#84 "rhythm-a-ning"

for paul lichter & the great ernie harwell

it's the top of the 5th, two men on & monk on the mound to face the meat of the defending champion new york tenors batting order--it's the rhythm inning, time now to get something going--& at the plate for the tenors, digging in deep now, center fielder sonny rollins (also known as 'newk' for his remarkable resemblance to the great don newcombe) is taking his cuts. rollins checks the sign from arnett cobb at 3rd & takes a called first strike right down the middle. on the basepaths, the leadoff batter, johnny griffin, dances off 2nd & james moody takes a short lead off of 1st. on deck, the clean-up hitter, fellow native of north carolina, veteran of many hard seasons in the minor leagues, john coltrane picks up his bat, weights it, & pounds the air without mercy. monk checks the runners, shakes off the sign from art blakey behind the plate, nods, stretches & delivers a most wicked curve & newk strikes air. the fans know if monk can get past rollins there'll be one down, coltrane up & coleman hawkins waiting on deck. so monk looks in, puts that rocky mount grip on the ball, & sends newk back to the bench with a deadly screwball. trane fans, & bean dribbles one down to john birks gillespie at 1st. diz steps on the bag & monk puts another inning away toward an eventual shut-out of the defending champs. in the bottom of the 8th, miles davis is hit by a pitch, steals 2nd, bud powell draws an in- tentional pass, & bird puts the game away with a 3-run homer. the series goes to the challengers, the bebop all-stars, 4 games to 3 & monk is voted most valuable player over dizzy gillespie in the closest of votes. the year is 1954, the legendary "subway series" is now history, & baseball, dear friends, will never be the same
—detroit may 1, 1985 special thanks to peter klaver & martin gross