3/22/00
Softball: Time to Reconsider
Dear People,
Congratz to all on last weekend’s superb 24-23 paragon of captivating aerobicized drama, replete as it was with breathtaking home runs, stunning slides, magnificently executed pickoffs, and an intensity of competitive rigor that left the lush West Berkeley sods upon which we played both joyous and seared. Frankly, I had been worried that most of you would have atrophied to unsightly athletic levels in the harsh weeks of indolence leading up to our return, but upon discretely gazing at each and every one of your sensual little thighs, I saw evidence of respectable muscle tone and marbling that continues to inspire me as I write these very words. In all candor, I get a bit teary eyed when I think about the resilience of the human shank. I guess I’m just that way.
In any case, and as you certainly know, this Sunday, March 26th, marks the 143rd anniversary of the birth of the great Red Stockings shortstop George "bacon" Wright, the pride and joy of 1880s Cincinnati. While this hall-of-famer’s prowess is the stuff of legend, most scholars now ironically credit Wright with being the person who is most responsible for the 1895 adoption of the bitterly disputed infield fly rule. The fact is that the Porkmeister took a career-long delight in intentionally dropping pop ups that came his way, whenever the opportunity was there for making a double play. Over the years, immense player and media pressure was put on him to cease what the Times called "unsporting behavior that does baseball grave damage," but Wright argued passionately, and I must add correctly, that both the rules of the game at the time and the teachings of his Lutheran faith permitted the contentious tactic in question.
The fact is that Professional Baseball did not have the courage to stop him while he was playing, but just a couple years after his retirement, the rule that we know and disdain today was enacted over the heavy opposition of countless fans and critics. Wright himself had always claimed that the right to intentionally drop balls benefited the game as a whole by keeping base runners in an appropriate state of indecision and terror, and I must confess that over a century later, I find this core thesis as disarming as it is brazen. Regretfully though, both William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan dodged the topic in the 1896 elections, and thus to this day, the infield fly remains the elephant-in-the-living-room-that-nobody-acknowledges, a hot-potato issue that neither Democrats nor Republicans have the courage to confront.
No, I do not expect that this year’s Presidential campaigns will produce anything different, but I do believe that it is time we step back and honor a man whose enthusiastic willingness to play cheap and dirty is an inspiration to those of us who pine for the days when all in baseball was legal, so long as it didn’t involve cattle. Therefore, there will be a game this Sunday at 1PM at San Pablo Field, IF I get enough players by this Friday morning. So make that commit; Do it for George "bacon" Wright, a monumental symbol of the coarse and unregulated 19th century athlete---proud, principled and mischievous…..Raymond
PS: Just a gentle reminder that if you don’t send me constructive criticism of the site below, you needlessly fail to maximize my odds of becoming a dotcom katrillionaire.
ESLnotes.com: Because words have meaning….
3/24/00
Softball: Lure
Dear People,
There will be a game this Sunday at 1PM at San Pablo Park. Please bring $1 for the field, which includes ample free parking, surprisingly hygienic bathroom facilities, and a complimentary vial of freshly imported marinated herring paste….Raymond 845-7552
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