Center Field Grasses

The late Gene Fehler was the author of 12 books, including three poetry collections from McFarland.

“a terrific collection...highly recommended”—The Book Report; “a wonderful effort...quite remarkable”—VOYA; “many of [the poems] are quite good...poems on players are often playful, a lot of fun”—Elysian Fields Quarterly.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments     Preface      Part One: Up Close and PersonalBackyard Glory      Fielder’s Mitt      Old Autographs      Sleeping Over      Contest Winner: June, 1955      Error, Little League      A Father’s Dreams      Two-Strike Bunt      Sammy Cayson, Cucumbers, and Me      Scouting Reports      My First Baseball Cards      In October      If Poets Were Baseball Players      Rainy Night Baseball      After Being Outhit by My Sons      Chocolate Malteds      When the Hurt Begins      Dice Baseball      Shortshop, Making the Tag      Rain Delay      Rain Delay, the Aftermath      Strawberries      Summer Paradise: Yankees, 1956      Sunday Evening      Tommy Hunter Tells Why He Was Kind to Walter Miller      Throwing It Back      Karl Bailey’s Ground Rule      Line-Up      Pitchers and Poets      Old Man Parker’s Vacant Lot      Hero      Artificial Baseball      Ballplayer      Church League Softball for the “Over Forties”      Center Field Grasses      Winner      No Hit Pitcher, Staying Loose      The Summer That Dreams Forgot      Snow Baseball      With the Game on the Line      Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Baseball Game      Watching the Montgomery Rebels Play Baseball at Patterson Field      Throwing Rainbows from Deep Short      Left-Handed Poetry      First Time at Bat      Belated Thanks to “Bud” Bull, My First Baseball Coach      Christmas Eve, 1957      Ever Reaching      Wordsworth Never Lost at Baseball      Graveyard      He Might Even Win      Bubby’s Error      Ever Young      Coach Chose Me      The Day the Bear Died      Immortals      Veteran Ballplayer      Deathbed Showdown      Part Two: Parodies from the ClassicsTo Bunt, or Not to Bunt      But I Was One and Twenty      The Cubbies of Chicago      A Red-Faced Father      The Cub Star      Ebbets Field      In Late-      The Ball Leaps Up      I Marvel at the Ways of Ryne      I Have a Rendezvous This Fall      The Charge of the Mighty Wade      An Over-the-Hill Pinch Hitter      To Jose Canseco      A Certain Slant of Curve      Casey and the Dome      If God Were a Baseball Pitcher      Believe Me, If All Those Enduring Old Arms      Larrupin’ Lou Gehrig      Here’s to the All-Star      Knuckleball      Adcock Miss’d Me      Baseball of You I Sing      Reflections on a Pitchers’ Duel      Grabbing an Illegal Bat at Yankee Stadium      The Bench-Warmer      To My Fans, on Becoming a Free Agent      Baseball’s Harmony      Song of the Open Base      The House That Ruth Built      We Real Insecure      Some Keep the Sabbath on the Mound      Out of Luck, Dave Kingman      I Knew a Man Named Stengel      A Noiseless Patient Owner      Baseball Announcers      Don Larsen’s Perfect Game      Is Our Team Winning?      Night Baseball      Artificial Grass      Tracy Stallard      Polo Hymn      Bleachers      Batting Against Nolan Ryan      Pete Rose Coloring His Hair      Wrigley’s Bleacher Bums      Wrigley Field Neighbor      I Never Saw the Babe      On First Looking at a Mantle Homer      The Chickenwirefence Behind My House      To Dale Murphy      Waiting Out a Player Strike      The Lead Rises, the League Falls      The Curve Ball 100 Ricky Henderson      When I Saw the Learn’d Computer      Those Bases on Balls      Timeclock      Free Agent      Casey and the Agent      Part Three: The PlayersHenry Aaron      Harry Agganis      Dick Allen 110 Jesus Alou      Ernie Banks      Yogi Berra      Ewe      Blackwell      Steve Blass      Ken Boyer      Jim Brosnan      Lew Burdette      Dean Chance      Roger Clemens      Rocky Colavito      Gavvy Cravath      Rob Deer      Joe DiMaggio      Ryne Duren      Nellie Fox      Joe Garagiola      Bruce Gardner Returns to the Mound      Paul Giel      The Emergence of Kelly Gruber, Spring, 1989      Harvey Haddix      Frank Howard      Ken Hubbs      Catfish Hunter      Bo Jackson      Jackie Jensen      Al Kaline      Paul Kilgus      Ted Kluszewski      Duel with Gary Kolb      Sandy Koufax      Tony Kubek      Frank Lary      Vance Law      Phil Linz      I, McCovey      Denny McLain      Sal Maglie      Mickey Mantle      Juan Marichal      Billy Martin      Willie Mays      Willy Miranda      Don Mossi—Ray Narleski      The Death of Thurman Munson      Dale Murphy      Stan Musial      Ron Northey      Satchel Paige      Camilo Pascual      The Philadelphia Three, Plus One      Jimmy Piersall      Reese and Rizzuto      Jim Rivera      Phil Rizzuto      Robin.Roberts      Brooks Robinson      Pete Rose      Pete Rose      Nolan Ryan      Nolan Ryan      Nolan Ryan      Hank Sauer      Herb Score      Bobby Shantz      Enos Slaughter      Roy Smalley      Ozzie Smith      Warren Spahn      Eddie Stanky      Me1 Stottlemyre      Dick Stuart      Rick Sutcliffe      Ron Swoboda      Pat Tabler      Bobby Thomson      Marv Throneberry      The Elite of Pinch-Hitters      Eddie Waitkus      Vic Wertz      Hoyt Wilhelm      Mitch Williams      Ted Williams      Wilbur Wood      Carl Yastrzemski