How To Play Night Baseball by Jonathan Holden

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: How To Play Night Baseball.

"Play until the ball is khaki..." - Jonathan Holden
How To Play Night Baseball

by Jonathan Holden ©

Published: Design For A House (1972)

A pasture is best, freshly
mown so that by the time a grounder's
plowed through all that chewed, spit-out
grass to reach you, the ball
will be bruised with green kisses. Start
in the evening. Come
with a bad sunburn and smelling of chlorine,
water still crackling in your ears.
Play until the ball is khaki-
a movable piece of the twilight-
the girls' bare arms in the bleachers are pale,
and heat lightning jumps in the west. Play
until you can only see pop-ups,
and routine grounders get lost in
the sweet grass for extra bases.

How To Play Night Baseball by Jonathan Holden ©



The first official game played at night in the National League was on May 24, 1935. Do you remember who the teams were?

The first official game played at night in the American League was on May 16, 1939. Do you remember who the teams were?

Find out who those teams were and review a list of every of team in major league history in our famous first night games list.

     

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