I was a fan of the game
and, of course, a fan of the New York teams
But that didn’t mean
I checked my principles at the gate:
when I was in Congress
I proposed a bill to tax teams
ninety percent of the sale price
when they sold players to another team
(the bill didn’t pass)
When I was Mayor
I appointed a Committee on Baseball
to investigate employment discrimination
by the New York teams
The Committee’s report was issued
a week after Jackie Robinson’s signing;
Branch Rickey would no doubt deny
political pressure and the impending report
affected his decision in any way,
because that wouldn’t fit the narrative
THE POETRY OF THE GAME