Balls and Anger Management
One of the more quietly influential professors I studied under? He had a series of novels set loosely, or tightly, around baseball. I never read any of them as it was a sport in which I had no interest at the time, being more concerned with the literary scene and the affairs of the human heart.
I read few of his academic series, but never touched the earlier, almost historical in nature, baseball stories. One or more of his novels had been turned into a movie, I think, and that was the retirement money. Plus he just couldn’t stop teaching. Or writing. I learned about process, more from his works than any other, although, the clues were always there.
In memorial, he is most remembered for baseball stories, and in part, he to chose settle in the Phoenix-area (ASU, Tempe, AZ) because of the spring training.
Balls and Anger Management
Idly watching the great Texas series, Houston Astros against the Texas Rangers? Adolis García hit a game-changing ball, grand slam, I think, isn’t that what it’s called? In his next at-bat, the pitcher hit Adolis with a fastball. Looked like it hurt, and looked like the batter was the target, not the strike zone. It was a bench-clearing event, and ruled intentional, by all the umpires. Even the staid and relatively calm then-Houston manger Dusty Baker got tossed out of the game for arguing with the ump.
“Tackle baseball!”
At the very least, full contact?
astrofish.net/books
Suddenly the game got more interesting. Poor Rangers lost as the bench clearing and ejections fired up the Astros and knocked the wind out of the Rangers. However?
It was a series of seven games, total. I would have thought that the Houston Astros would be heavily favored to win, and probably in just a few games, not the whole series.
The Rangers lost #5, with fastball, then handily won #6 with Garcia delivering a grand slam at the top of the ninth inning. #7 was complete Houston embarrassment, as Garcia hit two home runs and drove in five more runs.
The odd gods of baseball are not to be trifled with.
Balls and Anger Management
I don’t know what he did. I don’t know how he channeled that anger. I’m not sure he was mad, but I would be — I was still mad for him in the last two games. I, personally, doubt the fastball was on purpose as that pitcher could be a little wild, but the ruling on the field was “intentional,” and this arbiters were there. I was just watching on the big screen, with commentary, playback, and all the excitement of full-contact baseball.
The appeal got the pitcher a two-game suspension, at the start of the next season. That doesn’t really sting.
Balls and Anger Management
The Rangers were an underdog, of sorts. I always root for them. The underdogs. The left out, marginalized, forgotten, often invisible, and passed over people.
The World Series will be Arizona Diamondbacks, another underdog success story and those Texas Rangers, who I watched lose a number of times in their great stadium. Really is a nice ballpark.
I don’t know who to root for but I want to get the scoop on that anger routine that helped the Rangers win their pennant. Well-deserved.
astrofish.net/books
I think I’m still pissed off at that pitcher.
Up next: Tackle Baseball.
