This is a comment about the rule change for the intentional walk. The NY Giants had a ballplayer named Don Mueller nicknamed " Mandrake the Magician" He was especially adept at getting a hit on what was intended to be an intentional walk. Just want to say, it brought back a very fond memory. By the way, Mueller was a very fine ball player
There’s something funny about real-life stories. The Garver-Veeck story could have easily been fiction. In years of following baseball, I’ve never heard of Garver, much less the fanfare around his achievement. And it’s so obscure that no one I ever talk to will have heard of it, unless they’ve read this post. Whether it’s fact or fiction makes absolutely no difference in my life.
Yet, presumably, it really did happen. My recently deceased grandfather lived his whole life in a small town not too far from St. Louis. He was a lifelong Cardinals fan. If I had asked him about this story a couple years ago, would he have remembered it, or would it have been lost to the sands of time (and dementia)? Regardless of the answer, he was almost certainly aware of Garver and his achievement back when it happened in 1951. He probably had an opinion on it one way or the other. He probably thought about Veeck too, and either appreciated his showmanship or thought it was over the top. In other words, my own grandfather was fully present in this story that will never be quite real to me. That’s what’s magical sometimes about real-life rabbit-holes like this one. In a certain time, for a certain group of people, it was not a rabbit-hole at all, but rather home.
Holy Smokes! Collection of Joe's best rabbit hole essays.
I put this one down because we had a family thing happening. Picked it up and it was so rabbit-holey that I truly couldn't remember what the heck the story was about.
Just read this after putting our 15 month old daughter to bed. I wish everyone in the world could always be as happy as I feel right now.
And i think Bryson is awesome too. I need to do my bi-annual read of his "Short History of Nearly Everything" (or whatever it's called. I always forget somehow) again soon.
The pitcher, while winning his 20th game, hit a home run. Sigh. We'll never see that again.
Tell that to Ohtani
This is a comment about the rule change for the intentional walk. The NY Giants had a ballplayer named Don Mueller nicknamed " Mandrake the Magician" He was especially adept at getting a hit on what was intended to be an intentional walk. Just want to say, it brought back a very fond memory. By the way, Mueller was a very fine ball player
I’m going with the Pittsburgh version. Rickey was notoriously sharp. And it’s hard to find a line w a sharper point.
My gosh; this reads like a Seinfeld episode all tied up with a neat little bow at the end.
So much more rabbit holes please
Fantastic
There’s something funny about real-life stories. The Garver-Veeck story could have easily been fiction. In years of following baseball, I’ve never heard of Garver, much less the fanfare around his achievement. And it’s so obscure that no one I ever talk to will have heard of it, unless they’ve read this post. Whether it’s fact or fiction makes absolutely no difference in my life.
Yet, presumably, it really did happen. My recently deceased grandfather lived his whole life in a small town not too far from St. Louis. He was a lifelong Cardinals fan. If I had asked him about this story a couple years ago, would he have remembered it, or would it have been lost to the sands of time (and dementia)? Regardless of the answer, he was almost certainly aware of Garver and his achievement back when it happened in 1951. He probably had an opinion on it one way or the other. He probably thought about Veeck too, and either appreciated his showmanship or thought it was over the top. In other words, my own grandfather was fully present in this story that will never be quite real to me. That’s what’s magical sometimes about real-life rabbit-holes like this one. In a certain time, for a certain group of people, it was not a rabbit-hole at all, but rather home.
Perhaps the best post of Joe’s I’ve ever read
Just tell me where to pre-order The Rabbit Hole 100, and I'll be on my way.... You're amazing, Joe.
Holy Smokes! Collection of Joe's best rabbit hole essays.
I put this one down because we had a family thing happening. Picked it up and it was so rabbit-holey that I truly couldn't remember what the heck the story was about.
A classic.
Bob Dylan famously noted that each line in "A Hard Rain Gonna Fall" could have started another song.
So too it is with Joe (another Jewish writer). Each line in a Joe rabbit hole story could start its own rabbit hole story.
Joeblogs-come for the stories n writing. Stay for the rabbit holes.
Thanks for sharing. Great writing!
And this, folks, is why I keep coming back. Thanks, Joe.
Just read this after putting our 15 month old daughter to bed. I wish everyone in the world could always be as happy as I feel right now.
And i think Bryson is awesome too. I need to do my bi-annual read of his "Short History of Nearly Everything" (or whatever it's called. I always forget somehow) again soon.
{Jaw drop}
This may be the single greatest thing Joe's ever written. Dude . . .
{SMH . . . phew}
Perfect post.
This could be my favorite post since I started subscribing.
Still laughing out loud.
Thanks.