So I was playing Batman: Arkham Knight, and at one point, while fighting some thugs, I pressed a button that made Batman grab a hold of a baseball that a thug had dropped. Batman then used his “Bat-bat” to knock a few other thugs to the ground.
It was badass.
It also made me think about the baseball bat itself. Outside of the baseball cap (worn even in places where baseball is all-but-unknown) and various sports’ playing balls themselves, is any piece of sporting equipment more iconic even outside of its sport?
And is there anything else that comes from sports with so many meanings?
For us, of course, the bat is meant to stand for its role in baseball. It’s the lone weapon a hitter has against the ball being thrown, his only instrument to perform an offensive play. Even in plays where the bat doesn’t hit the ball- whether on a strike, a ball, or a hit-by-pitch, it plays a role simply because of its absence.
When it is active, when it is hitting a ball, it’s the indication that a play is about to happen. The crack of the bat (or, if you are playing amateur ball, the ping) is the indication that something is about to change: the count, the pitch count, the score, the number of outs, the inning…perhaps even the win-loss column.
The bat is what sets things into motion.
And yet, for some, especially outside of places where baseball is popular, the baseball bat has a more sinister meaning, as a weapon. During rioting, for example, Amazon saw it’s orders for baseball bats skyrocket in parts of the UK. While I can’t remember the exact country, I remember reading that in some country in Eastern Europe, baseball players actually have to show that they actually play baseball in order to buy baseball bat.
Even in the USA, the baseball bat can have a notorious meaning. During “The Untouchables” for example, Al Capone is shown to hold a baseball bat and monologue on his love of baseball only to then use the bat to beat in the head of a guy who had talked to the cops.
And yet, somewhere in between, there is the baseball bat as the weapon of the hero. It’s no coincidence that Wonderboy took the place of Excalibur in the heavily Arthurian-inspired “The Natural”, after all. You can see similarities between how knights and heroes of legend treated their swords with how some ballplayers have treated their bats. Yes, like the warriors of old, our heroes now go into battle with baseball bats. I mean, just look at the cult video game classic Earthbound. Made by a Japanese writer, it was meant as a critique both of America and also of the traditional video game setting where you play as a hero with a sword.
And what does Ness, the hero of Earthbound wield when he goes into battle?
A baseball bat.
Does this mean anything? Does this mean nothing?
I don’t know.
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LINKS!
Royals coach Don Wakamatsu’s grandmother passed away recently, and in this piece Vahe Gregorian talks to Wakamatsu on what his grandparents went through in the internment camps during WWII.
Jerry Crasnick’s survey on the best manager in baseball.
Rob Neyer on what teams do and do not do bobbleheads, and how many they give out.
More of a general sports story, but here’s something from the New York Times on the decrease in “real” tickets and the rise of printable stubs.
Todd Zeile has gone Hollywood.
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Next week: The Wisedom-ies, in which I award first-half awards based upon gut feeling and random whim. Get hype!
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