World Series 2017 in Seven Baseball Haiku

VII.

Game One’s October
heat waves the air as LA
pitching fans bright stars.

Two games: strikes stunt
bats through seven—before the shelling
of Chavez Ravine.

Game Three ends as soon
as poor Darvish gives up four
runs under the roofed park.

Four’s turf: a pitching duel
washed away by the ninth—“single,
walk, double, showers.”

five makes baseball drunk
punch drunk on slick limp bananas
the vaulted heavens rain

6, top 2nd, ghosts
haunt & boo as white hot bats cool;
LA skip-trots seventh home.

Seven took less than two
to hear the Dodger blues trail
Houston’s sunnier swing.

All images copyright @MLB.

1952 World Series: Yankees vs. Dodgers, Game 7 . . . on YouTube?

So apparently game seven of the 1952 World Series is available to watch on YouTube for free. Yes, that World Series: Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Yogi Berra, Pee Wee Reese, et. al. And while it’s not the highest video quality, well, keep in mind that this is 1952 television film footage–and probably shot from high up in the bleachers of the old Yankee Stadium.

Honestly, I’m not sure whether or not this is an official unofficial YouTube release by MLB. In fact, the MLB logo is emblazoned across the channel’s homepage banner and elsewhere at http://www.youtube.com/user/MLBClassics, although I can’t locate any legitimate source that indicates MLB endorses or is responsible for this content. Apparently, the AZ Snake Pit (an SB Nation affiliate blog) has this brief post that claims this is indeed a YouTube channel operated by MLB. In any case, knowing the tendency of MLB’s iron-fisted grip on broadcast rights, I would be very surprised if they did not know about a popular YouTube channel that, by the latest count, over 34,000 unique users subscribe to–and with more than six million views. Nevertheless, I’d watch it while you still can (for free,and before MLB has a change of heart contract). And you can watch game seven of the 1952 World Series along with, oh, about 2oo other fully archived baseball classics. Enjoy!

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Here are some stellar AP photographic images of the 1952 World Series that I found at AP Images:

Mickey Mantle In Action

Yankee Stadium bleachers

Ebbets Field

Stengel in Dugout