When the curve breaks at your head
and you get plunked with an errant fastball
When you play eight games in eight days
and go to bed with every muscle aching
worry about your arm giving out
One bad slide can break your wrist, your ankle, your leg
You wonder should you quit
go back to college
ask for a trade
Maybe next season, you will get called up
maybe you won’t
You’re getting older
Your star is dimming
Your signing bonus is long spent
How long can your wife and kid
survive on $20,000 a year?
You know it is
minor league ball
but you have big league worries.
THE POETRY OF THE GAME