Table of Contents
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction Emily Ruth Rutter xv
Hit This 3
Shortstop 4
Girl in a Ball Park with Her Back to the Stands 5
Roberto 6
Whitey Ford 8
Third Base 9
The Batting Order 10
The Night Before September 29, 1954 11
May 28, 1957 12
Howard University, October 1969 13
Ornette 14
Kind of Blue 15
The Scout 16
Manager Descending Down the Batting Order 17
The Rundown 18
Picasso 19
Hamiltonian Artists 20
The World Series 21
Don Larsen for a Day 22
In a Sentimental Mood 23
The Called Third Strike 24
The Unexpected 25
When Your Wife Has Tommy John Surgery 26
The Designated Hitter 27
Free Agent 28
Domestic Violence 29
In Between Innings 30
For the Love of the Game 31
Pitching Is No Way to Treat a Muse 32
The No-Hitter 33
The Blown Save 34
Mudcat 35
The Negro League 36
The Third Base Coach 37
Lost in the Sun 39
Stolen Secrets from the Ground Crew 40
The Cardboard Season of2020 41
True Confessions of a Baseball 42
The Bean Ball 43
Conversation with My Body 44
A Rookie During the Season of Coronavirus 46
After the Swinging Sonnet Is Sung 47
Tommy John Knocks on the Bedroom Door 48
Baseball's Trinity 50
The Closer 51
Just Let Us Play 52
Extra Innings 53
When the Games Return 54
About the Author 55