When he signed me out of high school,
Charlie said every player needed a nickname,
and I went along with his choice of Catfish
But I didn’t go along years later
when he violated my contract,
and I won free agency in arbitration
We had always dreamed about
what free agency would be like,
but I know the size of the offers
stunned me, happily so,
and I retired after that contract was up
as I had always planned to do
Later, I faced the toughest opponent I ever faced,
ALS,
and he was too much for me.
THE POETRY OF THE GAME