until next year.”
O dread disgrace of trailing in the rear,
O Piece of Bunting, flying high and higher
That next October it shall flutter here:
This is the end of every fan’s desire.
ENVOY
Ah, Fans, let not the Quarry but the Chase
Be that to which most fondly we aspire!
For us not Stake, but Game; not Goal, but Race—
THIS is the end of every fan’s desire.
One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something.
~Nolan Ryan
In a game against St. Louis on 11 September 1902, Boston Beaneaters pitcher John Malarkey hit a home run in the bottom of the eleventh off right-hander Mike O’Neill. As a result of the dinger, Boston won the game 4-3, making Malarkey the first pitcher in Major League history to earn a ‘W’ by hitting his own walk-off homer.
On September 8, 1916, the smallest crowd in American League history, a whopping twenty-three fans, watched the Yankees take on the A’s at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. During the game, A’s switch-hitter Wally Schang became the first player in Major League history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game.
Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.
~Babe Ruth
We interrupt our regular programming for this brief post of pure self-indulgence.
A friend and I attended the Mariners-Royals game in Kansas City two nights ago. For the last run of Wednesday home games for the Royals, Kauffman Stadium has set aside a section of seats dubbed “GordoNation,” a fan section devoted to KC’s All-Star left fielder Alex Gordon. In addition to a seat right by Gordon’s defensive stomping grounds, fans in the section receive a GordoNation T-shirt, which, as you can see, is a pretty nifty piece of apparel. Last night, however, I received a bonus souvenir when, after his warm-up tosses prior to the top of one of the earlier innings, Gordon tossed his baseball into the crowd off to my right. The ball bounced from fan to fan, juggled amongst futile attempts to grab it. Before I even had a chance to fully grasp what was going on, I realized that the ball had started rolling slowly away from the crowd and right towards me.
Without hesitating, I scooped it up, and the flurry of excitement of the crowd to my right ended in a groan. My first Major League baseball. I was so pleased that I could feel myself grinning like a goofus as I ran my fingers over the laces of my latest souvenir. Unfortunately, the Royals lost 6-4 that night, as Aaron Crow gave up a two-run home run in the top of the ninth, breaking the 4-4 tie. But at least I didn’t walk away empty-handed!
On 4 September 1908, Tiger second baseman Germany Schaefer became the only player in Major League history to steal the same base twice in one inning. In the process of doing so, he also became one of two players in history to steal first base from second. How — and why — did he accomplish this feat? With another runner on third base, Schaefer took off from first, hoping to draw a throw to second in order to allow the other runner to score. When the catcher did not make the throw, Schaefer decided to go in reverse and steal first, in order to position himself to try the ploy again. Schaefer succeeded once again in stealing second, but whether or not his plan to get the runner home worked remains unclear.
This wasn’t the only time that Schaefer performed this stunt. He apparently stole first from second again in 1911, while with the Washington Senators. This time, opposing Chicago White Sox manager Hugh Duffy came out of the dugout in protest. It is said that it is because of Schaefer that, in 1920, the rules of baseball were changed in order to prevent a runner from stealing bases in reverse order.
Poets are like baseball pitchers. Both have their moments. The intervals are the tough things.
~Robert Frost
