Zack Greinke tossed a pitch that slipped over the outside corner. He fell toward the plate as he followed through, holding his hand next to his heart. Another called strike, and another comparison with Greg Maddux. But with blonde hair…
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 remember writing “I saw #63” underneath the bill of my Cards’ cap. That I saw #17, too. And that I was worried I’d miss seeing the record-setting home run by attending summer camp. In June. He would unfurl, and…
“I’m entering my 52nd season as a Cardinals fan,” he told me. I poured his coffee. I told him I’d been a fan since I was 8, and that Jaime Garcia pitched a couple of good innings the day before….
Pete Rose applied to be reinstated to the Hall of Fame once more. When I hear this, I sigh: I do not like to cripple my life with legalism. Let him in. And I do not like to forgive unless…
I watched an A’s player swing through a ball and walk back to the dugout. He watched the dirt morph into grass below his cleats. What, then? A minute to remember each pitch: slider, curve, straight change? Must he sit…
It seems like August, when left fielders stand in the sun and wonder if they might hold dandelions in their fingertips. Perhaps they might wonder about blossoms unfolding. They might lose themselves in bloom. And forget the sun lining their…
With a runner at second, a righthanded hitter stood at the plate. He was down by four. His team was down by four. But he might’ve tried to even it out. Get ahead at once! Instead, he checked his swing…
I watched a baseball game to see how people train. Instead, I saw the one with stars circling his head. Something like a crown. His helmet sparkled with light from above. On the bill, most likely, or above his ear…
If only my team would win at last. If something would change, I would, too. And yes, I’ve found this: Winning the World Series, or your team doing so, results in tearfully running by the center field gate. Shrieking while…
After a single, he stood on first base. His friend grinned at him. They stood near a bag, making dinner plans after spending 9 months of 2011 together. Digesting Waffle House burgers while sitting on buses from Toledo to Louisville,…