our first baseman was tall.
most were
and as they got older,
they had to field and hold runners close to the base.
i don’t know how they ballet did it?
with nomadic hookah hospitality?
nice words trickery?
i never found out,
but i made it to first as a runner and
it felt like a scary desert island.
i admired first baseman even more!
many failed at becoming first baseman.
they drifted to the outfield instead or
across the diamond,
to third base or
they quit baseball altogether and
took up cigarettes, stamp collecting or whatever.
the first baseman i know today is not tall and
he never talks about baseball.
he works in a warehouse.
people go and talk to him.
they get to know each other.
brewers baseball and things 
March 24, 2017 at 8:18 pm
I don’t understand some of this, Steve, but overall enjoyable. “i don’t know how they ballet did it? with nomadic hookah hospitality?” What does this mean? Well, whatever, I liked this a lot. It was reminiscent of the late Andy Rooney for some reason. I don’t know why, though! Andy Rooney had a totally different style! I guess it was the tone of it that reminded me of Andy Rooney. Who knows??? Well, whatever. Anyway, I thought it was cool.
Glen
March 25, 2017 at 7:24 am
Thanks Glen. Let me try and explain some of the confusion. Most of it has to do with metaphors relating to the holding on of runners. A first baseman is unique in that he is awarded a few moments, sometimes longer, to converse with a base runner…… the “nomadic hookah hospitality” refers to Bedouin Nomads who i’ve heard demonstrated great hospitality, inviting people into tents, offering them tea, and a tobacco smoke from a hookah.
“How they ballet did it” refers to the footwork of first baseman, having to play defense and hold runners on simultaneously.
March 25, 2017 at 7:36 am
No, I knew that it was metaphors for that. I was just confused about the metaphor of “nomadic hookah hospitality.” That’s all. The rest I understood, and I liked it a lot.
Glen
March 25, 2017 at 7:40 am
i shoulda just said “inviting people into their tents over there at first, offering them some tea” or something to that effect. I think that woulda been better, been clearer and plus I really don’t know much about Bedouin nomadic hospitality, the hookahs and what not, only from a friend who traveled there and commented on their hospitality.
March 25, 2017 at 7:42 am
Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda.
March 25, 2017 at 7:44 am
My goal is to always be as clear as possible so in this case or that sentence I failed. Thanks for the feedback Glen.
March 25, 2017 at 7:54 am
A MISERABLE failure, Steve. Just kidding. That’s what Dick Gephardt used to say in his campaign speeches in 2008 when running against President Bush Junior.
Glen
March 24, 2017 at 8:28 pm
Nice! Pretty much how I’ve always felt about that position. Being short, no one ever even considered putting me at first.
March 25, 2017 at 7:27 am
Thanks Precious. i wonder who the smallest first baseman of all time was?
March 25, 2017 at 7:37 am
Steve Garvey was, and I suppose still is, relatively short. He might have been the best of the short ones.
Glen
March 25, 2017 at 7:42 am
good call Glen. Garvey was short and right handed, strange combo for a first baseman.
March 25, 2017 at 7:51 am
Not really that good of a call, Steve. It was easy. As far as standout baseball players from me pre-teens to my early teens, all the way to my late teens, Steve Garvey got more press and attention than just about any baseball player I can think of. I had a big poster on the wall of Steve, and my friend Glenn Femminella and I got his autograph on a baseball outside of Shea Stadium after a game in which the Mets played the Dodgers. He was on many, many magazine covers. He may have been “overrated”, as some revisionists now say, but I’m not that sure. I certainly think there is room in the Hall of Fame for Steve that is now being occupied by the likes of “Andre Dawson”, a very good player but not a Hall of Famer by any means, in my opinion.
Glen
March 25, 2017 at 7:52 am
“Me pre-teens”??? I sound like a Liverpudlian.
March 25, 2017 at 8:00 am
my first thought was Mike Squires.
March 25, 2017 at 8:05 am
No. Mike Squires doesn’t talk that way. Liverpudlians like the Beatles talk that way.
March 25, 2017 at 8:11 am
Turns out Squires is 5 feet 11 inches which is still a bit short for first baseman. The other guy I thought of was Matt Stairs. He is only 5 feet 9 inches which according to baseball reference puts him one inch smaller than Garvey, but Stairs played predominately outfield and DH. Stairs is one name I always remember because he’s the all time leader in pinch hit home runs.
March 25, 2017 at 8:42 am
Glen, this is what I had in mind when thinking/writing about a first baseman and a base runner…. a conversation or in this case a digital reply thread.
March 27, 2017 at 10:00 am
I was a first baseman back in the day, and an absolute gab-ass. One day I struck up a conversation with this really big kid, six-five and built like a Fielder, e.g. Cecil. He looked at me, and said “If you don’t shut up right now, I’m going to rip off your head.” I decided I liked my head where it was.
May 9, 2017 at 4:59 pm
That’s the best time to put the hidden ball trick into action.