Memorial Day Research Paper

In the book Fences by August Wilson, the author chooses baseball to compare many of the struggles everyday people deal with in everyday society. August Wilson created some very relatable characters to portray the message of life and love Fences attempts to display. It is ultimately displayed in a quote by the main character Troy Maxson. Troy said “That’s all death is to me. A fastball on the outside corner” (10).

The pitcher starts her windup and lets the ball go. “Strike”, the umpire yells behind me. My team is yelling and cheering in the dugout, and my coach is shaking his head at third base. The pitcher lets lose another pitch. “Strike two”, the umpire yells again.

Baseball, America’s greatest pastime, has been documented in thousands of movies; however The Sandlot and The Bad News Bears capture the most memorable aspects and cruel realities of little league and backyard baseball before the sport became a hollywood enterprise. The Sandlot shows baseball in its purest form, a group of neighborhood boys playing a never ending game and playing for the love of the game. The Bad News Bears represents the pains of little league baseball, from learning what a baseball is, to finding a select few athletes who take over the team to win at all costs. Both movies are classics in the baseball genre of film and are alike, yet so different that they are entertaining for all. The Sandlot directed by David Evans was released in 1993 and has become a baseball classic (rogerebert.com).

Once I take a swing at the perfect pitch you can hear the crack of the bat forcefully pushing the ball to get a base hit. At first base I then watch our coach give the sign to hit to the next batter, he then turns to give me the steal sign. As I watch the pitcher start her motion all I can think about is running my hardest to get to the next bag. As the pitch is thrown I race my way and slide into the bag and hear to umpire scream “safe”. My teammates are screeching with excitement.

“4!” I yelled to my outfielder as the runner was running home. The runner was running fast and he was almost at home plate. The outfielder threw the baseball in and hoped the batter would be out as it was the last out of the inning. “Tag!” my teammates exclaimed as the baseball entered my glove and I went to tag the runner. The runner came hurtling in and as he ran, I was bringing my glove around to tag him, but I did not get my glove in place fast enough.

The fence broke on him, Roberto fell, and rolled down a hill hurting his shoulder. This injury affected him for the rest of his baseball career. Another injury occurred when Roberto was injured on the field playing baseball. He made a daring catch while slamming into the concrete wall. This lead to winning the game and being rushed to the hospital.

Once the team that is up to bat has three of their players get struck out, the teams switch positions. The team that was just up to bat is now playing the outfield (“How baseball works” 1). The main goal of the outfielders is to catch the ball and get a plater out, or throw it back to a base in baseball or a wicket in cricket (“What’s the difference” 3). In cricket, the goal of the game is just like baseball: to get more runs than the opposing team. Unlike baseball, cricket only has two innings that do not have set limits on how long they can last.

Tackled at the 26 yard line. First play on and I get the ball. Ball is snapped and it's a pitch to me. I'm running at half speed trying to concentrate on where to go. All I hear is the crowd roaring.

Mod 4-C Short Story vs The Novel The novel and the short story have been two opponents of each other since the dawn of the story. They have been battling as two ways to learn about stories. One is a pitchers duel, and every at-bat changes the outcome of the game. However, the short story is like a walk-off homerun! One short big play that changes the outcome faster than anything else in the game.

As defined by the MLB, this critical tool, “measures the speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact”(“What Is a Exit Velocity?” ). The goal of any hitter is to obtain the highest exit velocity they are physically capable of. The harder a batter can hit the ball, the faster the ball will travel and the less time the opposing players have to respond. Strong exit velocity coupled with the right launch angle makes for one mean hitting machine. But how does all of this information relate to softball?