Pynchon and baseball

[Robert Mahnke]

Forgive me if someone said this already, but I'm struggling to catch up with
the group (again).

In the past however many decades, baseball has become a commercialized,
corporate, spectator sport that most spectators enjoy via television.
(Contrast the significance of the Brooklyn Dodgers to DeLillo in Underworld
-- but then those scenes are set half a century ago.)  None of these things
strike me as the parts of American culture that interests Pynchon
particularly or that he values.  

FWIW, my six-year-old loves baseball, more than he understands it.  He'll
explain to strangers that the Yankees are evildoers.  He enjoys soccer, too,
both to play and watch on television (as I type this I'm watching Everton
and Charlton), so perhaps we're not fully American.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On Behalf
Of Lawrence Bryan
Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2007 3:22 AM
To: Ya Sam
Cc: pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: Re: Pynchon and baseball


About the only sporting game I'll watch is soccer, although I did  
enjoy watching the rugby world cup on TV in Sydney a few years ago.

I can understand the attraction of baseball but have not done more  
than scan the rankings once a week or so in years. From the very  
first pitch, the final results of the game may be determined. (Pitch,  
home run, final score 1-0.) A game is truly never over until the last  
out unlike timed games like basketball (talk about boring!) or  
football. A batter steps up and it's a rather lop-sided struggle of 1  
against 9. Every one of the 9 is on their toes watching pitcher and  
batter and possibly other runners on base. Hmmm... maybe I should go  
watch a game sometime...it's been years...


On Apr 18, 2007, at 5:35 PM, Ya Sam wrote:

I took to watching baseball matches on North American Sports channel  
(well, actually some snippets, 'cause 3 hours of baseball are too  
much for me) and while gradually developing a sort of understanding  
of this game I realised that I would always remain pretty indifferent  
to it. And I am completely aware of the fact that most of the  
Americans will remain indifferent to soccer. Now, although Pynchon  
undoubtedly belongs to world literature, he is still very American  
writer. He does mention the game on several occasions but these  
meagre references only serve to highlight the virtual absence of  
baseball in his ouevre. Why do you think it is so?

GR

'In fact, no two people have been so ill-equipped to approach a holy  
Center since the days of Tchitcherine and Dzaqyp Qulan, hauling ass  
over the steppe, into the North, to find their Kirghiz Light. That's  
about ten years' gap. Giving this pastime about the same  
vulnerability to record-breakers as baseball, a sport also well- 
spidered with white suggestions of the sinister.'


Vineland

'They sat together on the floor in front of the Tube, with a chair- 
high bag of Chee-tos and a sixpack of grapefruit soda from the health- 
food store, watching baseball highlights, commercials, and weather -  
no rain again - till it was time for the kissoff story.'

'Out in the bar a baseball game was on, Central League playoffs, and  
a few guests had lingered till the traditional 8:56, when the  
transmission from the ballpark was abruptly cut off, in the middle of  
a double play, in fact.'

_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's  
FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/