Casey at the Bat

The first baseball season of the new millennium is*
underway, and the hometown Rangers standing isBut Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy
.500 -- 10 won, 10 lost - an early season recordBlake;
worthy of note if not yet congratulatory.And the former was a lulu and the latter was a
Baseball has been dubbed the "intellectual sport." Itcake.
requires considerable knowledge and appreciationSo upon that stricken multitude, grim melancholy
of the finer points of athletic endeavor -- as thissat
old sportswriter discovered on his first assignmentFor there seemed little chance of Casey getting
60 years ago today.to the bat.
Some reference to statistics is essential - hence*
my opening remark. To fully savor the dramaticBut Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of
confrontation between pitcher and batter, forall;
example, it is well to know if the former'sAnd Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off
earned-run average is 1.6 (good) or 6.1 (bad). Also,the ball.
if the latter's batting average is .198 (dismal) orWhen the dust had lifted, and men saw what had
.350 (stellar). How these figures are computed is aoccurred,
trade secret. Just enjoy.There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn
First off, it must be remembered that the pointa-hugging third.
of contact between a round ball and a round bat*
is just one-fourth square inch. Nothing in the gameFrom five thousand throats and more there rose
is absolutely predictable.a lusty yell.
Baseball does not have a time limit. There is noIt rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell.
pressure to beat a clock, just the opposing teamIt knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon
and one's own shortcomings.the flat;
The game is simultaneously a team sport and aFor Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the
test of individual performance. Nine players on thebat.
field must mesh well with one another. Yet, each*
is isolated in his own piece of geography and mustThere was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped
accomplish his mission alone. The shifting panoplyto his place.
of team play and individual performanceThere was pride in Casey's bearing, a smile on
stimulates a full range of passions.Casey's face;
Finally there is the pace. Baseball is to be enjoyedAnd when, responding to the cheers, he lightly
at leisure - with time between plays to shuck adoffed his hat
few peanuts and draw deep of a sudsy brew.No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey
It soothes the soul alternately with pumpingat the bat.
adrenaline - preferably from a seat behind the*
home-team dugout. This enables a faithful fan toTen thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his
share the disgust or elation of returning athleteshands with dirt.
whose expressions and spontaneous wordsFive thousand tongues applauded when he wiped
elucidate one and all.it on his shirt.
Baseball PoetryThen while the writhing pitched ground the ball into
Having established an emotional relationship with ahis hip,
baseball team, we cherish it as a groom his bride.Defiance gleamed in Casey's eyes, a sneer curled
We exult when they win, mope if they lose. TheCasey's lip.
range of emotions has been immortalized by a*
poem titled "Casey At The Bat, A Ballad of theNow the leather-covered sphere came hurtling
Republic."through the air,
This heart rending doggerel was composed byAnd Casey stood a-watching it in haughty
Ernest Lawrence Thayer for the June 3, 1888grandeur there.
edition of the San Francisco Examiner.Close by the sturdy batsman, the ball unheeded
Thayer was heir to the American Woolen Mills andsped -
studied philosophy at Harvard University. His major"That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the
was an appropriate subject for getting a handleumpire said.
on the game of baseball.*
While an undergraduate, Thayer was editor of theFrom benches, black with people, there went up a
Harvard Lampoon. Business manager of themuffled roar
humor magazine was young William RandolphLike the beating of storm waves on a stern and
Hearst.distant shore.
Upon being graduated, Hearst's father allowed him"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the
to take over the Examiner. The young publisherstand.
promptly hired Thayer to write a humor columnIt's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey
at $5 each. The pay for columning has notraised his hand.
changed all that much today.*
Thayer's tragic tale of Casey was dashed off inWith a smile of Christian charity, great Casey's
an hour to fill a hole on page 4. The authorvisage shone.
thought so little of it he insisted it be creditedHe stilled the rising tumult, he bade the game go
simply to "Phin" - his college nickname.on.
The poem started its climb to classic literatureHe signaled to the pitcher, and once more the
two months later. DeWolf Hopper, the mostspheroid flew;
popular comedian of his day, inserted "Casey" intoBut Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said,
a comic opera he was performing at Wallack's"Strike two."
Theater on Broadway.*
The management had invited baseball players"Fraud! cried maddened thousands, an echo
from the New York Giants and the Chicago Whiteanswered, "Fraud!"
Stockings to appear as front-row guests.But one scornful look from Casey, and the
Searching for material to amuse his specialaudience was awed.
audience, Hopper was given a clipping of "CaseyThey saw his face grow stern and cold, saw his
At The Bat" by a friend.muscles strain,
Hopper recited the poem in just six minutes, butAnd they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball
it stole the show. He made it a regular part of hisgo by again.
act and gave it an estimated 10,000 times during*
his career. Here it is in its entirety:The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are
Casey At The Batclenched in hate.
The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nineHe pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the
that day.plate;
The score stood four to two with but one inningAnd now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he
to play;lets it go;
And then when Cooney died at first, and BarrowsAnd now the air is shattered by the force of
did the same,Casey's blow.
A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.*
*Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is
A straggling few got up to go, in deep despair.shinning bright.
The restThe band is playing somewhere, and somewhere
Clung to hope which springs eternal in the humanhearts are light.
breast.Somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere
They thought if only Casey could but get achildren shout;
whack at that,But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has
We'd put up even money now, with Casey at thestruck out.
bat.