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.