10/26/99
Softball: The Ethical Strain of Rules so Unjust
Dear People,
Congratz to all on last weekend's joyously fought 12-5 exemplification of sheer aerobicized pulchritude, played out as
it was on the newly manicured sods of the breathtaking Codronices outfield. Perhaps the only sadness of the day was realizing that had there been an official way to "discount" that particularly unsightly second inning, the losing contingent would have won by one rather than lost by seven.
As a member of the winning team, I struggled with the harsh implications of that result for most of the afternoon, yet despite a thorough Lexis-Nexis search, I was unable to find any legal precedent that would have reversed the outcome of the game. Indeed, I suspect the sport's widely discussed moral ambiguity lies in the fact that one team can objectively outplay the other for 88.888-% of the time and still end up officially losing. For me, such a stark example of justice denied is at least as disturbing as the inherent contradictions of Kant's Transcendental Dialectic, and yet there it is, naked, brazen and fetid (Yes, the fact that we played an additional three innings in which the losers ended up "winning" 21-20 in twelve innings is an interesting parenthetical aside, but alas, officially irrelevant and frankly, aesthetically offensive).
In any case, I must confess after a quick scanning of my varied historical sources, it has suddenly occurred to me that there is nothing of significance that happened in baseball history during the last few days of October. I know that sounds harsh, but I simply don't have time to scour my archive, we're now into the post-season, and I have to work with what I'm given. Nevertheless, there will still be a game at Codornices this Saturday, October 30th at 11AM, IF I get enough players by this Friday morning. So make that commit; This time, do it for the community itself, as a cogent reminder that while the history of athletic ineptitude is a soothing inspiration to us all, it is no longer the galvanizing opiate upon which our minimum quorum is forever dependent...Raymond
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