Dream year ends in tatters

Nolan Reimold scores the winning run, catcher Ryan Lavarnway
Dan Shaughnessy: "The greatest choke in baseball history ended the only way it could have ended, with the Red Sox gagging on the Camden Yards lawn one last time. Truly unbelievable. This feels like revenge for 2004 and 2007. It is as if the baseball gods are punishing Red Sox Nation for hubris and arrogance and good times that seemed so good, so good, so good. The Sox were set to pop champagne last night. They were leading the Orioles, 3-2, and the Rays were trailing, 7-0, in the eighth inning. Just a few simple outs and the Sox were going to Texas to start the Division Series tomorrow."
boston.com, NYT: Leading Off: Three Minutes That Rewrote History, SI: Nope, you can't script Game 162, CBS: Rays' final chapter in comeback story defies belief, ESPN: A hurt for the ages (Video), NYT: Victory Dances, a Batting Title, and Another Dose of Martyrdom, Mike Tanier, Washington Post: Boston Red Sox collapse and suffer a damning finish, Thomas Boswell, NYT: One Out Away, Red Sox Lose to Seal September Meltdown

Wait Till Next Year - Doris Kearns Goodwin

NYT, Keeping Score: "Her father, who inspired in her a passion for the Brooklyn Dodgers, called his daughter Bubbles because she 'seemed to enjoy so many things.' The butchers in her hometown of Rockville Centre on Long Island called her Ragmop, and fondly taunted the irrepressible fan. (They were Giant loyalists.) Doris Kearns Goodwin, as her disarming memoir shows, was a born mascot -- an endearing emblem of high hopes and undauntable energy. Or rather, like all mascots, she was made, not born, but the role clearly took and stuck. The daddy's girl who so avidly shared in his baseball dreams and in the dramas of her close-knit neighborhood casts herself here as a booster on a larger stage as well: Goodwin recounts an exemplary coming-of-age story from an often maligned era. Born in 1943, just a few years too soon to make the baby boom cutoff, she paints a portrait of feisty girlhood in the prefeminist 1950's."
NY Times, Yale Review of Books Front Door, PBS, amazon

Howard Rosenberg - "Stetter to Sheffield to Matcovich"

His five-hundreth victim -
A name for trivia lovers;

The pitch, number nine,
A full-count slider,

Tossed nine days after
His Mets debut.

His swat -his first hit as a Met-
A gloved surprise for a bleacher buyer;

The media's momentum magnifying
The threesome's moment;

The catch worth bats, balls, jerseys,
The gifts of a Major League man

Whose dreams were now just memories,
Whose blast could not revive the past -

Only stir the present.


Spitball

The Negro Leagues Database Blog

Bingo DeMoss
"Welcome to the Seamheads.com Negro Leagues Database, powered by The Baseball Gauge. We are creating the first comprehensive statistical encyclopedia of the great black baseball teams and leagues that operated behind the color line in the days of Jim Crow segregation. The database also collects a vast amount of biographical information about these players, much of it previously unpublished."
Seamheads.com Negro Leagues Database, powered by The Baseball Gauge, SABR: Seamheads.com and The Baseball Gauge Launch Negro Leagues Database

Ten worst career-ending performances of all time

Chris Jaffe - "It’s that time of the year again. The regular season is winding down, and with it quite a few major league careers will come to an end. Everyone wants to go off with a nice storybook ending where you get the bit hit or throw the perfect strikeout pitch to win the game at the end and then walk off into the sunset with a John Williams score playing in the background. Or something like that. But, of course, that really almost never happens. In fact, a player is far more likely to go out quite differently than that. After all, if you’re still capable of hitting the big blast or making the clutch out, someone will take a chance on you next year. Thus, most guys have a sad final act to their careers. Sad, but true."
The Hardball Times

The Long Season - Jim Brosnan

"A fine major league pitcher for several years, Jim Brosnan wrote the first honest portrayal of the life of a baseball player. The Long Season and subsequent works have earned him continued praise ever since. His writings paved the way for many other players’ 'autobiographies,' usually written with considerable help, and filled with more tawdriness but less humor and heart. Fifty years on, Brosnan’s books remain the gold standard for baseball memoirs."
The Baseball Biography Project: Jim Brosnan, amazon: The Long Season, amazon: Pennant Race, An interview with Jim Brosnan, The BASEBALL RELIQUARY Inc., Wikipedia

Bill Davis - "An Address By Vice-President Aleviszos Before A Game With the Milwaukee Brewers In June 1973 In Section 33 In Left Field"

Now I know you fellas,
you're the best damn ushers
in both leagues.
And the best paid, too.
Now Mr. Yawkey's coming up for tonight's game
from Winter Haven, his first game of year.
Now it'd be nice if his boys won,
but what's more important
is that everything here be right.
Now I know I don't have to say much.
You fellas been doing a good job for years,
and you young guys,
I know you love working here.

Now there's a few things I have to talk about
that aren't really very pleasant,
but I'm afraid we need to talk about them.
Let me begin by apologizing
because it's only a few I'm talking to,
and you know who you are.
Now we don't ask much, just that you be neat,
on time, treat the customers right,
and enforce and obey regulations
established for everyone's protention.

Let me get to the point.
First. One of the rules here
is no drinking on the job.
Don't laugh.
I don't care
if you have one across the street
before you come to work,
McGuinness'll judge if you're good.
And I couldn't care less
if you get shitfaced afterwards.
But not while you're representing
the Boston Red Sox.
No nip bottles. No beer on your break.
Next man caught be out a job.
There's lots would be in your shoes.

Second. Then there's the matter
of tickets recirculated at a profit
during the first few innings.
We don't know who's doing it yet
so there's time to stop,
but as soon as we catch him
that boy's out of work too.

Third. The last thing I wish
I didn't have to talk about.
Now I know it's not job
to stop marijuana,
that's for the cops to do.
And by the way,
we got fifteen new plains clothes,
bring in the total to twenty-seven.
But I have heard some of
you guys in the bleachers,
during a game, in uniform,
have been seen smoking marijuana.
Now the first one I see
is one sorry bastard.
Believe me,
this is the kind of thing
that can ruin baseball.

Now I'll be up
with Mr. Yawkey tonight,
with my binoculars,
and let's just make sure
everything is right.
I appreciate your patience
with these unpleasant matters.
Now if only we get some hits
and Bill Lee keeps his curve down,
it'll be a good night.
Thank you.


Local 254, 1976

Home run

Henry Aaron in 1974
Wikipedia - "In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process. In modern baseball, the feat is typically achieved by hitting the ball over the outfield fence between the foul poles (or making contact with either foul pole) without first touching the ground, resulting in an automatic home run. There is also the 'inside-the-park' home run, increasingly rare in modern baseball, where the batter reaches home safely while the baseball is in play on the field. When a home run is scored, the batter is also credited with a hit and a run scored, and an RBI for each runner that scores, including himself."
Wikipedia, SI: The People's King (Henry Aaron), W - Babe Ruth's called shot, NYT,George Vessey: 50 Years Later, NYT: Maris’s 61-Homer Season Looks Even Better

MLB: BB Moments: Hank Hammers No. 715, BB Moments: Ruth's Called Shot, Reggie goes yard in '77. YouTube: Babe Ruth's 60th Home Run - Sept. 30,1927, Roger Maris Home Run Record 1961, 1933 World Series featuring a home run by Mel Ott, Ted Williams Home Run and Retirement 1960.

Steroid Use: MLB: Costas reacts to Bonds verdict, ABC: Barry Bonds Verdict: Guilty. MLB - Mac Passes Maris; YouTube - Mark McGwire Senate Testimony. YouTube - "Mark McGwire vs. Sammy Sosa" - I Love the 90's, MLB Before and After Steroids Pics, ESPN: McGwire apologizes to La Russa, Selig

Eddie Waitkus

Wikipedia - "Edward Stephen Waitkus (September 4, 1919 in Cambridge, Massachusetts – September 16, 1972 in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who had an 11-year career (1941, 1946-1955). He played for the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies in the National League and for the Baltimore Orioles of the American League. He was elected to the National League All-Star team twice (1948 and 1949)."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, Baseball in Wartime, amazon, This Day in Philly Sports History: A Demented Fan and the Natural, W - The Natural, amazon - The Natural, Bernard Malamud, Topps Baseball Cards from the Golden Age (Video), YouTube - The Eddie Waitkus Shooting (Video)

Al Jackson

Wikipedia - "Alvin Neill Jackson (born December 25, 1935), affectionately referred to as 'Little' Al Jackson, is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1959 to 1969. His 43 wins with the New York Mets were the franchise record until Tom Seaver eased past the mark in 1969."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, BIOPROJ-SABR, Al Jackson: The Little Pitcher Who Made a Big Impression

Tom Clark - "To Gus Zernial"

Gus,
you struck out six straight times
in one cold April doubleheader
we watched from high in the grandstand
behind home plate

Up there the wind blew right
through us off the Lake, but
my dad said said that was nothing
to the breeze you made
every damn time you
stepped up to the plate


Fan Poems

Ted Williams’s .406 Is More Than a Number

NYT: "Inside his room at Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Hotel on Saturday, Sept. 27, 1941, Ted Williams was jumpy and impatient. That might have been an apt description of the mercurial Williams at most times, but on this evening he had good cause for his unease. His batting average stood at .39955 with a season-finale doubleheader to be played the next day at Shibe Park, home of Connie Mack’s Athletics. Since batting averages are rounded to the next decimal, Williams could have sat out the final two games and still officially crested baseball’s imposing .400 barrier."
New York Times, amazon: Science of Hitting

Eight Men Out: The Black Sox and the 1919 World Series

"The headlines proclaimed the 1919 fix of the World Series and attempted cover-up as 'the most gigantic sporting swindle in the history of America!' First published in 1963, Eight Men Out has become a timeless classic. Eliot Asinof has reconstructed the entire scene-by-scene story of the fantastic scandal in which eight Chicago White Sox players arranged with the nation's leading gamblers to throw the Series in Cincinnati. Mr. Asinof vividly describes the tense meetings, the hitches in the conniving, the actual plays in which the Series was thrown, the Grand Jury indictment, and the famous 1921 trial. Moving behind the scenes, he perceptively examines the motives and backgrounds of the players and the conditions that made the improbable fix all too possible."
amazon

December 2010: 1919 World Series - Black Sox Scandal

Jim Daniels - "The Bookkeepers Talk Baseball"

Betsy says a friend of hers
went to high school with Kirk Gibson
and that he was stuck up even then.

Debbie says Frank is taking her
to one of those things
where they play two games in one day.
What’s it called, a double bubble?
She makes a face: I can hardly stand one game
much less two.

Jack, the burly security guard says
it’s too damn boring. Everybody
standing around picking their asses.

I sit at my desk
flipping through accounts, pulling overdrafts.
My ass squirms in padded comfort
longing for the bleacher’s hard bench.

Arnold says he likes it better
on tv. Why go to the ballpark,
he asks, and deal with the traffic
and the crowds?

Better on tv?
Get yer red hots heah!
Coke! Iiiiiiice Cooooold Coke!
Crack of bat on ball. Smell
of stale cigars and spilled beer.
Seventh inning stretch.
Cold beer in the sun.

Cold beer in the sun.
I bang my seat
to start up a rally.


Bardball

Greg Maddux

Wikipedia - "Gregory Alan 'Greg' Maddux (born April 14, 1966), nicknamed 'Mad Dog' and 'The Professor', is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was the first pitcher in major league history to win the Cy Young Award for four consecutive years (1992–1995), a feat matched only by Randy Johnson (1999–2002). During those four consecutive seasons, Maddux had a 75-29 record with a 1.98 ERA, while allowing less than one runner per inning. Maddux is the only pitcher in MLB history to win at least 15 games for 17 straight seasons. In addition, he holds the record for most Gold Gloves with eighteen."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, ESPN: Maddux issues one last heartfelt pitch, YouTube - Greg Maddux shares his wisdom

1954 World Series

Wikipedia - "The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since 1933, defeating the heavily favored Indians, who had won an AL-record 111 games in the regular season. The Series is perhaps best-remembered for 'The Catch', a sensational running catch made by Giants center fielder Willie Mays in Game 1, snaring a long drive by Vic Wertz near the outfield wall with his back to the infield. It is also remembered for utility player Dusty Rhodes' clutch hitting in three of the four games. Giants manager Leo Durocher won his only title among the three pennants he captured in his career."
Wikipedia, MLB, Salon: Willie Mays, YouTube - 1954 World Series Game 1: Indians vs Giants, Game 2, Game 3, Game 4

Frankie Frisch

Wikipedia - "Francis 'Frankie' Frisch (September 9, 1898 – March 12, 1973), nicknamed the 'Fordham Flash' or 'The Old Flash', was a German American Major League Baseball player of the early twentieth century. Frisch was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. Born in the Bronx, New York City, he attended Fordham Preparatory School, graduating in 1916."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, Frankie Frisch

Tim Peeler - "When the '49 Series Went Crosstown"

Dodgers vs. Yanks,
Cooke Mull knew he had to be there.

First to convince his buddy, George Poover,
To freight him on his furniture delivery to Philly;
From there a night train to NYC.

With Poovey thus ensnared,
They proceeded from quiet Catawba County,
First stop, the liquor store,
Second somewhere in Philly
To ditch the truck - then make for the city.

Huckleberries that they were,
They bee-lined for the Empire,
Becoming separated in the upper twenty -
And Poovey after an hour of wandering,
Located Cooke in a bar,
Tumultuous, in story-telling high gear,
Being fed and given drinks
To keep the comedy rolling.

In the Bronx they managed seats,
But Ebbet's was SRO,
And the boys were packed in the back
Of a horrible throng near the roof.

But Poovey, who was a man of action,
Reached the limit of his affability,
And along with an exaggerated
Scratch of his privates,
He moaned like Wolfe's Gant,
A most heartrending redneck truck driver moan,
Calling aloud to the very gods of baseball,
"These crabs are about to drive
Me completely nuts!"

And as Cooke always told it,
The crowd around then
Parted like the Red Sea,
And they went forward
To a righteous view
Of the remainder of the game.



Touching All the Bases

Vin Scully

Wikipedia - "Vincent Edward Scully (born November 29, 1927) is an American sportscaster, known primarily as the play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team on Prime Ticket, KCAL-TV and KABC radio. His 62 seasons with the Dodgers (1950–present) is the longest of any broadcaster with a single club in professional sports history, and he is second by a year to only Tommy Lasorda in terms of length of years with the Dodgers organization in any capacity."
Wikipedia, GQ: Vin Scully Remembers His Greatest Calls, NYT: Sixty Years in Dodgers’ Booth, and Scully Is Still in Awe, ESPN: 'Love of people' brings Vin Scully back

Mickey Mantle: In His Own Words

"The legendary Mickey Mantle tells his own story 'in his own words' in an excerpt from this critically acclaimed national television special."
YouTube - Mickey Mantle: In His Own Words

Mark Harris

Wikipedia - "Mark Harris (November 19, 1922 – May 30, 2007) was an American novelist, literary biographer, and educator. ... Harris was best known for a quartet of novels about baseball players: The Southpaw (1953), Bang the Drum Slowly (1956), A Ticket for a Seamstitch (1957), and It Looked Like For Ever (1979). Written in the vernacular, the books are the account of Henry 'Author' Wiggen, a pitcher for the fictional New York Mammoths."
Wikipedia, amazon, amazon - Henry Wiggens Books, amazon - The Diamond: Baseball Writings of Mark Harris, Mark Harris remains the greatest novelist in the history of baseball., Diamonds In The Rough – Mark Harris

Bill Lattanzi - "Bob Shepard"

Transmigratory birds -
Orioles, Jays, Cards -
In town one day, gone the next.
Our cities connect by rail by bus by train
By plane, by wire and less.
We move.
Born in the burbs, 90 miles from your
Calm, Bob Shepard:
"Now batting. The Centerfielder. Mickey Mantle."
And you were old then. Doing your crosswords,
Looking up at just the right moment, never
Missing a line. Your P.A. voice sitting
kindly between the squawk of the Scooter and
the Ol' Redhead, wised up, seen it all.

We migrate and grow by rail and plane and
PF Flyer - running faster, jumping higher -
Now we're minutes from Fenway, and
Sox fans, too. Proof that peace is possible;
It's all a game. And with my sons
We sit, ghost of my Dad and we and them and watch
Rootless and rooted, rooting,
And listen for you, Bob Shepard,
87 I think you are, still there,
In between clever McCarver and professional Buck.
Look up, Bob. Look up.
"Number 2. The shortstop. Derek Jeter. Jeter."
The game goes on.

Leasing News

Norm Cash

Wikipedia - "Norman Dalton Cash (November 10, 1934 - October 11, 1986) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers. An outstanding power hitter, his 377 career home runs were the fourth most by an American League left-handed hitter when he retired, behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig; his 373 home runs with the Tigers rank second in franchise history behind his teammate Al Kaline (399). He also led the AL in assists three times and fielding percentage twice; he ranked among the all-time leaders in assists (4th, 1317) and double plays (10th, 1347) upon his retirement, and was fifth in AL history in games at first base (1943). He was known to fans and teammates during his playing days as 'Stormin' Norman"."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference, SABR: Norm Cash, The Hardball Times: .361 in ‘61, The Baseball Page, Hot Stove Cold Case: The Curse of Norm Cash

The Ultimate Baseball Book

"THE ULTIMATE BASEBALL BOOK has more than lived up to its name. Spanning the complete history of the sport from the fledgling leagues in the late 1870s to the powerhouses of the 1990s and revealing in the process what a remarkable effect baseball has had on our collective experience, this is THE book for any and all baseball fans, certain to grace coffee and bedside tables alike. Designed with that wonderful nostalgia that the sport itself so often evokes, THE ULTIMATE BASEBALL BOOK combines timeless images with a sweeping narrative history as well as essays on various idols and icons by such heavy hitters as Red Smith, Wilfrid Sheed, Roy Blount, Jr., Tom Wicker, and Geoge Will. This new edition covers baseball through the nineties, the decade when home run records fell and the sport reclaimed its hold on America, and celebrates the national game in ultimate style."
amazon, Google

Stephen Cormany - "Jerme Herman's Higher Education"

In the 1937 All-Star Game
Earl Averill bounced a
Snake blown drive off Dizzy Dean's toe.
Ol'Diz was never the same, and
This is why:
He already knew that
The toe bone is connected to the head bone.
What he was still too dumb to know is:
The sky has a limit.
After this discovery, it was all down hill.
He was a plowhorse gone to seed,
A crackerjack joke in a war museum.
Soon he learned that you could occupy
Two space
At the same time:
Your feet could be summering back in Texas
Flapping like two jackrabbit ears,
While your right arm hung over an enormous butte
On Chicago's North Side,
And your fingers trembled in the cold wind.
He went on on though, a true fisherman, hugging
The shore of Lake Michigan, casting for catfish
In the Texarkana.


Baseball I Gave You All the Best Years Of My Life

Knuckleball

Hoyt Wilhelm
Wikipedia - "A knuckleball (or knuckler for short) is a baseball pitch with an erratic, unpredictable motion. The pitch is thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. This causes vortices over the stitched seams of the baseball during its trajectory, which in turn can cause the pitch to change direction—and even corkscrew—in mid-flight. This makes the pitch difficult for batters to hit, but also difficult for pitchers to control. The challenge also extends to the catcher, who must at least attempt to catch the pitch, and the umpire, who must determine whether the pitch was a strike or ball."
Wikipedia, Hoyt Wilhelm’s Masterpiece, Bleacher Report: The Best Knuckleballers of All Time, Forbes: The Inflation Knuckleball, Baseball Reference: Knuckleballers, New Yorker: Project Knuckleball, Deadspin: How To Throw A Knuckleball, Starring Jim Bouton (Video)

Tom Goldstein - "The All-Ailment Team"

C Fred Payne

1B Willie Aikens
2B Joe Strain
SS Eddie Sicking
3B Stan Hack
OF George Burns
OF Johnny Groth
OF Terry Puhl

RHP Vic Raschi
Bump Hadley
Dick Ricketts

LHP Vida Blue
Tommy Byrne

BENCH George Cutshaw
Steve Hertz
Jerry Lumpe
Jerry Mumphrey
Franklin Stubbs

UMP Hank Soar

MGR Doc Edwards


Elysian Fields Quarterly

1974 World Series

Catfish Hunter
Wikipedia - "The 1974 World Series matched the two-time defending champion Oakland Athletics against the Los Angeles Dodgers with the A’s winning the Series in five games. Rollie Fingers figured in all four Oakland victories, posting a win and three saves, and was honored as the Series MVP. Oakland became the first team to win three consecutive Series since the New York Yankees won five in a row between 1949 and 1953; the win secured the A's status as one of the truly dominant teams of the 1970s."
Wikipedia, YouTube - 1974 World Series Part 1, Part 2

Daniel Petry

Wikipedia - "Daniel Joseph Petry (born November 13, 1958, in Palo Alto, California) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers (1979–87 and 1990–91), California Angels (1988–89), Atlanta Braves (1991) and Boston Red Sox (1991). He helped the Tigers win the 1984 World Series and the 1987 American League Eastern Division and the Braves win the 1991 National League Pennant. He was elected to the American League All-Star team in 1985."
Wikipedia, Baseball Reference

Negro League Caps

Negro League, 1920 Detroit Stars
"Imagine modern-day baseball without the likes of the Birmingham Black Barons, Willie Mays, or the Kansas City Monarchs, Jackie Robinson, or the Indianopolis Clowns, Hank Aaron."
Dugout Memories, Negro League Caps, Mickey's Place

Dudley Laufman - "Railroads and Baseball"

That time there in Warner, New Hampshire,
game between Bradford and Warner,
someone clouted a drive across the railroad tracks
just in front of the afternoon run
of the Concord to Claremont commuter.
Ump made it a ground rule double.

I think I told you this one,
Arlington - Waltham.
Spy Ponder hits one over the tracks
in front of the 6:15 to Lexington,
Watch City outfielder scoots through the underpass,
comes back waving the ball,
wants a ground rule double,
ump says home run.
Yeah, I told you that one.

But get this.
I don't know if this is true or not,
but it makes a good story.
The Red Sox are enroute Boston-Providence
for an exhibition game in Pawtucket.
Train passes through Sharon or
some little town like that.
Train whistles along the edge of the ball field,
sandlot game, mix of grubby uniforms,
and someone lines one towards the train.
Ted Williams is standing out on the back platform,
reaches out, snags the ball, and keeps it.
Train rumbles on to Pawtucket,
Williams clutching their only ball.

Next day (the Sox stay over),
train headed back to Beantown.
The boys are out on the field
(they found another ball).
The Kid is out on the platform again,
and he throws the ball back,
autographed by all the Bosox.


Spitball

The Dickson Baseball Dictionary

"In 1989, the man now described as the Webster of Baseball published what he thought was a definitive work: The Dickson Baseball Dictionary. Hailed on publication as 'a staggering piece of scholarship' (Wall Street Journal) and 'absorbing and enlightening reading' (Sports Illustrated), the dictionary won loyal admirers among baseball writers, players, managers, announcers, and fans of the game. Over the last 20 years, with the help of over 350 baseball and lexical experts, Dickson has completely revised, expanded, and improved his masterpiece – it is now the most important work on the language of baseball available in print and an invaluable guide to the lexicon of the game."
Baseball Dictionary, amazon, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary: Third Edition by Paul Dickson, NYT: A Dictionary Defines Inside Baseball, Wikipedia: Glossary of baseball, npr: 'Dickson's Baseball Dictionary' A Labor Of Love (Video)

Forbes Field

Wikipedia - "The stadium was made of concrete and steel (one of the first of its kind) in order to increase its lifespan. The Pirates opened Forbes Field on June 30, 1909 against Chicago Cubs, and would play the final game also against the Cubs on June 28, 1970. The field itself featured a large playing surface, with the batting cage placed in the deepest part of center field during games. Seating was altered multiple times throughout the stadium's life; at times fans were permitted to sit on the grass in the outfield during overflow crowds."
Wikipedia, Ballparks of Baseball (Video), Ballparks, The Baseball Collector: Forbes Field snagging analysis, Google, YouTube - The Greatest Homerun Ever: Bill Mazeroski 1960 World Series

Robert L. Harrison - "1927 Yankees"

Gather 'round you fans of baseball
you lovers of season past,
let me take you back to the greatest team
that ever played on grass.

Guided by Miller Huggins
known as "murderer's row,"
never was such a string of pearls
so feared this side of Hell.

Greedy was this awesome bunch
with Ruth and Gehrig leading the punch,
and Hoyt and Moore on the mound
shooting all the batters down.

Gasping crowds assemble
like sinners in a tent,
watching all the other teams
trying to repent.

God blessed those boys of summer
those pin-striped renegades,
with a winning passion
while others saw only the haze.

Gathering in the rosebuds
by playing excellent ball,
called the "five o'clock lightning"
taking the pennant in the fall.

Gone were any pretenders to the throne
no on stood wherever these Yankees roamed,
twenty-five men made up this team
and all had a year better than their dreams.


Baseball Almanac