The Joy Era: Books & Baseball
Hi hello howdy! Welcome to the Joy Era.
Last Friday night, I went to the opening game of our local minor league baseball team with some friends– the perfect way to welcome summer! This week, I was on campus at my alma mater (Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA) whose ballpark has been named “America's most scenic ballpark.” Truly, this view is almost the platonic ideal of SUMMER.
I’m not a serious baseball fan– except that I adore the atmosphere of the ballpark. Seriously, from the major leagues, to the minors, to school games, and even l@s niet@s in t-ball. I LOVE IT. There’s just something so essentially summery about dirt and grass and wood and leather. I love soaking up the sun (while slathered with sunscreen, of course) til it settles deep into my bones. I love vibrating with the crowd’s murmuring anticipation while we’re all finding seats, chit-chatting and getting hyped, tugging at the brims of our caps and pounding fists into our leather gloves. I love salty popcorn, crispy churros, juicy hot dogs, and cold beer in sweaty cups. I love the quirky organ music and the goofy games between innings. I love doing the wave and chiming in for the cheers and just yelling as loudly as I want at whatever feels worthy of a cheer or a boo. Just give me some snacks and time outside and let me be loud.
Kendra (at The Lazy Genius) talks about seasonal “Opening Ceremonies.” Just like the opening ceremonies at the Olympics, these are the things we do that signal the beginning of a season. For me, a baseball game is an essential part of my summer opening ceremonies– along with sprucing up my front stoop for my daily front stoop lunch and the first Saturday farmers market of the season with a big bouquet of flowers (hopefully peonies for my birthday the third week of May). So, in honor of my first baseball game of the summer, here’s a lil baseball-themed round-up to spark some joy this week.
Reading
Why is baseball the most literary of sports? “Baseball has a tremendous literary history, one that stretches back through decades and across literary genres.” (Lincoln Michel Goes Deep Into the Prose of America’s Pastime.)
The Library of America’s Baseball: A Literary Anthology includes Amiri Baraka, John Updike, Annie Dillard, Robert Frost, Yusef Komunyakaa, and many more poets and novelists who found baseball making an appearance in their work.
A few of my favorite novels featuring baseball are:
The Resistors, by Gish Jen - This piece of speculative fiction imagines the baseball field as a place of resistance to an authoritarian regime in a dystopian future. I loved and adored it!
Evvie Drake Starts Over, by Linda Holmes - This second-chance romance features a widow and a struggling baseball player in small town Maine. Immaculate summer vibes. I really liked it!
The Cactus League, by Emily Nemens - These interconnected short stories focus on the lives of diverse characters involved in spring training (players, spouses, officials, etc). I really liked it– and my experience was enhanced by hearing Newman speak at the Portland Book Festival in November 2020.
**The Brothers K, by David James Duncan - This sweeping family story is an homage to Dostoevsky’s classic Brothers Karamazov. This has been on my TBR since a beloved college professor gifted it to me before graduation– def a book that got away. I’m confident I will love and adore it, but will keep you posted.
**The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach - Henry Skrimshander, a big star at a small college, seems destined for big league stardom. But when a routine throw goes disastrously off course, the fates of five people are upended. This book is a literary darling, well-loved by many, but I’ve never had a chance to read it. Since I received a copy for my birthday, I’m hoping this is the summer I dive in!
A few curated book lists about baseball for you to peruse:
The 100 Best Baseball Books Ever Written: Baseball is the writer's game, and these indispensable books prove it. By Alex Belth, for Esquire.
In May 2020, we asked MLB.com reporters to name their favorite baseball book.
Great Baseball Novels, curated by the Indianapolis Public Library.
Books and Baseball: America’s Favorite Pastimes (American Library Association)
Watching
A League of Their Own (original film) - obviously, a modern classic, telling the story of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League which existed from 1943 to 1954. The film follows The Rockford Peaches, who won 4 championships in total. You gotta love an early 90s Tom Hanks: “There’s no crying in baseball!”
A League of Their Own (miniseries adaptation, Prime Video) - Look. When I say I loved this adaptation more than the original, you have to know that means something BIG. I love the way that a mini-series allowed this story to breathe, and to explore deep character arcs, and to incorporate new and important storylines. Watch it, so we can talk about it. Sadly, there will not be a second season, but it does mean that you can watch the whole complete series rather quickly, which is nice for a summer TV show.
Moneyball - Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players. Ok ok ok, I have a real soft spot for the A’s– I lived in the East Bay and went to a lot of games and loved having a green hat with an A (my favorite color and my first initial). So, I recognize my bias here… but also! It has received a lot of critical nominations and awards. It’s a great film (adapted for the screen from Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis)
A few honorable mentions from childhood, which I assume you’ve already seen: Angels in the Outfield (I cry every time) and The Sandlot (I laugh every time).
Listening
Y’all, we can’t talk about baseball without talking about walk-up songs– the music that gets a player pumped up as they’re walking up to bat. A player picks their walk-up song based on all sorts of factors– rhythm, energy, lyrics, or maybe just a song that has a special meaning or is an inside joke for them. A friend of mine who played for the minor leagues always relied on Whitney Houston to get pumped up. I once got persuaded to join a community softball team, and of course I coordinated everyone’s walk-up songs. Contenders for my walk-up song might be: “Girl On Fire” by Alicia Keys, “Run The World (Girls)” by Beyonce… or “Get Low” by Lil Jon (it is what it is, I do not apologize).
Read more about the art of the walk-up song here: Bleacher Report.
Check out this playlist for some great ballpark bops: Best Baseball Walk-up Songs.
That’s all for now! Thanks for tuning in! Let me know what’s saving your life this spring. And if this content has been joyful and helpful for you, I would love for you to share it with others, and maybe consider buying me a coffee to support my work.
With grace, peace, and much love,
Rev. Alicia