“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.”
One hundred years ago the Red Sox
traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees for one
hundred thousand dollars and a World Series curse.
The greatest gift Boston has ever given
New York a day after Christmas Day is Babe.
My greatest gift this Christmas is the day
after too—I traded in dark beer for
green tea—the gift of waking up sober.
This clear morning, I’m the New York Yankees
of December 26 th , 1919—
I’ve never won a World Series before,
but I know Babe’s up to bat right through the ball.
What a trade—dark beer for green tea—what a gift—
I hit my first home run today—one year sober.
About the Poet
Eamon O’Caoineachan is a poet, originally from Co. Donegal, Ireland, but living in Houston, Texas. His work is published in the University of St. Thomas’s literary magazines Thoroughfare and Laurels, and he is the recipient of The Robert Lee Frost-Vince D’Amico Poetry Award and the Rev. Edward A. Lee Endowed Scholarship in English at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. He is completing his MA in English and will pursue his PhD in Creative Writing and Literature at the University of Houston. He is working on his first poetry collection and novella.
Vita Brevis Press. 
I coached baseball for ten years. I was born, and lived the majority of my life, in Massachusetts. I remember well the moment the Red Sox broke the curse and won the World Series. -Nicely written, and congrats on your one year.
Great image with the poem!
Love baseball and this poem. Much thanks for this treat, Eamon!!