Monday BP: Happy Indigenous Peoples Day

Hello, happy Monday, and happy Indigenous Peoples Day.

Today I want to share a passage for the Sherman Alexie piece The Warriors, which is about playing baseball as a kid on a reservation.

Opening Day

I hate baseball. I hate it because of its patriotic and inaccurate claim to be “America’s game.” Baseball may be the most popular sport in the United States, but the North American Canadians love hockey, and the Central and South Americans have turned soccer into a religion. I hate baseball because of its exaggerated reputation for magic and poetry. For every poetic and magical athlete like Ozzie Smith, a Langston Hughes-of-the-diamond, bebop, improvisational jazzman shortstop, there is a Charles Bukowski-on-deck, beer-swilling, big-bellied, tobacco-spitting baseball player like John Kruk. I hate baseball because John Kruk said, in defense of his Bukowski-esque physique, that he was a baseball player, not an athlete. I hate baseball because George Will, the right-wing conservative pundit, loves it so much. I hate baseball for the same reason George Will loves it: there are so many white men in uniforms.

Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?

He certainly did.

October 12, 2002: In Game 3 of the NLCS, against the St. Louis Cardinals, Bonds hit a 3-run home run in the 5th inning off of Chuck Finley, scoring Rich Aurilia and Jeff Kent. It tied the game 4-4, but the San Francisco Giants would lose 5-4, which cut their series lead to 2-1. It was his 4th homer of the postseason.

Old, random MCC article for you to read

Ranking every time Madison Bumgarner got angry about a home run (June 10, 2019 — Casey Cantrell)

How many days until Opening Day?

There are 171 days until Opening Day.

Have a great Monday, everyone. Happy Indigenous Peoples Day.