Here’s a fun cartoon version of the poem, “Casey At the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. The narration of this video doesn’t recite the poem exactly, but the story line remains accurate, with some comedic embellishment.
When I was playing, breaking this rule was a sure-fire way to earn yourself some laps at the next team practice.
I became a good pitcher when I stopped trying to make them miss the ball and started trying to make them hit it.
~Sandy Koufax
On March 11, 1901, John McGraw, manager of the American League’s Orioles, attempted to surreptitiously integrate the major leagues when he signed Charlie Grant. McGraw tried to pass off the black infielder as a Cherokee Indian named Tokohoma. When the team later traveled to Chicago, however, McGraw’s ruse was uncovered by Charles Comiskey, who recognized the second baseman’s true identity. Grant maintained his disguise, claiming that his father was white and that his mother was a Cherokee who lived in Lawrence, Kansas. McGraw initially persisted with the scheme, but later claimed that “Tokohama” was inexperienced, especially on defense. Grant returned to the Columbia Giants of the Negro Leagues and never played in the major leagues.
This GIF by Yahoo Sports’ Eric Orvieto shows the evolution of MLB logos. It’s fascinating to see, all in one go, how logos have changed over time, and how they all seem to mimic each other as they’ve evolved.
I’m not really sure who this Slim gentleman is, just that he wrote and performed this fun little tune. It’s quite an impressive piece, and it evokes a wonderful feeling of nostalgia.
What is both surprising and delightful is that spectators are allowed, and even expected, to join in the vocal part of the game…. There is no reason why the field should not try to put the batsman off his stroke at the critical moment by neatly timed disparagements of his wife’s fidelity and his mother’s respectability.
~George Bernard Shaw
This piece is quite different from most baseball poetry that I’ve seen. I love how it is broken up into nine stanzas, as if they were innings. And there’s a kind of surrealism to the piece. In some ways, it makes me think of the paintings of Salvador Dalí. This poem was originally published in The Museum of Clear Ideas in 1993.
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On March 3, 1984, Peter Ueberroth was elected the MLB’s sixth commissioner, replacing Bowie Kuhn. Ueberroth was also the president of the 1984 Olympic Committee, when the Olympics were held in Los Angeles. As a condition of his hiring, Ueberroth increased the commissioner’s fining ability from $5,000 to $250,000, and his salary was raised to $450,000, nearly double what Kuhn was paid.
This is a neat idea: a periodic table cataloging the game’s Hall of Fame members. You can click the image below for a larger version. It’s too bad I can’t find a much bigger version than that, but it’s still a lot of fun to peruse.
