This is true, whether you are referring to a team
Or a single player – – – or even a manager. Most
Teams year after year are mediocre or worse.
They may finish less than .500 or possibly
A few games over, but the story that they wrote
Game by series as the season progressed
Did little to assure fans that all will be all right.
Such a season leaves a bitter taste.
But in every ruined stew that such teams
Make from ingredients combined as the season
Moves from game to series, the fans are left
Excited (if that’s possible) by the secret ingredient
Which, if stirred in properly and seasoned tenderly,
Will give the fans a taste of Hope, a reason to
Look forward to next season’s repast. It is called
Potential. And it is a potent addition that carries
The ordinary to the extraordinary. Within this
Masterpiece of a home-grown cuisine is the future
Star, a hitter who will one day rise above .300, a
Pitcher who will nourish the fan-base with his
Untouchability, a runner who will steal each tensely
Needed base, a fielder who will combine speed
And grace and a mighty arm. Such players may
Not yet have been savory to the epicurean fan
But within them there is the possibility of greatness
— The five-tool player, the pitcher for the Ages —
And that meal, when well-prepared and ready to
Be served on a proverbial silver platter,
Will make the greatest gourmand smack
His lips and beg for more.
THE POETRY OF THE GAME