“There’s nothing quite like the lighter side of baseball,” wrote sports columnist Bruce Jenkins in the April 1, 2016, edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. “Perhaps the NFL game is too violent, the NBA too fast-paced, to compare in any way. Baseball gives people time to study, analyze and judge, quite often with incisive wit or sarcasm…”
Few fields (pardon the expression) have accepted humor as readily as baseball. Education and business could learn and, in many cases, have learned the value of humor at work. To reiterate our topic, I’ll share some examples of baseball humor…
Hollywood has addressed baseball numerous times, maybe more and better in 1988-89, than any other two-year period. Major studio releases then included the mystical “Field of Dreams,” “Eight Men Out” about the 1919 World Series gambling scandal, and the comedies “Major League” and my all-time favorite, “Bull Durham.”
The latter’s high point for many probably is the lecture that weary veteran minor league catcher Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) gives goofball pitching phenom Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh (Tim Robbins) about the value and expectation of speaking to reporters through clichés. It’s right up there with Tom Hanks’ “There’s no crying in baseball” in 1992’s “A League of Their Own,” about the short-lived All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from the World War II Era.
The Famous Racing Sausages at Milwaukee Brewer home games also deserve mention in the field (pardon the expression) of baseball humor. Mascots representing Polish and Italian sausages, German bratwurst, Mexican Chorizo, and the all-American hot dog race each other in the middle of the sixth inning. If that doesn’t make County Stadium a veritable melting pot of nationalities, it at least should qualify as a proverbial rotisserie grill.
Baseball birthed the San Diego Chicken, the Philly Phanatic, Fredbird, and other top-notch humorous mascots.
Baseball is the King of Curses, which reflects not only a passion for complaining and superstition, but also that spare time factor and a certain gallows humor. Since the start of the new millennium, five teams have broken curses, by winning the World Series.
Personally, my favorite aspect of baseball humor is its philosophers. So, to honor the dawn of a new Major League Baseball season, here’s a trivia quiz:
Questions of the Week
- Among the six rules for staying young this Hall of Fame Negro Leagues and American League pitcher identified was “Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you.”
- This player-turned-sportscaster entitled his autobiography “Catcher in the Wry.” Johnny Carson dubbed him “Mr. Baseball.” He said, "I knew when my career was over. In 1965 my baseball card came out with no picture."
- This 1980s Kansas City Royals submarine relief pitcher once said: “I’ve seen the future and it's much like the present, only longer."
- This Hall-of-Fame manager led the Yankees to five straight World Series championships. “The Old Perfessor” said, "The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided."
- This 1970s Boston and Montreal lefty reliever, nicknamed “Spaceman,” said, if elected President, "I would change policy, bring back natural grass and nickel beer. Baseball is the bellybutton of our society. Straighten out baseball, and you straighten out the rest of the world."
- This catcher played for four National League teams from 1946-54, later hosted NBC-TV baseball, Today, and game shows. He said, "I went through baseball as ‘a player to be named later.’"
- This reliever shares his name with the Beach Boys leader and sports a “Duck Dynasty-style” beard. He said, "I’m a certified ninja. It happened in a dream. Normally it takes a lifetime, but I did it in 12 minutes.”
- This unconventional executive/owner ran the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox over five decades. He said, "My epitaph is inescapable. It will read: 'He sent a midget up to bat.'"
- This highly-verbal, brash 1930’s Cardinals pitcher said, "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up." A real country boy, as a sportscaster, he often said, "He slud into third."
- This Yankee catcher, from the 1940s to 1960s often had his alleged sayings repeated back to him, which must have felt “like déjà vu all over again.” He once explained, “I never said most of the things I said.”
Answers of the Week
(1. Satchel Page, 2. Bob Uecker, 3. Dan Quisenberry, 4. Casey Stengel, 5. Bill Lee, 6. Joe Garagiola, 7. Brian Wilson, 8. Bill Veeck, 9. Dizzy Dean, 10. Yogi Berra)