Center Field Grasses

Over 200 poems of three kinds: works about individuals, parodies of the great poets and poems, and works fixing critical or mystical moments in the careers of major leaguers. A great way to pique interest in poetry!

Gene Fehler is the author of 12 books, including three poetry collections from McFarland. He still plays baseball with one of his grown sons in The Great American Pastime Baseball League in Simpsonville, South Carolina, trying to baffle hitters with his slow curve. His website is www.genefehler.com.

Gene Fehler
Format: softcover (5.5 x 8.5)
Pages: 192
Bibliographic Info:
Copyright Date: 2012 [1991]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6705-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v
Preface      xi

Part One: Up Close and Personal
Backyard Glory      3
Fielder’s Mitt      4
Old Autographs      5
Sleeping Over      6
Contest Winner: June, 1955      7
Error, Little League      8
A Father’s Dreams      9
Two-Strike Bunt      10
Sammy Cayson, Cucumbers, and Me      11
Scouting Reports      12
My First Baseball Cards      13
In October      14
If Poets Were Baseball Players      15
Rainy Night Baseball      16
After Being Outhit by My Sons      16
Chocolate Malteds      17
When the Hurt Begins      18
Dice Baseball      19
Shortshop, Making the Tag      19
Rain Delay      20
Rain Delay, the Aftermath      21
Strawberries      22
Summer Paradise: Yankees, 1956      23
Sunday Evening      24
Tommy Hunter Tells Why He Was Kind to Walter Miller      25
Throwing It Back      26
Karl Bailey’s Ground Rule      27
Line-Up      28
Pitchers and Poets      29
Old Man Parker’s Vacant Lot      29
Hero      30
Artificial Baseball      32
Ballplayer      32
Church League Softball for the “Over Forties”      33
Center Field Grasses      34
Winner      36
No Hit Pitcher, Staying Loose      36
The Summer That Dreams Forgot      37
Snow Baseball      38
With the Game on the Line      38
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Baseball Game      39
Watching the Montgomery Rebels Play Baseball at Patterson Field      43
Throwing Rainbows from Deep Short      44
Left-Handed Poetry      45
First Time at Bat      46
Belated Thanks to “Bud” Bull, My First Baseball Coach      47
Christmas Eve, 1957      48
Ever Reaching      49
Wordsworth Never Lost at Baseball      49
Graveyard      50
He Might Even Win      51
Bubby’s Error      52
Ever Young      53
Coach Chose Me      54
The Day the Bear Died      55
Immortals      56
Veteran Ballplayer      56
Deathbed Showdown      57

Part Two: Parodies from the Classics
To Bunt, or Not to Bunt      61
But I Was One and Twenty      62
The Cubbies of Chicago      63
A Red-Faced Father      63
The Cub Star      64
Ebbets Field      65
In Late-      66
The Ball Leaps Up      67
I Marvel at the Ways of Ryne      67
I Have a Rendezvous This Fall      68
The Charge of the Mighty Wade      69
An Over-the-Hill Pinch Hitter      70
To Jose Canseco      71
A Certain Slant of Curve      71
Casey and the Dome      72
If God Were a Baseball Pitcher      74
Believe Me, If All Those Enduring Old Arms      74
Larrupin’ Lou Gehrig      75
Here’s to the All-Star      76
Knuckleball      77
Adcock Miss’d Me      77
Baseball of You I Sing      78
Reflections on a Pitchers’ Duel      78
Grabbing an Illegal Bat at Yankee Stadium      79
The Bench-Warmer      80
To My Fans, on Becoming a Free Agent      80
Baseball’s Harmony      81
Song of the Open Base      81
The House That Ruth Built      82
We Real Insecure      82
Some Keep the Sabbath on the Mound      83
Out of Luck, Dave Kingman      84
I Knew a Man Named Stengel      85
A Noiseless Patient Owner      86
Baseball Announcers      86
Don Larsen’s Perfect Game      87
Is Our Team Winning?      88
Night Baseball      89
Artificial Grass      89
Tracy Stallard      90
Polo Hymn      90
Bleachers      91
Batting Against Nolan Ryan      92
Pete Rose Coloring His Hair      92
Wrigley’s Bleacher Bums      93
Wrigley Field Neighbor      94
I Never Saw the Babe      94
On First Looking at a Mantle Homer      95
The Chickenwirefence Behind My House      96
To Dale Murphy      97
Waiting Out a Player Strike      98
The Lead Rises, the League Falls      99
The Curve Ball 100 Ricky Henderson      101
When I Saw the Learn’d Computer      101
Those Bases on Balls      102
Timeclock      103
Free Agent      103
Casey and the Agent      104

Part Three: The Players
Henry Aaron      109
Harry Agganis      109
Dick Allen 110 Jesus Alou      111
Ernie Banks      112
Yogi Berra      112
Ewe      11
Blackwell      113
Steve Blass      114
Ken Boyer      114
Jim Brosnan      116
Lew Burdette      115
Dean Chance      116
Roger Clemens      117
Rocky Colavito      118
Gavvy Cravath      119
Rob Deer      120
Joe DiMaggio      121
Ryne Duren      122
Nellie Fox      122
Joe Garagiola      123
Bruce Gardner Returns to the Mound      124
Paul Giel      124
The Emergence of Kelly Gruber, Spring, 1989      125
Harvey Haddix      127
Frank Howard      127
Ken Hubbs      127
Catfish Hunter      128
Bo Jackson      129
Jackie Jensen      130
Al Kaline      130
Paul Kilgus      131
Ted Kluszewski      132
Duel with Gary Kolb      132
Sandy Koufax      133
Tony Kubek      134
Frank Lary      134
Vance Law      135
Phil Linz      136
I, McCovey      136
Denny McLain      137
Sal Maglie      137
Mickey Mantle      138
Juan Marichal      138
Billy Martin      139
Willie Mays      140
Willy Miranda      140
Don Mossi—Ray Narleski      141
The Death of Thurman Munson      142
Dale Murphy      143
Stan Musial      144
Ron Northey      145
Satchel Paige      146
Camilo Pascual      147
The Philadelphia Three, Plus One      148
Jimmy Piersall      149
Reese and Rizzuto      150
Jim Rivera      150
Phil Rizzuto      151
Robin.Roberts      152
Brooks Robinson      153
Pete Rose      153
Pete Rose      154
Nolan Ryan      155
Nolan Ryan      156
Nolan Ryan      156
Hank Sauer      157
Herb Score      157
Bobby Shantz      158
Enos Slaughter      158
Roy Smalley      159
Ozzie Smith      160
Warren Spahn      161
Eddie Stanky      161
Me1 Stottlemyre      162
Dick Stuart      163
Rick Sutcliffe      164
Ron Swoboda      164
Pat Tabler      165
Bobby Thomson      166
Marv Throneberry      166
The Elite of Pinch-Hitters      167
Eddie Waitkus      168
Vic Wertz      169
Hoyt Wilhelm      170
Mitch Williams      171
Ted Williams      172
Wilbur Wood      172
Carl Yastrzemski      173

“a terrific collection…highly recommended”—The Book Report; “a wonderful effort…quite remarkable”—VOYA; “many of [the poems] are quite good…poems on players are often playful, a lot of fun”—Elysian Fields Quarterly.