There were runners on first and third for Detroit last night against Philly and nobody was out. The batter swung, and the ball broke his bat and looped its way back to the pitcher, Aaron Nola, who caught it on a fly. The runner on first had taken off for second on the swing and could not get back in time to avoid getting doubled off. Meanwhile, the runner on third had no idea what the hell was going on and ran home. Harper at first softly tossed the ball over to Bohm at third to nail that runner too. A triple play. Three outs on one play. They are pretty rare in general, but this form of triple play is especially rare. A “1-3-5 triple play:” pitcher to first to third. How rare? It had not happened in a major league game since July 11, 1929.
Now comes the part that I love: a little history. It was the first triple play of the season. It was the first triple play by the Phillies since 2017: a left-fielder, to second, to first triple play. And it was the first triple play by the Phillies involving a pitcher since Aug. 15, 1964. The shortstop in the middle of that play was Ruben Amaro. And his son, Ruben Amaro Jr., was in the ballpark last night broadcasting the game for NBC. Wow.
Take a look.
Sticking with baseball for a moment, I was watching Cleveland playing in Baltimore last night (on TV) and thus got to see this outstanding catch by a fan. Apparently seeking solitude, he was sitting all by himself way over in the upper deck, right-field stands. The batter hit a towering foul ball in his direction. With his phone and a drink in his left hand, he reached over with his right and caught the ball bare-handed. Then he soaked up the accolades.
How fitting that today’s poem from The Writer’s Almanac, by John Updike is called “Baseball.”
It looks easy from a distance,
easy and lazy, even,
until you stand up to the plate
and see the fastball sailing inside,
an inch from your chin,
or circle in the outfield
straining to get a bead
on a small black dot
a city block or more high,
a dark star that could fall
on your head like a leaden meteor.
The grass, the dirt, the deadly hops
between your feet and overeager glove:
football can be learned,
and basketball finessed, but
there is no hiding from baseball
the fact that some are chosen
and some are not—those whose mitts
feel too left-handed,
who are scared at third base
of the pulled line drive,
and at first base are scared
of the shortstop’s wild throw
that stretches you out like a gutted deer.
There is nowhere to hide when the ball’s
spotlight swivels your way,
and the chatter around you falls still,
and the mothers on the sidelines,
your own among them, hold their breaths,
and you whiff on a terrible pitch
or in the infield achieve
something with the ball so
ridiculous you blush for years.
It’s easy to do. Baseball was
invented in America, where beneath
the good cheer and sly jazz the chance
of failure is everybody’s right,
beginning with baseball.
Our wonderful college friend Pennsylvania Nancy (nee Delaware Nancy) has long-time friends we met long ago named Wendy and Simon. And they have a son Seth. I mention this because today’s NYTXW is co-constructed by Seth, along with Crossworld heavy-hitter Jeff Chen. Kudos Seth!!
One of the theme answers is TENNIS BRACELET (“Piece of jewelry consisting of a single line of diamonds”), and I’ll use it to explain the puzzle’s theme.
The central across answer is TWENTY ONE, meaning the card game, also known as Blackjack. To achieve 21, you need a ten, jack, queen, or king, plus an ace. So Seth and Jeff have the four theme answers getting to 21. TENnis brACElet. (See?) The others are QUEEN anne’s lACE, rACEr JACKet, and sucKING fACE (“Sloppily making out, in slang”). Pretty clever, IMO.
BTW, veteran Rex commenter Nancy shared this: “The term ‘tennis bracelet’ dates back to the 1987 U.S. Open when Chris Evert’s diamond bracelet fell off her wrist onto the court. The match paused while she searched for and retrieved the bracelet.”
You can see it on her arm in this shot.
On the non-theme fill, 50A threw many of us. The clue was “Provide, as with an ability,” and the answer was ENDUE. It was a new word for me. “Endow” is the more common form. Rex had a guest blogger today, so we don’t have his take on the puzzle. Seth may have dodged a bullet, but you never know. I think ENDUE might have set him off.
A commenter shared this from Genesis: “And Leah said, God hath endued me with a good dowry; now will my husband dwell with me, because I have born him six sons: and she called his name Zebulun.” Zeb, for short, no doubt.
Hey Nance! — Does Seth have a cat? The clue at 37D was “Tin in a cat owner’s pantry,” and the answer was TUNA CAN. (Meow.)
That RACER JACKET, btw, was clued with “Sleek leather outerwear.” My tax student Yvette was kind enough to model hers for us. (Phil! Just walk away now — leave the students alone!! No! — don’t help her with anything!)
This beautiful post is by Nico Laevers of the Dull Men’s Club (UK), accompanied by the photo, below.
When my then pregnant wife told me we were having a daughter, I feared the day I would be given the task of doing her hair. In my dull mind, this seemed a dreadful task, one which I surely was destined to fail at miserably. However I have made it my personal mission to create the perfect ponytail. It’s not an easy mission for me I must admit. Even to this day it baffles me, the ease with which my wife flings our little girl’s long brown hair into a ponytail, even incorporating a few braids in the process. I think I’m managing quite good though, as when I dropped her off at school the other day, her teacher said to her: “Wooow your hair is looking so pretty, did your mommy do your hair so beautifully?” The pride I felt at that moment, knowing I was the one who did her hair, cannot be described in words. It made me feel like an accomplished father.
She will turn three years old tomorrow, our little girl. Now I absolutely fear the day she will no longer require or want me to do her hair and tell me: “I’m a big girl now daddy, I can do it myself!” But until that day comes, I will strive for that perfect pony tail.
It must have hit a nerve (in a good way), because there were 449 comments, including this one by Teddy Eli:
I’m 27. I promise you, she’ll always want you to do her hair. 
Maybe not in them teen years, but we definitely get nice again around 25.
Alex Lawrence noted: I mean, I want to give you props for the attempt. But there’s a lot of scraggly hair on top. LOL
With all the grumpiness around, it’s good to read something like this. It’s by Les S. More, a commenter on Rex’s blog.
It’s a beautiful sunny morning and I did this one while sitting in my favourite crosswording place, on a bench under a group of spruce trees. The birds were crazy active and noisy and that reminded me that I’ve always wanted to download the Merlin app and identify who’s who in this wonderfully unscripted songfest. So I did. It’s mostly sparrows, robins, chickadees with the occasional towhee. Just as I got the app up and running it picked up a fairly loud croaking from the sky above me and identified it as a Great Blue Heron which soon materialized in the blue sky to the north. What a fantastic sight! What a great way to start the day.
Thanks for stopping in. See you tomorrow!
The Wellington Files 