The Night Before A Baseball Christmas
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the park
Not a bullpen was stirring, the clubhouse was dark;
The bat bags were hung in the lockers with care,
In hopes the spring season soon would be there.
Young players were crowded around batting cages,
While parents threw BP, all feeling their ages.
As my Inbox kept filling with news of more camps,
I was writing checks until my hand got a cramp.
Away my mind wandered from thinking of cash
To a vision that came as if in a flash.
There was a flood of light on a diamond of green
A more beautiful sight has never been seen.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a mountainous man, and eight of his peers,
With a little pot belly, and a log for a bat,
The Babe was in town, ‘twas no question of that.
Behind him the legends of yesteryear came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, Willie! now, Mickey! now, Yogi and Dizzy!
On, Dimag! on Stargell! on, Pee Wee and Ozzie!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now swing away! swing away! swing away all!"
As memories of the greats swirled round in my head
I thought of my player neatly tucked in his bed.
Might he or a teammate come one day to stand,
In a hall full of legends, as more than a fan.
I could see him learning to hit off of a tee,
And learning to throw, to me down on one knee.
As memories washed over my heart and my mind,
I heard the voice of The Babe, speaking so kind.
Dressed in gray flannel, just a three on his back,
He hung his Louisville Slugger up on the rack.
With a smile on his face, he said to me “Dad,”
“Just let’m play ball, what’s more fun for a lad?”
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was a smile, not a sneer,
As he said “let’s go get a dog and a beer.”
I was eating a ball park banquet with the King,
In only a dream could one do such a thing.
Then Babe said “teach him to hit, to throw, and to run.”
“But most important of all, tell him to have fun.”
“Cheer for them loudly, whether they win or they lose,”
“Tell him ‘son you’re my pride, and son I love you.”
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
I realized then I’d been properly fed.
He spoke not a word, but went back to his work,
Hitting balls over fences; with a quick jerk,
As the light started to fade, he hit one last ball.
Right out of the park, 'twas the longest of all.
Coming back to my senses, to myself I said
I had to share this on High School Baseball Web.
I heard him exclaim, as the day faded to night,
"Happy Christmas to all, and spring training’s in sight."
Now you know what you get when you combine a dinner of bad seafood with a night of old Christmas movies. Probably belongs in the Unusually Unusual. I hope this gives cause for a smile. Merry Christmas (and Happy Holidays) to all those who have kindly shared their thoughts this year.
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