3. The Perfect Game
The reason I picked this poem was because it
had a lot of rhyming and had a good topic. The
picture it had at the top really drew me to it
because it was a cool baseball picture. Then
the poem was very good to go along with the
picture which made it a good poem to pick for
my project. This poem is a good example of
one with imagery in it. This is because you can
imagine being out on the field playing under
the lights and having lots of fun.
4. I can feel the tension building, Our team's down
by three - Bases are loaded, it's in the ninth
inning, The batter stands there like a tree. His
steady eyes pierce the man on the mound,
Fierce concentration cuts all of the sound. He
plants his feet, sure of his might, his grip on the
bat, knuckles white. He takes the first strike, high
inside corner, The second pitch flew - a wicked
chin burner. He could feel the wind but never
flinched, The next curved towards his knees,
They moved not an inch. A hysterical crowd now
wants to see blood - The noise drowns his brain
Like a powerful flood. His gut says the pitcher's
fast ball will end it, And when it comes, he'll know
where to send it. His anger whipped the bat
around - A deafening crack, right to the mound.
But it was up and away, A four run homer that
saved the day!
The Batter By: Kenneth C. Hoffman
5. The Batter
I like this poem because it is very catchy and fun to read and had a lot of good
rhymes to keep a good flow to it. I chose it because of the title initially, but once
I read it I got a feeling that got me excited to read the rest of the poem. Also it
had a lot of rhymes and a good simile thrown in there to make it interesting.
Rhyming is really the main thing in the poem and without them the poem
wouldn't’t have a fluency that it has with them. A poem that rhymes is an easy
and enjoyable poem to read.
6. Gather 'round you fans of baseball you lovers of season past, let me take you back to the greatest team
that ever played on grass.
Guided by Miller Huggins known as "murderer's row," never was such a string of pearls so feared this side
of Hell.
Greedy was this awesome bunch with Ruth and Gehrig leading the punch, and Hoyt and Moore on the
mound shooting all the batters down.
Gasping crowds assemble like sinners in a tent, watching all the other teams trying to repent.
God blessed those boys of summer those pin-striped renegades, with a winning passion while others saw
only the haze.
Gathering in the rosebuds by playing excellent ball, called the "five o'clock lightning" taking the pennant in
the fall.
Gone were any pretenders to the throne no one stood wherever these Yankees roamed, twenty-five men
made up this team and all had a year better than their dreams.
1927 Yankees by Robert L. Harrison
7. 1927 Yankees
I liked the poem because it was catchy and had a good feel to it and was a
fun poem to read. I like how it talks about one of the greatest teams of all
time and that’s why I specifically chose it to put into my project. Also I chose
to use it because it had a lot of rhyming in it which I enjoy reading poems
with a lot of rhyming in them because it makes them interesting. One
specific thing about the poem that stood out to me was there were a lot of
similes and imagery. You can definitely imagine being on the field with that
team and experiencing what they went through that year.
8. T'was the greatest group of men, ever to play, On
a diamond, with a ball, every day
There was Joe, there was Johnny, and then there
was Pete, The whole team was sturdy, as two ton
concrete
Down at first there was Tony, always catching
them square, And at second was Joe, who could
run like a mare
Dave held up short, never missing a beat, And
fielding at third, no one else, but Pete
The outfield was anchored, by three all their own,
Foster, Griffey, and Geronimo, no better were
known
Individually the best, well maybe not quite, But
together they put up one hell of a fight
All who watched, those 8 play the game, Knew
something was up, they were destined for fame
And sure enough, two years back to back, The
Machine won the title, for they had the knack.
Were they truly the best group, ever to play, On a
diamond, with a ball, every day
It isn't for sure, no one can agree, For many
teams have put it on the line, in this land of the
free
But one thing I feel, as other Reds fans do, Those
8 played the best, as a team, as a crew.
The Machine by Stephen Porter
9. The Machine
I liked the poem because it was about the Reds who are my
favorite team. That’s also why I picked the poem was because
it was about arguably the best Reds team ever, and I always
like reading about the Big Red Machine. I personally just
thought it was awesome that they got their own poem written
about them, so I definitely had to use it. This poem to me
definitely has a confident tone to it. They are talking about the
guys like they are so confident in them and their abilities and
also the teams ability to be great. They are pretty much saying
they know they aren’t the best team on paper, but they have
the biggest hearts around.
10. His art is eccentricity, his aim
How not to hit the mark he seems to aim at,
His passion how to avoid the obvious,
His technique how to vary the avoidance.
The others throw to be comprehended. He
Throws to be a moment misunderstood.
Yet not too much. Not errant, arrant, wild,
But every seeming aberration willed.
Not to, yet still, still to communicate
Making the batter understand too late.
The Pitcher by Robert Francis
11. The Pitcher
I liked this poem because it was about just pitchers and I
thought that it was cool that they focused on just pitchers
because they are such a big part of the game. I also liked
the wording of the poem because it was kind of tough to
understand what they were saying at first, but by the end
you get what the poem is truly about. I chose the poem
because of its focus on pitchers and the fact that it was
just a cool poem in general. The feature of this poem I
noticed was the mood it had. The mood was very weird and
made you feel in awe of the writer because it made you
think differently about pitching and how hard the craft
really is.
12. Little Boy, in a baseball hat Stands in the field
with his ball and bat Says I am the greatest player
of them all Puts his bat on his shoulder and he
tosses up his ball
And the ball goes up and the ball comes downswings
his bat all the way around The world's so still you
can hear the sound The baseball falls to the ground
Now the little boy doesn't say a word Picks up his
ball, he is undeterred Says I am the greatest there
has ever been And he grits his teeth and he tries it
again
And the ball goes up and the ball comes downswings
his bat all the way around The world's so still you
can hear the sound The baseball falls to the ground
He makes no excuses, He shows no fears He just
closes his eyes and listens to the cheers
Little boy, he adjusts his hat Picks up his ball,
stares at his bat Says I am the greatest the game is
on the line And he gives his all one last time
And the ball goes up like the moon so bright Swings
his bat with all his might And the world's so still
as still can be and the baseball falls, and that's
strike three
Now it's supper time and his mama calls Little boy
starts home with his bat and ball Says I am the
greatest that is a fact But even I didn't know I
could pitch like that
The Greatest by Kenny Rogers
13. The Greatest
I really enjoyed this poem because it just kind of
made me smile thinking about a little boy throwing
the ball up in the air and trying to hit it. It’s so cliché
in a way because to me that’s actually what I think
about when I think about little kids trying to play.
There actually is a commercial about this exact thing
and it’s funny to read a poem about it. I chose the
poem because it sounded cool and ended up being
by far my favorite poem I read during my entire
project. This one is imagery all the way because you
can picture this in your head right away. The funny
thing to me was right after the kid “struck” out on
throwing the ball up and trying the hit it he went right
back and said that he would be the greatest pitcher
there ever was.
14. Diamondbacks are safe in
Phoenix, Where the ARIZ. warm and dry,
And the team they COL. the
Rockies, Plays it cool a mile high.
Watch the fans become disgusted, As their
Tigers swing ‘n’ MICH. And the Cubs are
only Soso— ILL.-at-ease, their batters
swish.
If the Indians are All-Stars, Then the Reds
are semiprOH. Give the Twins a
vitaMINN. The Cards could also use
some MO.
Baseball Parks by J. Patrick Lewis
15. Baseball Parks
I liked this poem because of the way they used the state
abbreviations in the poem to make it sound cool and
interesting. It was short and sweet, but was also one of
my favorite poems because of the abbreviation thing. I
chose it originally because I enjoy figuring out all the
teams home fields and which teams play there. A feature
about the poem I noticed was the use of symbols. The
abbreviations were symbols because they represented
the state, but also were a big part of the poem. This
poem was fun and interesting was definitely one of the
better poems that I read.
16. Ted Williams was my idol.
Ruthie and I were always the Boston Red Sox
for our farmyard baseball games
but I paid grudging respect
to Joe DiMaggio and the Yankees –
my brother's team.
Stories our dad told about the greats
like Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson,
provided an historical feel for the game.
More important than school lessons –
lifetime batting averages, most runs,
most hits, most stolen bases –
were committed to memory.
And
At the top of the list, records
held by the most famous of Yankees,
the Babe –
most home runs in a season,
most in a lifetime –
were sacred.
In the afternoon of August 16, 1948,
a wave of silence,
like a sharp line drive,
swept the family when Mom
came out to the yard and announced
to Dad, my brother, sister, and me,
Babe Ruth died today!
That's all she said.
As though in a trance,
stunned by the news,
she slowly went back inside.
Time was suspended
like one of his towering home runs
and tears were near as I struggled
with unsettling feelings
like striking out with the bases loaded
in the bottom of the ninth.
Babe Ruth by Larry Eickstaedt
17. Babe Ruth
I liked this poem because it was about one of the all time
legends, icons, and mysteries of the game. From his “called
shot” to his trade to the Yankees, there were a lot of strange
things about the Babe and a list of nicknames that went on for
miles. I chose this poem strictly because it was about Babe
Ruth and I have always thought of him as the main pioneer of
baseball. There were a lot of similes in this poem and they all
had something to thought about him as the main pioneer do
with the game even when they were talking about the Babe
dying. This was a long poem that was very different from the
rest of them because of the length and the usage of similes
and tie ins to baseball.
18. what I remember most is my dad behind
the rusted screen back of home plate "You
can hit this guy!" his voice not letting up
through four fast balls (two misses
swinging late, two fouls on checked
swings)
then the curve ball and the dying quail into
left-center, the winning run sliding home,
my dad all smiles, slapping backs in the
bleachers as if HIS single had won the
game
Winner by Gene Fehler
19. Winner
This was another short poem that sounded a lot like
my dad during my games. It really stuck to me
personally because of how much my dad is involved
in the game of baseball and my journey through the
years and years of playing it. I chose the poem
because the title made it sound like it would be good
and then when I had a personal connection with it, it
made it that much better. This poem was all imagery
to me because you can picture it so well in your
head, a dad giving his kid encouragement when they
are hitting and the kid succeeding makes it that
much better. This was the only poem so far I had a
connection with so far personally and that’s why it
definitely was one of my favorites.
20. Before the bayonet replaced the bat, Jack
Marsh played second base for Yale; his
spikes anchored into the August clay, his
eyes set deep against the setting sun.
The scouts all knew his numbers well, had
studied his sure hands that flew like hungry
gulls above the grass; but Uncle Sam had
scouted too,
had chosen first the team to play the
season's final game of '44, had issued him
another uniform to wear into the face of
winter moon
that shone upon a snowy plain where
players played a deadly game, where
strikes were thrown with each grenade and
high pitched echoes linger still,
beyond the burned out foreign fields and
boyhood dreams of bunts and steals,
young Jack Marsh is rounding third, and
sliding, sliding safely home.
Baseball Dreams by Charles Ghigna
21. Baseball Dreams
I liked this poem because it talks about everybody’s boyhood
dream: playing some sport professionally. Obviously every kid
doesn’t have his dream realized and make it in their particular
sport. It’s always fun though to see little kids at games just
mesmerized by the game. I chose this poem because I
definitely was one of those little kids growing up and I am still
going strong to this day in baseball. Something specific about
this poem was the use of hyperboles like “the deadly game”
and “ strikes were thrown with each grenade.” This was a fun
poem because of the memories it brought back to me playing
baseball as a kid.
22. Five Senses
Hard work is tiring and satisfying
It tastes like victory
It sounds like running
And smells like sweat
It looks like a winning season
And makes you feel like a champion
23. Just Because…
Just because I’m famous
Don’t try to talk to me
Don’t look at me
Still, come to see me
Just because I’m famous
It doesn’t mean I have a mansion
It doesn’t mean I have lots of cars
It doesn’t make me arrogant
Just because I’m famous
Still love me
I can’t have everyone like me
Just because I’m famous – It’s no big deal
24. Haiku
Baseball is a dream
the bright lights, light up the night
but it is a dream
