That Just About Sums It Up
In honor of Opening Day 2006, I'll pass on a quote from Tom Verducci from the most recent SI that, in my opinion, sums up baseball's unique drama.
The 20 seconds between pitches with the bases loaded, two outs, down a run in the eighth are Agatha Christie chapters unto themselves.
To losers who do not appreciate baseball, this sentence might not go all the way toward converting them to baseball fans and opening their eyes to the sometimes subtle - other times electric - excitement of beisbol. But to those who do appreciate the intensity of the batter-pitcher duel, among other baseball plots and subplots, Verducci's line captures that intensity rather well.
Of course, Verducci could have gone a couple different ways with this sentence, and, in keeping with that notion, The Bevacqua Files were able to obtain a few early drafts of Verducci's article. Here are a few of Verducci's first attempts.
The time between pitches can be intense.
This was a very early draft that Verducci scribbled on his palm while trying not to pee his pants as Brian Giles worked a 3-2 count against Steve Trachsel last August. The at bat lasted 17 minutes.
The time between when a pitcher throws a pitch and then gets the ball back and throws another pitch, and the pitch is important, is good.
Verducci's second attempt, drawn with a Mont Blanc pen on a spiral bound notebook, college ruled, on the redeye from 'Frisco to Boston. Happy with that offering, Verducci used his third attempt to show off his poetic side.
Seconds pass ...
the pitcher waits.
Oh yes, there are outs.
I wait anticipatorily.
Reading that in a vaccuum you'd think Boom!, Verducci nailed it, file the story. Actually, so did Verducci, as this was in the first draft he sent to his editor at SI. Verducci was back at it the next day.
The average of 20 seconds between pitches at critical moments of the game, especially if your team is down a run and threatening to score, is like a very dramatic mystery within a mystery, and may have a surprise ending.
Verducci was getting closer. His next attempt, the penultimate, was a little off track, but shows how his mind was working.
Agatha Christie wrote Ten Little Indians.
Good book. I agree with you, Tom. But not sure why you got off track there.
Hey, you know what, it's the result that matters and I'm just glad you got to where you got.
The 20 seconds between pitches with the bases loaded, two outs, down a run in the eighth are Agatha Christie chapters unto themselves.
To losers who do not appreciate baseball, this sentence might not go all the way toward converting them to baseball fans and opening their eyes to the sometimes subtle - other times electric - excitement of beisbol. But to those who do appreciate the intensity of the batter-pitcher duel, among other baseball plots and subplots, Verducci's line captures that intensity rather well.
Of course, Verducci could have gone a couple different ways with this sentence, and, in keeping with that notion, The Bevacqua Files were able to obtain a few early drafts of Verducci's article. Here are a few of Verducci's first attempts.
The time between pitches can be intense.
This was a very early draft that Verducci scribbled on his palm while trying not to pee his pants as Brian Giles worked a 3-2 count against Steve Trachsel last August. The at bat lasted 17 minutes.
The time between when a pitcher throws a pitch and then gets the ball back and throws another pitch, and the pitch is important, is good.
Verducci's second attempt, drawn with a Mont Blanc pen on a spiral bound notebook, college ruled, on the redeye from 'Frisco to Boston. Happy with that offering, Verducci used his third attempt to show off his poetic side.
Seconds pass ...
the pitcher waits.
Oh yes, there are outs.
I wait anticipatorily.
Reading that in a vaccuum you'd think Boom!, Verducci nailed it, file the story. Actually, so did Verducci, as this was in the first draft he sent to his editor at SI. Verducci was back at it the next day.
The average of 20 seconds between pitches at critical moments of the game, especially if your team is down a run and threatening to score, is like a very dramatic mystery within a mystery, and may have a surprise ending.
Verducci was getting closer. His next attempt, the penultimate, was a little off track, but shows how his mind was working.
Agatha Christie wrote Ten Little Indians.
Good book. I agree with you, Tom. But not sure why you got off track there.
Hey, you know what, it's the result that matters and I'm just glad you got to where you got.
posted by Ryan at 6:54 PM
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