Happy baseball opening day! One of the most famous works of art about the sport is the poem, “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” by New York newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams. The 1910 poem is about the Chicago Cubs double-play combination of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance. In the poem, a New York Giants fan calls “Tinker to Evers to Chance” as “the saddest of possible words,” bemoaning the players’ ability to turn a hit into a double play. Richard Brundage narrates the poem in this video:
The line “Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble” always puzzled me. But “gonfalon” refers to a flag or pennant, so the line is a reference to the Cubs capturing the National League pennant, which they won four times (1906-1908, 1910) while going on to win two World Series wins (1907-1908). The poem first appeared in the New York Evening Mail in July 1910, and the Cubs would go on to win the pennant that Fall. But it was the last for the dynasty, as the poem’s author Franklin Pierce Adams got to see his New York Giants take the gonfalon in 1911 and the following two years (but not the World Series).
The poem’s biggest effect may have been the fame it heaped upon Tinker, Evers, and Chance. Fans have noted that the three men made double plays at around the average of the league and their batting averages were less than spectacular. So many believe the New York poem was the reason all three Cubs were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. Meanwhile, the other Cubs infielder who was left out of the poem, Harry Steinfeldt, never made it to the Hall of Fame.
So whether your favorite player this day is a big-name star like the poetic double-play trio or a lesser-known player like Steinfeldt, enjoy your opening day, where every team is still in the race for the gonfalon.
“This is your last chance, and I’m not talking about one of those Major League Baseball Steve Howe kind of last chances.” — Leslie Nielsen in Naked Gun 33 1⁄3 (1994)
Baseball pitcher Steve Howe was born more than fifty years ago this month on March 10, 1958 in Pontiac, Michigan. He died several years ago at the age of 48 by the side of the road when his pickup drifted off the road and overturned at 5:55 a.m. on April 28, 2006.
Howe had been one of the best pitchers in baseball, with highs such as winning Rookie of the Year in 1980 and saving the clinching game of the 1981 World Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers. But it was another kind of “high” that haunted his life, as drug addiction led him to be suspended from baseball multiple times. He was suspended for substance abuse problems seven times, including a “permanent” ban in 1992, although the ban was eventually overturned on appeal.
Howe dealt with addiction from a young age, and his cocaine use was his downfall in baseball. Many questioned how many chances one should get in baseball, leading to the above joke in Naked Gun 33 1/3.
Howe played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1980–1983, 1985), the Minnesota Twins (1985), the Texas Rangers (1987), and ended his Major League Career with the New York Yankees (1991–1996). In the clip below, you can see a young Howe being introduced before the second game of the 1981 World Series at Yankee Stadium with the other Dodgers. It’s a moment of great success, even though the smiling Howe could not know that within a week he would win the fourth game of the series and be on the mound during the sixth game when his team became World Champions. (video starts at 5:05 where Howe is introduced.)
Howe also could not have known at that moment how drugs and suspensions would destroy his career. Despite his demons, though, he still had talent late in his career, serving as the Yankees’ closer in 1994 and earning 15 saves. But that was his last good year, and by June 1996 the Yankees released him. Two days after his release, authorities arrested him at the airport for having a loaded gun in his suitcase.
He tried for a comeback in 1997 playing with the Sioux Falls team of the independent Northern League. The comeback failed, and he ended up in Arizona owning an energy drink company. When he died, he was driving from Arizona to California to visit family.
I cannot help thinking of his last year playing baseball for the Sioux Falls Canaries. He must have known that his career was over and that his drug use had contributed to that. It already had been a few years since he was a Naked Gun joke. What kind of hope did he hold when he took the field in South Dakota night after night following his days wearing a Yankee uniform in New York City just a year earlier? During the next nine years before he was killed in a car crash did he look back on his time in Sioux Falls with regret or happy that he still tried?
As noted above, some argued that baseball gave him too many chances as it was. He had talent and opportunities that few get, so I understand the argument. But I wonder if we should impose limits on opportunities when life’s chances and opportunities always run out anyway. Life is cruel enough, so maybe we should not make it worse.
Howe played baseball for our amusement too, but by the time he had burned up his talent, fans and teams no longer needed him and he was left on his own. And, as U2 notes, “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own.” Sometimes you can’t make it with a little help either.
Do athletes get too many chances to make mistakes? Leave your two cents in the comments.
With Spring Training baseball games having started this weekend, one’s mind naturally turns to the National Pastime and childhood memories. My young baseball memories center around the Cincinnati Reds, and during that time I had several encounters with Pete Rose. In addition to watching him play baseball on television and in person, there were a few times where my friend David and I went to a spot in the Riverfront Stadium parking lot where we knew Rose would emerge after the game. He would always stop and sign autographs for us two kids, exchanging a few brief words about the game with us. On another occasion, I got his autograph when he and some other members of the Big Red Machine played a charity basketball game at a local college. Remembering how much fun we had getting those autographs makes me see some tragedy in the fact that Rose now makes much of his money signing autographs, including selling online memorabilia such as baseballs that say in Rose’s handwriting, “I’m Sorry I Bet on Baseball.”
I provide that background to show my bias in enjoying 4192: The Crowning of the Hit King (2010), which covers Rose’s baseball playing career with no mention of his banishment from baseball. I imagine the filmmakers wondering, “How can we make a film about Pete Rose without discussing his gambling?” And then one came up with the idea: “We’ll call it ‘4192’ and just cover his entire career up to his hit that broke Ty Cobb’s all-time hit record. We won’t even miss out on that much by not covering up to his final hit of 4256.” So, the movie avoids Rose’s gambling demons, with the only time betting being discussed is when Rose and teammate Tony Perez tell a story about betting on which one would be the first to use the bathroom in the new Riverfront stadium (Rose won).
So, the film is not a complete portrayal of Pete Rose or his career, and I concede that you cannot fully understand the man unless you see how his drive and determination drove him to dark corners as well as to great heights. But if you love baseball, you still might enjoy the documentary love letter to the sport and Peter Edward Rose’s playing career. No matter what you think of Rose, he always loved baseball and his enjoyment of the game comes through as he tells stories about his playing days, including how he came to be called “Charlie Hustle.” The tales are often funny and sprinkled with baseball stories about many greats, including Mickey Mantle, Enos Slaughter, and other players who played in Rose’s era.
The movie includes interviews with other players, but everything is one-sided by using players who are friends with Rose, such as Mike Schmidt and my favorite Red, Tony Perez. There are no interviews with players like Johnny Bench who are not close to Rose. And when the film discusses Rose’s confrontations with other players on the field, there are no voices from those other players. There are occasional unintended insights into the man, such as his story about his father refusing to stop to eat if the child Rose’s team lost. But for the most part, we only get Rose’s side of stories like his collision with Ray Fosse at home plate in the 1970 All-Star Game.
Perhaps because I have read several books that lay out the other side of the story, I was not unhappy to just relive the great moments on the field with some funny stories from Pete Rose and others along the way. If you are looking for a walk down memory lane in between the foul lines — and you do not care that this one movie does not delve deep into the troubled soul of the man — you might enjoy this one. Then you should just grab a hot dog and a beer and watch 4192: The Crowning of the Hit King, which is available now for instant streaming on Netflix and on Hulu.
Do you think it is appropriate to make a movie about Pete Rose and not address his gambling? Leave your two cents in the comments.
With the new baseball season just getting under way, it is time to reflect on some of the great baseball movies with a quote quiz. Match the quote from a baseball movie with the correct movie. Some are easy, some are more difficult. Answers will be posted in the comments.
The Quotes: (1.) “This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again.”
(2.) “You know what we get to do today, Brooks? We get to play baseball.”
(3.) “People all say that I’ve had a bad break.”
(4.) “There’s no crying in baseball.”
(5.) “You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball.”
(6.) “Mild thing, you make my butt sting!”
(7.) “You love the Red Sox, but have they ever loved you back?”
(8.) “You have never been this close to greatness in your short life son. And you love it.”
(9.) “I am hung over, my knees are killing me and if you’re gonna pull this shit at least you can say you’re from the Yankees.”
(10.) “I’ve been brushing up on my Spanish of late, and I think he is saying something about, you know, his being Catholic, and it’s [wearing a cup] a sin.”
(11.) “Say it ain’t so, Joe. Say it ain’t so. ”
(12.) “God, I just love baseball.”
Match Each Quote With Correct Movie from This List: (a) Bull Durham (1988); (b) A League of Their Own (1992); (c) Bad News Bears (1976); (d) Cobb (1994); (e) The Natural (1984); (f) Pride of the Yankees (1942); (g) Fever Pitch (2005); (h) Major League (1989); (i.) Field of Dreams (1989); (j) Eight Men Out (1988); (k) Major League II (1994); (l) The Rookie (2002).
Ratings: 0-2 correct: Little League; 3-4 correct: Single A; 5-6 correct: Triple A; 7-8 correct: Major League Rookie; 9-10 correct: Major League Starter; 11 correct: Major League All-Star; 12 correct: World Series Champ.
Answers will be posted in the comments. What is your favorite baseball movie quote?
Happy baseball opening day! One of the most famous works of art about the sport is the poem, “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” by New York newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams. The 1910 poem is about the Chicago Cubs double-play combination of Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers, and Frank Chance. In the poem, a New York Giants fan calls “Tinker to Evers to Chance” as “the saddest of possible words,” bemoaning the players’ ability to turn a hit into a double play. Richard Brundage narrates the poem in this video:
