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Carl
Yastrzemski, the left fielder, a left-handed batter, blows
fresh wind into our bubble by his presence at the plate
because he is Boston's best batter. One solid blow of his
bat can score a sudden run, and it is probable he may try
for a home run since there are two outs. Yastrzemski holds
the bat almost perpendicular to the ground and very high;
his fists squeezing the end of the bat are higher than his
left armpit, higher even than his left shoulder, close to
the body and as far to the rear as possible. Nolan moves,
twists, plants a foot and throws. Yastrzemski's bat waits
motionless until the ball has sailed half the distance to
the plate. The lower fist, the one of his right hand, leads
the bat down and forward beginning, when the bat is still up
high, a pivot around his twisting wrists that swings the bat
smoothly, led by his arms, over the plate. The weapon that
Yastrzemski descends from on high condemns him to a
difficult journey when he triumphs over the ball designed to
eliminate him by hammering it solidly on a line. No one
understands anything except his sudden victory. He shoots
the ball past the infield to right field. No one looks at
Yastrzemski any longer as soon as he makes contact because
every eye instinctively follows the ball. The applause
reaches its fullness when the ball is already dead, after a
few bounces, in the glove of the right fielder.
Because the excitement of Yastrzemski's act is now gone, because now nothing is happening, the crowd sees that Yastrzemski, alone and passive at first base, is stuck in a trap, and a doubt about his chances to get out begins establishing itself inside thousands of minds. The disappearance of the quick, beautiful deed makes the crowd experience momentarily the fall of Yastrzemski to a state of ambiguous incompleteness. Nonetheless, a deep instinct to see beyond the unhappy reality of Yastrzemski's lonely success quickly inspires in us a seductive liturgy of hope that rises above the black logic of his slim chance to return home. Only those fans in our little group up behind the Boston dugout, because we see baseball as a kind of imitation of religion, understand intellectually that the apparent success of Yastrzemski is really the sudden sin of his metamorphosis to a state of near powerlessness, yet every fan, without any conscious thought of religion, fervently expects that the purity of some absent grace will wash away the stain of Yastrzemski's diminished state and will allow him to save himself by making a pilgrimage back to the place of his brave fault. His isolated presence at first base under the thumbs of his enemies makes it rigorously clear that his birth is still in danger of being a stillbirth, but the crowd does not want to understand the hard rationality of this logic because it is yet possible that he be reborn to a life of new power by a miraculous resurrection. From "The
Theater of the Impossible" by Daniel F. McNeill. |
How ya' doin? Best sites on 'da 'net! New York Yankees Mighty Yanks The Bombers NY Yankees Downtown.com Fast Facts: Betcha' didn't know "The Old Professor" had a 54-year professional career that led him to become one of the greatest managers that the game has ever seen. Leading the Yankees to 10 pennants and 7 World titles in a 12-year span ranks as the most amazing managerial record of all time. In 1927, New York outscored its opponents by nearly 400 runs and hit .307 as a team. They also set major league records with 975 runs scored, 158 home runs, 908 runs batted in, and a .489 slugging average. "I never had to cheat, I get them with what I got." Dave Winfield Yogi Berra Everyfan.net has taken up the cause of the average NY sports fan who cannot access the Yankees on their cable system. www.everyfan.net Trivia: Mickey Mantle hit for the cycle only once in his career. When? Where? and against Who? Answer In Next Issue Have a trivia question? Email it to us and maybe we'll use it in an upcoming issue. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the brave men and women of our armed forces currently engaged in the conflicts overseas. Thank you for your service to our country and the world. God Bless You. |
