The New Kid by Mike Makley

Many great men and women have written entire books about every aspect of the game; however, other than "Casey At Bat," few know about some of the other great poems that have appeared honoring our national pastime. Listed below is the baseball poem: The New Kid.

"The kid never muffs a grounder or fly..." - Mike Makley
The New Kid

by Mike Makley ©

Published: The New Kid (1975)

Our baseball team never did very much,
we had me and PeeWee and Earl and Dutch.
And the Oak Street Tigers always got beat
until the new kid moved in on our street.

The kid moved in with a mitt and a bat
and an official New York Yankee hat.
The new kid plays shortstop or second base
and can outrun us all in any place.

The kid never muffs a grounder or fly
no matter how hard it's hit or how high.
And the new kid always acts quite polite,
never yelling or spitting or starting a fight.

We were playing the league champs just last week;
they were trying to break our winning streak.
In the last inning the score was one-one,
when the new kid swung and hit a home run.

A few of the kids and their parents say
they don't believe that the new kid should play.
But she's good as me, Dutch, PeeWee or Earl,
so we don't care that the new kid's a girl.

The New Kid by Mike Makley ©



Did you know that the St. Louis Cardinals were owned from 1911 to 1916 by a woman named Helene Britton?

Al Somers, owner of a prestigious umpire school, once said, "There will never be a woman student in my school. It's just not a job for a woman." Do you agree or disagree? Share your thoughts on our message boards.

Susan J. Berkson once said, "Ken Burns calls baseball a metaphor for democracy. He's wrong. It is a metaphor for sexism. The great theme is that it's a boy's game. Women have been shut out again and again."