What I like about baseball fights is that they are non-violent.
Sure, there is the exception, the combative combo of Rose
And Harrelson, but even those fights go nowhere; no,
Mostly when the agitation quickly erupts, it simmers but
Never explodes to the boiling point. These team-trained athletes
Charge from the dugouts and the bullpens ready to do battle
To save the honor of the uniform, but by the time the hordes
Find themselves within striking distance, they have run the
Course of their insanity and end up standing there in their
Assorted positions, growling, sneering like dogs around a
Meaty bone . . . but no punches even try to land on flesh.
Baseball warriors are sensibly worriers, concerned about
Injuries — sprains, contusions, tears — then their better
Sense beats them to the punch and they self-restrain.
Witnessing a baseball brawl is watching a volcano that
Belches smoke but saves the lava for another time. Umps
Wait a while and then suggest gently that it’s time to go on,
To resume the real battle between bat and ball.
It seems to me that heads of state could learn what the
Sport has to teach: grunt and grumble, but while you have
The sides in proximity, then follow baseball’s lead; a playing field
Is much less devastating than a field of war. Find a way to
Exchange views and grievances without sending your young
To be maimed or murdered by a nation you’ll be friends
With two decades from the unsatisfying end of war.
The final score in runs is so much better and more civilized
Than the final score in the form of body counts.
—————– by Herbert Munshine