Baseball DIY

And this is why I hate baseball sometimes. How can you be loyal to a team when the players are loyal only to the dollar?

Johnny Damon playing for the Yankees. I never would have believed this if you told me a year ago. Never in a million years.

Last month, some lame-brained yahoo (OK, it was me) suggested that hitters should run the bases clockwise. This, the lame-brained yahoo claimed, would raise the batting averages of right-handed hitters because they would be two or three steps closer to first base, which a lot of times is the difference between an out and a single as the game is currently played. A .400 hitter (or five or ten) would be the natural result.

The only thing wrong with this theory is that it is completely illogical.

If anything, making third base "first base" would lower batting averages for right-handed hitters. All of those grounders to third and short that they strive to beat out now would merely be nonchalant flips to first. Left-handed hitters are more likely to benefit from clockwise base-running; in effect, they'd be the new right-handed batters.

So, of course, the only solution is to have base-running direction and base order determined by the batter's handedness in order to give the batter the maximum chance of success.

Or, we could just keep playing the game the way we always have. It must be said that, when he put his mind to it, Alexander Cartwright could really come up with a good idea or two.

Simon & Schuster has apparently decided that there are too few baseball books for kids out there because they have a ton (a TON!) of new titles coming out in the Spring. None of this will help with your Christmas shopping, but they are something to look forward to nonetheless.

Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy - this is a look at the relationship between Jackson and his bat and also the man who made it, Charlie Ferguson of S. Carolina. It's for ages 5-8 and runs 40 pages, with full color pictures.

Girl Wonder - based on the true story of Alta Weiss who I have never heard of. (I just love that history degree more and more as each year goes by...) I don't know when she played, although it looks like the turn of the century or so. This is dubbed "the story of a true American legend" and Alta was "a baseball pioneer". For ages 5-8, 40 pages and also fully illustrated.

Playing the Field - Another girl wants to play story, this one about a high school baseball team. There are some fun wrinkles - in order to play the principal says she must pretend to be a lesbian and join the Gay/Straight Alliance at the school. Sounds funny, is clearly for teens, grade 7 and up. (And interestingly - this is by the same author who wrote Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy.)

Play Ball - written by Jorge Posada and someone else (an actual professional writer) this is the story of Posada's childhood in Puerto Rico who "worked hard to be his best and didn't stop until he was a champion." Ages 6-10 but still only 32 pages with full color illustrations. Also available as a Spanish language version.

Pecorino Plays Ball - A very funny looking picture book about young Percorino whose mother has signed him up for little league when he has no clue what the game is about. It becomes clear that bubble gum is the most important piece of equipment and he tries valiantly to score a piece while figuring out just what he's supposed to be doing out in right field. Ages 4-8, 40 pages, full color pictures.

Heroes of Baseball - written by Robert Lipsyte who has written many YA novels and is also a columnist and sports reporter for the NYT, this is an encyclopedia type books for all ages that covers all the predictable greats: Cobb, Ruth, Robinson, Clemente, etc. Lots of photos, lots of history and the perfect thing for all the baseball crazy kids. It's due out in March, just in time for Opening Day!

Dear Baseball,

I admit it: for six months of the year, I take you for granted. What I wouldn't give for a Tigers-Devil Rays game today...

Here I am, still with three weeks left until the winter of my discontent officially begins again, and I just want you back. Football, hockey, basketball...it's like having three stepfathers at once. Who needs any of them? Any sport that you can fit within a rectangle doesn't deserve my attention. They're all too lateral. Baseball explodes in all directions.

Just look at the psychological/philosophical differences between baseball and the rest. The goal of those games is to confine the ball or puck in a confined space (end zone, basket, goal). The best thing you can do in baseball is set it free, liberate it from the field of play. Which one is a better metaphor for the life you'd like to lead?

Give me a post-game interview with Joe Torre at least...

I know I complain that it's too hot in the summer, but winter temperatures bring molecules to a standstill. I'd rather sweat than wish that I were sweating. In my more irrational moments, I think that the sun would spend more time above the horizon if there were a baseball game to watch.

Baseball, I promise that I'll pay more attention to you next time around. Especially those meaningless mid-April games.

Sincerely,
Eric