Dreams.

Today Cincinnati Reds pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training in Goodyear, Arizona, so I owe the internet a baseball illustration. It's tradition, after all! But I will be honest, I was stuck for a while. What baseball art could possibly meet the moment, when my government is being dismantled with gleeful hostility, in order to extract the highest possible harm to the most vulnerable people?

Then I remembered that we lost the great James Earl Jones last year, and inspiration struck. Baseball brings me joy. Art brings me joy. Stories bring me joy. We need joy right now.

Also! Never forget that  Field of Dreams is a movie about book banning. Be like Annie and fight for the right to read.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024]

Still Life With Baseball Idioms (or Spring Training 2024)

Happy Pitchers and Catchers Report Day 2024! Has a baseball term ever made you hungry? This post's for you! How many idioms can you spot in this illustration?

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

The weather's not so fair.

It's a little bit this:

And a little bit this:

But mostly this: 

My team will be bad this season. But baseball's back. But being a fan of a losing team is agony. But even the worst teams win 60 games a year, and winning is thrilling. But there's no end in sight to the losing. But I love this beautiful, frustrating game. But but but but. 

Welcome back, baseball. Here we go again. 

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022]

Hey now, you're an all star

Since 2008, I've been creating a new baseball-themed illustration each year on the occasion of the start of Spring Training, celebrated on the day that pitchers and catchers report to camp-- the idea being that pitchers need a little bit longer to get ready than the hitters (and they can't do much of anything without their battery mates behind the plate.) 

This usually takes place in mid-February. But in early December, as negotiations began on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the MLB owners locked out the players, and the start of Spring Training was delayed. The two parties recently came to an agreement, so all our favorite players are now hanging out in Arizona and Florida, stretching and running drills and getting ready for the season to start next month, only a week or so behind the original schedule. But there was never an official "Pitchers and Catchers Report Day" like usual this year, so I've decided to squeeze this annual tradition in before exhibition games start up tomorrow.

I love baseball because I always have, because I was raised in a family that loved baseball and in a geographic spot that gave me easy access (both in-person and on the radio) to one of the game's most storied teams, the Cincinnati Reds. I watched a lot of losing teams in my formative fandom years (ages 13-26) and so I learned how to love the game without any expectation of "winning it all" or a "pennant chase" or... what exactly is a "World Series" anyway?

One thing I ❤️ about baseball is that even the worst teams win 60 games a year. Your team can be a disaster and still put on a hit parade on any given day. If being a fan is supposed to be fun, this seems like a big plus in baseball's favor that doesn't get discussed much.

— Elizabeth Metz (@finestmuffins) April 17, 2018

The Reds, after years of futility and rebuilding, made the playoffs in 2020 and were in the hunt for a playoff spot for most of 2021. And yet they're currently being dismantled for parts. The whimsical and colorful illustration above represents how the start of a new season usually makes me feel (momentum! stardust! POSSIBILITY!) But there's a 65% chance another beloved favorite will leave my team in the time it takes me to type this blog post, so I'll go ahead and also share a slapdash sketch from a few days ago that more accurately represents my feelings about baseball circa March 2022:

There's always next year, I guess? Meh. Okay.

[Memory lane:  2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021]

P.S. Updated to add: the title of this post is a reference to this song that I will forever associate with my first favorite baseball team, the splendid but tragically doomed 1999 Cincinnati Reds.

50 Precious Words: Prickly

 

Author Vivian Kirkfield holds a contest each year called "50 Precious Words." It does what it says on the label-- challenges writers (especially us picture book folk who are always chasing after profound brevity!) to write a complete story using no more than 50 words. 

You can view all of this year's entries here.  I've thrown my hat in the ring for the first time this year. Mine is below, with a bonus illustration to spice things up. 

 

(By the way, I used *EXACTLY* 50 words, thankyouverymuch.)

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UPDATED: You guuuuuuys! I won an honorable mention! In the highly coveted and obviously most important of all Nature/Environment category! I drink from the keg of glory!!!