By Dan Zamudio

Bat boy

Steady
breeze rustles his
oversized uniform
as he kneels outside our home team
dugout

and waits
patiently for
the moment when both hands
will hold smooth pine still trembling from
a hit.

Confucius says

Only two things can last forever:

an old baseball mitt
with softened leather
and a double-header
delayed by
stormy weather.

Baseball Riddle

A ll professional
L eagues forbid its
U se.
M ade to be
I ndestructible.
N ever cracks.
U nfilled inside the
M iddle.

B aseball’s
A ttempt to save
T rees.

Dan Zamudio is a Chicago writer and lifelong Cub fan who recently forced his tired girlfriend to take three
rolls of action photos while he played catch with strangers on Wrigley Field after a long tour. Dan’s baseball poems can also be seen in the 2001 issue of SABR’s “The National Pastime”.

(originally published in Baseball Ink Vol. 1, No. 3 - December 2000)

By Raymond Mileur

St. Louis — I sat behind home plate that Sunday and watched Mark McGwire hit a monster bash well into the left-field upper deck. This was Big Mac’s second home run of the day — the 536th of his career — and it tied him with Mickey Mantle for the eighth spot on the all-time home run list. I didn’t realize it until I got home after the game. (more…)

By Mike McCann

Mike McCann, age 24, has been a baseball fan as long as he can remember. He has a goal to visit every major and minor league baseball stadium. This regularly-appearing column will follow the progress of “Bunko” and his quest.

The 2000 season was a good one for me. I was able to see 26 major and minor league baseball games in 18 different stadiums. The eight new stadiums conquered this year were: Delmarva Shorebirds (Salisbury, MD), New Haven (CT) Ravens, Texas Rangers, Capital City Bombers, Sacramento River Cats, Oakland A’s, Queens (NY) Kings and Jamestown (NY) Jammers. Quite an interesting combination, if you ask me. (more…)