Quote of the Day (Robert Francis, on the Pitcher’s Art: ‘Eccentricity’)

“His art is eccentricity, his aim
How not to hit the mark he seems to aim at,
 
His passion how to avoid the obvious,
His technique how to vary the avoidance.”—American poet Robert Francis (1901-1987), “The Pitcher,” from The Orb Weaver (1961)
 
When I read these lines, the pitcher that came to mind for me was Greg Maddux (pictured), a remarkably consistent pitcher who thrived despite not throwing a terribly hard fastball (ranging from the high 80s to low 90s in MPH). 

As a youngster, this future Baseball Hall of Famer recalled in a 2007 interview, his coach “worked with me when I was 15 years old, and he taught me that movement was more important than velocity. He helped me make the ball move and sink as opposed to seeing how hard I could throw it.”
 
His 78-pitch complete game in July 1997 was just one example of how he worked, using pinpoint control and an ability to outthink batters to hamstring the Chicago Cubs lineup that day.
 
His intelligence particularly impressed his peers on the mound, according to Ed Graney’s July 2007 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “No one thought the game better than Maddux. No one understood how to take advantage of its perplexing components more than he did.”

Quote of the Day (Poet Robert Francis, On ‘The Memory of Apples’)

“In the long haze of dog days, or by night
When thunder growls and prowls but will not go
Or come, I lose the memory of apples.
Name me the names, the goldens, russets, sweets,
Pippin and blue pearmain and seek-no-further
And the lost apples on forgotten farms
And the wild pasture apples of no name.” —American poet Robert Francis (1901-1987), “Remind Me of Apples,” in The Virginia Quarterly Review, Autumn 1948

Quote of the Day (Poet Robert Francis, on ‘Who Comes As Light’)

“Who comes as light
Need never wait outside.
Who brings the day
Always has right of way

“To enter here,
Has leave to pass
Instant as light through glass.”—American poet Robert Francis (1901-1987), “Who Comes As Light,” in Collected Poems 1936-1976 (1976)

I took the photo accompanying this post 14 years ago this month in a park in Montclair, NJ.