Requiring a shortstop’s depth and range,
Baseball is a game of
Continuity and change.
Long a Fenway season-ticket holder,
Stephen Jay Gould studied
Dinosaurs and Darwin’s folder.
Ever the literary evolutionary biologist,
He opined, that to thrive, baseball,
Like Homo sapiens, must not be a dodo dogmatist.
Born in New York City, Stevie rooted for Joltin’ Joe.
After moving to Harvard Yard,
The Professor evolved to applauding El Grande Pedro.
He was the Goulds’ six-year-old son
When Jackie broke the color barrier and
Punctuated baseball’s equilibrium.
What a year 1947 must have been,
When owner Tom Yawkey declared,
Paint that wall Monster Green.
Imagine a green screen that features
The Kid, Yaz, and Jim Ed Rice:
All splendid Cooperstown creatures.
Their heritage differs from that of each other and Gould,
Yet all four share a DNA of greatness.
The Green Monster’s natural selection can never be fooled.
Nurturing an undying sporting community,
Our national pastime narrates
Change and continuity.
Dr. Oza’s novel, Double Play on the Red Line, is available for pre-ordering. Cubs fans will agree that Wrigley Field is a far better setting than Fenway Park.