I love how this piece highlights the seeming contradictions that one finds in the job of the pitcher, and how everything a pitcher strives to do seems to go against the grain of what everyone else strives to do. I feel like I could spend hours picking apart the various subtleties and potential interpretations of this piece. I particularly love the third stanza: “The others throw to be comprehended. He / Throws to be a moment misunderstood.”
*
His art is eccentricity, his aim
How not to hit the mark he seems to aim at,
His passion how to avoid the obvious,
His technique how to vary the avoidance.
The others throw to be comprehended. He
Throws to be a moment misunderstood.
Yet not too much. Not errant, arrant, wild,
But every seeming aberration willed.
Not to, yet still, still to communicate
Making the batter understand too late.
Brilliant! 🙂
When I pitched, there was no misunderstanding, as my fastball gave hitters ample time to read every letter on the baseball.
I’d love to see your change up. Eephus pitch?