Covid At the Bat
With Apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer
The outlook was brilliant for MLB that day,
COVID lurking near and only sixty games to play.
For several months, on fans, a deathlike silence sat.
There seemed little chance we’d see anyone come to bat.
Introduction and ceremonies seemed a little bland,
With nary a fan nor vendor, in the stands.
No joyous yell rumbled through the seats across the empty park.
No, score sheets lay in anxious laps, waiting to be marked.
Still, for some real baseball, each fan had an unscratched itch.
And we couldn’t wait for Fauci to throw out the first pitch.
Anticipation further grew, as Aaron Hicks slowly took his place,
Pondering mighty Max Scherzer, whom he was about to face.
As Hicks dug in the batter’s box, amid the piped-in cheers,
In living rooms across the land, the fans popped open beers.
And as the Nats’ Mad Max ground the ball into his mitt,
Hicks slowly waived his bat and prepared himself to hit.
And, then the red-stitched leather sphere came whizzing toward plate,
And, on our TV’s and devices, we all anticipated the pellet’s fate.
The pitch was quite a way outside, amply off the dish.
And Hicks thought “That ain’t my style,” and decided not to fish.
Hicks’ bat eventually did come round, cutting through the air,
Launching the horsehide on the ground, going not foul, but fair.
And with that rap, the season opened for all the fans – and me,
On a grounder that was recorded as an out from four to three.
Three batters later, with the new season’s first home run blow,
Giancarlo Stanton gave the Yankees a lead of two-to-oh.
Then Brett Gardner did some positive Scherzer pleasin’,
Finishing the very first frame with the first whiff of the season.
It continued with the Yankees, by 4-1, still winning,
Until the rain and lightning came in the top of the sixth inning.
With all the protocols it took to get the boys out on the field,
It seemed a shame this American game had to the weather yield.
Ah, but across this favored land, the sun is shining bright.
Fans are smiling, fans are shouting and everything seems right.
There are hits and runs, whiffs and walks and on-the-field fun.
Everything seems a little better, baseball season has begun.
Post Script:
Of course, on and off the field, things are not all rosy.
We’re missing some big names, like Markakis, Price and Posey.
And then there is the virus, that is still not in our past.
And, despite hope that springs eternal, we know this season may not last.
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