Happy Birthday, Walt Whitman
Posted by League Commissioner on May 31, 2012 0 Comments
Walt "Wally" Whitman, the erstwhile center fielder for the American Canons and pitcher for the Cosmic All-Stars, turns 193 today.
While very much the crafty veteran, the joy and exuberance with which Whitman takes the field while platooning with R.W. Emerson is evidenced in every bare-footed step he takes in the outfield grass.
In celebration of his birthday, we're presenting an excerpt from his little-known poetic homage to his American Canons teammate and captain, Ahab.
from "O Captain! My Captain!"
O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful season's done;
The team has weatherd every series, the penant we sought is won;
The trophy's near, the fans I hear, the scoreboard us exulting,
While follow eyes the final strike, the bleachers are rejoicing:
But O heart! heart! heart!
I think my eyes do fail,
Where on the mound my Captain stands,
He's pitching to a whale.
O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the cheers;
Rise up–for you the crowd goes mad–for you they chug their beers;
For you they clap and chant your name–for you bleachers are a-crowding;
For you they call, the waving mass, their eager faces turning;
Here Captain! dear pitcher!
With an arm as if a wish
It is some dream that on the mound,
Youre throwing to a fish.
My Captain does not answer, he thinks only of the hitter;
My pitcher does not hear my voice, he sends forth his final splitter;
The season's ended safe and sound, the final road-trip done;
The last game, then on a plane, come in with penant won;
Exult, O fans, and blare, PA system!
But I, surprised and sick,
Watch my Captain dragged from the field,
Attached to Moby-Dick.
Who's the Novel-T ROY?
Posted by League Commissioner on May 16, 2011 3 Comments
True, it's only May, but it's never too early to start thinking about (and collecting ballot nominations for) the Novel-T ROY.
No, this isn't another Roy Campanella post. And we're not referring to Roy Hobbs from The Natural--I'm sure we'll get to that soon enough.
We're talking about the Novel-T Rookie of the Year.
This year it's a race between Blake, Eggers, Emerson, and Hurston. Vote for your favorite here.
The Novel-T Rookie of the Year will win a great big prize of some sort, which will likely be shared among the fans. Either one of those tremendous bags of popcorn that you see sometimes vendors dig into at minor league ballparks, or something else.
If you have ideas on what the prize should be, let's hear 'em!
