Casey at the Bat

"Casey at the Bat" (subtitled "A Ballad of the Republic") is a poem on the subject of baseball, written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. It was first published in the San Francisco Examiner on June 3, 1888, but was popularized by DeWolf Hopper in many vaudeville performances; Hopper gave the poem's first stage recitation on August 14, 1888 at New York's Wallack Theatre in the presence of the Chicago and New York baseball teams, the White Stockings and the Giants; August 14, 1888 was also Thayer's 25th birthday. The first recorded version of Casey at the Bat, as sung by Russell Hunting, hit the music charts in 1893. DeWolf Hopper's more famous version was not released until October 1906.

[edit] Premise and plot

The poem is about a baseball team from the fictional town of Mudville, who are losing during the last inning of a game but could win if they can last long enough to let "mighty Casey" get at bat. Casey, their star player, is beloved by the fans and so confident in his abilities that he doesn't swing at the first two pitches, both strikes. As a work the poem encapsulates much of the appeal of baseball, including the involvement of the crowd. Although not well known in its entirety, the last verse has attained something of the status of a classic.

The last verse reads:

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.

[edit] Mudville

Residents of Stockton, California have often claimed that Mudville was inspired by Stockton, and for the 2002 season, Stockton's California League team was named the Mudville Nine. (Since then, the team's name has reverted to the Stockton Ports.) The minor league baseball team in Visalia, CA also plays games as the Mudville Nine.

Residents of Holliston, Massachusetts have made similar claims, and a rivalry of sorts has developed between the two cities over the location of the poem, if it was either. There is a neighborhood in Holliston called Mudville. Thayer did in fact grow up in nearby Worcester, Massachusetts.

[edit] Adaptations and sequels

A month after the poem was published, a parody, "Kelly at the Bat," was published in the Sporting Times. The only changes from the original are substitutions of Kelly for Casey, and Boston for Mudville. Mike "King" Kelly, then of the Boston Beaneaters, was one of baseball's two biggest stars at the time (along with Cap Anson).

In 1897, Current Literature noted the two versions and said, "The locality, as originally given, is Mudville, not Boston; the latter was substituted to give the poem local color."

Casey At The Bat was adapted into a 1953 opera by American composer William Schuman.

Based on Thayer's original, there have been two animated films by Walt Disney: Casey at the Bat (1946), which is a direct adaptation, and Casey Bats Again (1954), in which his daughters redeem his reputation.

A parody of the original, replaying the same events from the perspective of the opposing team, was written by Garrison Keillor. It describes the hatred of the Mudville team by Dustburg, and tells of how Casey received abuse when he struck out.

Several other parodies exist: one where Casey gets revenge the next season with the same pitcher and one including Casey coming to the plate 20 years later getting his revenge, and one taking place in Russia which ends with "Kasey" in a gulag prison.

In 1988, on the 100th anniversary of the poem, Sports Illustrated writer Frank DeFord constructed a fanciful story (later expanded to book form) which posited Katie Casey, the subject of the song Take Me Out to the Ball Game, as being the daughter of the famous slugger from the poem.

An episode of Tiny Toon Adventures featured a short titled "Buster at the Bat", where Sylvester provides narration as Buster goes up to bat. In this version, the first two strikes are due to Buster signing an autograph the first time and answering his cell phone the second time. However, in the end, Buster hits a home run, much to Sylvester's confusion; Buster replies, "You were expecting me to strike out?! I'm the star of this show!" The poem was later parodied again for an episode of Animaniacs, this time with Wakko as the title character and Yakko narrating.

MAD Magazine parodied the poem as Clooney as the Bat; a mockery of George Clooney's role as Batman in Batman and Robin. It was parodied again in 2006 as Barry at the Bat, poking fun at Barry Bonds' alleged involvement in the BALCO scandal.

[edit] Other references

• In the film Short Cuts, a little boy named Casey dies, and his grieving parents are harassed by a prank caller who gives the final lines of "Casey at the Bat" a cruel and ominous double meaning.
• When a fighter pilot fails to hit their target, they usually notify others by shouting, "No joy!"
• The poem is referenced in passing by John Fogerty in his song "Centerfield." The two lines go as follows:

Well I spent some time in the Mudville Nine, watching it from the bench.

You know I took some lumps when the mighty Case struck out.

• The title character (Casey) is also mentioned in Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way." But while Walsh sings, "Bases are loaded and Casey's at bat", according to the poem there are only men on second and third.
• Death Cab for Cutie's album We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes features a song titled "No Joy in Mudville."
• An episode of the TV series Northern Exposure revolved around the meaning of the poem. The character of Chris is writing his Master's thesis in English literature on the poem. Two professors come to town to hear his thesis defense, and their obscure academic debate is ended when Chris recites the poem while pitching to the professor most critical of this thesis. When the increasingly furious professor strikes out, Chris proves his thesis by stating that the poem is about the feeling in the professor's gut right at that moment.
• The Teacher's Pet episode "Take Me Out of the Ballgame" (not to be confused with the DuckTales episode of the same name) featured a narrator who spoke in rhymes similar to those in the poem.
• In the Fairly OddParents episode "Foul Balled", when Chester McBadbat loses his ability to play baseball well, Chet Ubetcha remarks that "mighty Chester has struck out!!"
• In the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game EarthBound, the most powerful weapon for Ness is the "Casey bat", but its accuracy is very poor.

[edit] External links

• "Casey at the Bat (road game)", by Garrison Keillor
• Hear Hopper recite the poem.
• Casey at the Bat cylinder recording by Russell Hunting, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.
• Casey At The Bat Read the poem on this page.