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

May the Fours Be With You

Borrowing “May the Force be with you” from George Lucas’ “Star Wars”, this poem was written on May 4, a few days after Eugenio Suárez’s four-home-run game.

Lou Gehrig wore the number 4.
And he batted fourth in the Yankees lineup.
Columbia Lou was the first in baseball’s
Modern Era to hit four home runs in a game.

Star Wars: A slugger in such a zone.

If ever someone deserved four more decades,
It was The Iron Horse, who died too young.
Imagine how many more innings he would’ve played
If ALS hadn’t stopped his consecutive games at 2,130.

Star Wars: A stalwart in such a streak.

On July 4, 1939, in Yankee Stadium,
At the close of Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day,
The Quiet Hero declared himself the
“Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth.”

Star Wars: A baseball saint in such a state.

Wrigley Windy

To the tune of Ruthann Friedman’s song “Windy,” recorded by The Association.

Who’s blowin’ it outta’ the ballpark,
Enabling homers lighter than air?
Who’s keepin’ hope to give me a comeback?
Everyone knows it’s Wrigley.

Who’s trippin’ up the Arizona D’backs,
Smilin’ at every slugger she sees?
Who’s combinin’ the most runs in an inning?
Everyone knows it’s Wrigley.

And Wrigley has stormy eyes
That result in a pitcher’s demise.
And Wrigley has homers to fly.
Above the clouds . . .
A windy win for the Cubs.
Above the clouds  . . .
A windy win for the Cubs.

Glove of Dreams

On sandlots every Spring, Summer and Fall,
It caught many a ball.

I still love
My Bobby Murcer Glove.

Though my bats are in heaven above,
I still have that childhood glove.

Had I known of Shigeaki Aso,
My glove of dreams could have taken me pro.

Aso is Wilson’s “Ball Glove Master Craftsman;”
With his tender care, my mitt might still see the sun.

Instead, that old slab of leather
Waits for its season of dreamy weather.

When my granddaughters play softball,
My glove will be there, Spring, Summer and Fall.

Baseball Parity, Chicago Parody

Had the Dodgers
Lost just one more game,
This sub-600 season woulda been lame.

The winning percentage
Of most every other team,
Was surely a parity-lover’s dream.

Leaving aside the Angels, Marlins, Rockies,
And the historically bad White Sox,
All the other ballclubs had their shots.

Within sniffing distance of the wild card,
A couple of wins here and there
Woulda given your team a playoff share.

If the Mets and Tigers coulda
Advanced to the second round,
My Cubbies, too, shoulda stuck around.

Yeah, there may be MLB pair-a-tee,
But as Steve Goodman’s Dying Cubs Fans know
They still play the blues in Chi-ca-go.

The Oakland Blues

You lose a game,
And it hurts
Like a paper cut.

You don’t make the playoffs,
And it hurts
Like a broken nose.

You lose the last game of the World Series,
And it hurts
Like a Type III fracture.

You lose one hundred and twenty games,
And it still don’t hurt
Like having your heart ripped out.

Becuz’ in your world,
The hurt will heal
As you wait until next year.

Like a rainbow thief, the A’s owner
Has forever stolen the Green & Gold
And left only the Blues.

He’s stealing away,
Up Highway 80 to sAcrAmento,
Chasing a pot o’ gold to lAs vegAs.

The letter “A” has been ripped out of
The O*kl*nd *lph*bet.
And now he*rt sounds like hurt.

A broken old man sits crying
In the desolate Coliseum
With a cancer of the heart.

Becuz’ in his world,
The hurt will metastasize
On every Opening Day.

Go-juu/Go-juu, 50/50

In Japan, on July 5, 1994,
A mama flipped a coin;
A papa flipped it once more.

Go-juu/Go-juu: a Japanese number, now Dodger Blue!

Glove in hand, Papa wanted a boy;
Hugging a doll, Mama wanted a girl.
Regardless, their healthy child was a joy.

Go-juu/Go-juu: a Japanese number, now Dodger Blue!

On a Miami night, some 30 years later,
Some fans wanted a stolen base,
Others wanted a 400-foot homer.

Ain’t a swifty 50/50 out-of-the-ballpark nifty!

For all baseball fans, what a joyous treat
To watch Shohei Otani
Achieve his prodigious feat.

Ain’t a swifty 50/50 out-of-the-ballpark nifty!