One Minute Memoir Of a Semi Embittered Lifetime AA Batter by Dennis Mahagin

In the dusty dugouts of forgotten ball fields, a semi-embittered AA batter reflects on a career that never quite took off. With a batting average as low as his self-esteem, he’s a "walk man" who couldn't keep going, fading into the background of minor league obscurity. Nights are spent listening to Muddy Waters, the blues seeping into his soul like the spit and tobacco juice pooling in the old oil drum nearby.

Memories of awkward swings against pitchers like Cary Fu, a middle reliever with a wicked sinker and a wind-up reminiscent of Big Bird gone rogue, flood his mind. Time slows as his towering pop-ups hover under the stadium lights, only to come crashing back to the infield dirt, much like his own fleeting dreams of baseball glory.

One Minute Memoir is a raw and evocative poem that captures the melancholy and humor of a ballplayer’s life, where the smell of stale cologne and the sound of blues riffs echo long after the final innin