Kobe Bryant, Roy Halladay, and the Helsinki Bus Station Theory.

[This piece was originally published on The Umpires in May. It has been re-posted here with permission, and a couple of footnotes.]

“To field a groundball must be considered a generous act and an act of comprehension. One moves not against the ball but with it. Bad fielders stab at the ball like an enemy. This is antagonism. The true fielder lets the path of the ball become his own path, thereby comprehending the ball and dissipating the self, which is the source of all suffering and poor defense.” – Aparicio Rodriguez, The Art of Fielding

Defensive wunderkind Henry Skrimshander, the protagonist in Chad Harbach’s wonderful novel, The Art of Fielding, lives by the words of his idol, fictional St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Aparicio Rodriguez (based, it would seem, on real-life Cardinals shortstop Luis Aparicio). “Skrimmer,” as he was called, consumed Rodriguez’s book (of the same title) as if it were gospel, memorizing lines and recalling them while in the field. The Art of Fielding, for Henry Skrimshander and Aparicio Rodriguez, was more than Yoda-like fielding advice, it was a philosophy.

If Aparicio Rodriguez was based on Luis Aparicio, his book, The Art of Fielding, one would think, is likely based on Ted Williams’ The Science of Hitting. In Harbach’s fictional universe, Aparicio Rodriguez was the greatest defensive shortstop in history; in other words, Aparicio Rodriguez was the Ted Williams of fielding the baseball. The difference between Aparicio Rodriguez, Ted Williams, and most other ballplayers is that Aparicio and Williams approach the game cerebrally (even if one only did so fictionally). Baseball, to them, isn’t a competition of physical tools, it is a science; an art form.  

Kobe Bryant, Roy Halladay and the Helsinki Bus Station Theory

My second piece for The Umpires is up today, be kind and give it a read.

Some Exciting News

So, I’m pleased to say that I’ve joined up with some friends – and by “friends” I mean “people I only know through the Internet” – at their blog The Umpires. I’ll be providing some original content for them from time to time, I assume on sports. It’s a great young site and you should definitely check it out. You should also follow them on Twitter.

I’ll still be writing here as well, though – probably my same old usual lefty political garbage that the few of you who actually read this are used to.

My first piece for The Umpires went live last night. It’s titled “Baseball Colonialism: is globalization ultimately bad for those who play the game?“. In it, I wonder whether or not baseball’s exploitation of young, poor Caribbean athletes is good for the game, and for those who play it. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to leave any feedback either there, here, on Twitter, Facebook, or via messenger owl, if you must.

Thanks for your support.