I thought he’d taken three strikes, but the umpire said “Strike One!” And that was it. So Peter Bourjos walked, and sauntered off first, and dove back into the base on each throw over. He wore striped socks to his…
Author: olabner
Welcome! I've followed baseball since I was 8 years old and started this site to illustrate the beauty of the game in prose, poetry, and photography.
I have a Master's in Creative Writing at Missouri State University. For my thesis I wrote a collection of nonfiction micro essays about working in remote Alaska fishing lodges for five summers in my 20s.
After graduation I worked as a northern lights guide in Bettles, Alaska, for 8 months. You can find my favorite aurora photographs at bestnorthernlights.com
I am a freelance writer and photographer. You can find my portfolio at maryellenchiles.com
I turned to baseball for solace. Some way to make the day seem normal. Though I make a point to enjoy regular days, the kind I beg for when something happens. Just last week I saw Kansas City play in…
Felix, I thought you’d be better. I had a chance to sit in your throne as I wandered the halls of Safeco. Clearly, it was unoccupied. I mean. You were pitching and all. Not well. But. You’ll pitch again. Your…
We stood below the steps like high school runners at district meets. Someone else can stand in the bleachers and drink Gatorade plucked from the boosters’ cooler. 17-year-olds wore socks mid-calf that showed the city skyline. Several children carried baseball…
Play ball. Stretch and drink Red Bull. “Hello? Is it me you’re looking for?” – the only landline left in America. Get ready! Get ready! A ninth-inning walk. Ghosts. by
I bring my hat and glove to the ballgame. My brother put a ball in his glove, soaked it in oil and wrapped it with rubber bands. He stuffed it under his mattress. So I do the same. Last week…
Second baseman Danny Espinosa lunged for a bouncing ball and fired it to first. Runner Pedro Alvarez stretched for the base, foot on bag just barely after the throw. Good thing; Max Scherzer, former Mizzou Tiger, is now three outs…
Beloved baseball, what has happened? Between me and you. I used to cherish our time together. It seems that time is through. It’s not that there is something else that I would rather do. It’s only that I’m working more…
He hit it toward the warning track. The ball didn’t clear the fence, or pop off the wall. If so the fielder could catch the ball as it ricocheted. And the runner would stop at second; he’d have to. The…