Baseball and religion

by Kevin T McEneaney

After hitting a home run or double,

I often see batters make a cross sign,

thanking the Creator for the big hit.

Do they think God a puppet master?

They are thanking God for the expert hit,

which does involve such tense difficulty

that a hit seems conjured superstition.

A true believer is like a batter

with the odds of getting a two -base hit,

which is certainly less than one in eight.

Yet, as in Blaise Pascal’s betting wager,

the batter must believe he can do it—

that he’s in the game at the stadium,

even if as a face in the bleachers.

Kevin T McEneaney

Author of The Enclosed Garden and Longing, translated into French and Japanese