Raj Oza
"PLAY BALL!"
"PLAY BALL!"

Holy Cow! Holy Cow! Holy Cow! Holy Cow!

It might be …

In 1945, Harry, the great-grandpater,
Told beer-fueled stories about Cardinals like Stan the Man.

It could be …

Harry’s son, Skip, made calls straighter,
As straight as a Braves arrow off the bat of Hammerin’ Hank.

It is!

Skip’s boy is a charismatic Chip off the old block.
First with Gramps and the Cubs; then Dad and the Braves; and now the Cards.

A home run!!

In 2024, Chris joined the Caray MLB broadcast stock.
A’s fans hear echoes in this descendant of baseball’s royal family of bards.

Holy Cow!!!

These joyful announcers hit an inside-the-ballpark family-four-bagger.
Calling games for the A’s, Cards, Cubs, Braves, and Sox with swagger.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!!!!

Four generations talkin’ baseball lore.
Harry Christopher Caray: I, II, III, IV.

“Let’s Play Two!”

Ernie Banks wanted
To play a doubleheader
Every day, because

He loved baseball so
Much that one was not enough
To satisfy him.

Wilbur Wood lost two
Games of a doubleheader.
He started both games,

Throwing his trademark
Knuckleball ball to twenty-four
Wins, twenty losses.

Billy Williams and
Ron Santo played every game
In 1965.

Perhaps a couple
Players will play all the games
In 2024.

Ferguson Jenkins
Threw 29 complete games
In 1974.

MLB may not
Have 29 complete games
In 2024.

So why does baseball
Today give hitters days off
And pitchers pitch counts?

Is Pampers part of
How managers lead their teams?
Or a diaper brand?

Brandon’s No Babe, But Shohei What!

What’s he doing out there
on the pitching mound?
He looks more like a bear
than a throwing hound.

Position players
say their prayers,
when the manager
says, “You’re my reliever.”

Babe Ruth began his career
with a pitch that hitters feared.
But when he traded in his ball,
His bat made him Bunyanesque tall.

When Brandon Crawford pitched
Batters were not bewitched.
He had an astronomical 27.00 ERA.
So what, he wasn’t even batting his weight.

Some say Triple Crown threat Shohei never shoulda
Pitched, even if imitate Cy Young he coulda.
But over a 162-game season,
Let’s have some fun with batting/pitching treason.

The Rhyno

With apologies to Ogden Nash’s “The Rhinoceros”

The rhino is a homely beast.
Our Ryno was a home run beast.

For human eyes he’s not a feast.
For Cubbie fans he was a feast.

Farewell, farewell, you old rhinoceros.
Hello, hello, you stalwart Ryne Sandberg-us.

I’ll stare at something less prepoceros.
I’ll admire your likeness as a bronze iceberg-us.

Welcome to the HOF pantheon outside of Wrigley.
Along with Ernie, Billy, Ronnie, Harry, and Fergie.

The Negro Leagues Got Us Here

“I can’t believe it,”
said Hall of Famer Willie Mays.

“I never thought I’d see
in my lifetime
a Major League Baseball game
being played on the very field
where I played baseball as a teenager.

It has been 75 years
since I played for the
Birmingham Black Barons
at Rickwood Field…

To learn that my Giants
and the Cardinals will play
a game there and honor
the legacy of the Negro Leagues…

is really emotional for me.

We can’t forget
what got us here
and that was
the Negro Leagues
for so many of us.”

Willie Mays quoted by Bob Nightengale about the MLB game at Birmingham’s historic Rickwood Field to be played on June 20, 2024 (USA Today, June 20, 2023)

Dr. Oza’s novel Double Play sits at the intersection of Ernie Banks’ Cubs, the Negro Leagues, riding the “L,” wrongful convictions, immigration and friendship. It will be published in October 2024 by Chicago’s Third World Press.

 


Tell All the Stats but Tell them Slant

In honor of Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886. In 1887, the first Negro League was formed.

Tell all the stats but tell them slant —
Success in the baseball Circuit lies
Too bright for our unconscious bias
The Truth’s superb surprise is
Like a ball hit lightening quick
With Josh Gibson atop
Ty Cobb’s dazzling batting record
Or every fan be blind —

Holy Cow! Holy Calf, Grandcalf, Great-Grandcalf!

It might be …

 

In 1945, Harry, the great-grandpater

Told beer-fueled stories about Cardinals like Stan the Man.

 

It could be …

 

Harry’s son, Skip, made calls straighter,

As straight as a Braves arrow off the bat of Hammerin’ Hank.

 

It is!

 

Skip’s boy is a charismatic Chip off the old block.

First with Gramps and the Cubs; then Dad and the Braves; and now the Cards.

 

A home run!

 

In 2024, Chris joined the Caray MLB broadcast stock.

A’s fans hear echoes in this descendant of baseball’s royal family of bards.

 

Holy Cow!

 

These joyful announcers hit an inside-the-ballpark family-four-bagger.

Calling games for the A’s, Cards, Cubs, Braves, and Sox with swagger.

 

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!!!!

 

Four generations talkin’ baseball lore.

Harry Christopher Caray: I, II, III, IV.

Skenes Zero-hitZ CubZ

Inning 1: Zero hits off pitching phenom Paul Skenes;
Three Cubs go down swinging.

Inning 2: Praise the name pronounced Skeenz;
Three more Ks: Ka-ching, Ka-ching, Ka-chinging.

Inning 3: He throws the ball 100 miles per hour;
“Only” one strikeout, but Cubs still have no hits.

Inning 4: From where does the kid get that power?
Two more strikeouts; batters flailing like twits.

Inning 5: Pitch after pitch, Skenes dominates;
A walk spoils his bid for perfection.

Inning 6: Comparisons whispered about all-time greats;
Quick-hook manager says, “You’re done, son.”

Innings 7, 8 and 9: Wrigley Field turns so bitter;
Pirates fans grumble, “Coulda been a no-hitter!”