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A Note on the Papal Visit
Americans may not have realized it before, but Pope Benedict XVI (did the NFL steal this number thing from the Pope?) is a baseball fan. The reason for his U.S. visit is obvious: He came to commemorate the 100th anniversary of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”
On Thursday the Pope went to the Nationals’ stadium, and on Sunday he will go to Yankee Stadium. So he will have visited one National League and one American League stadium, leaving baseball fans anxiously awaiting a Papal pronouncement on the Designated Hitter.
While in Washington, the Pope spent a considerable amount of time with the former owner of the Texas Rangers (formerly the Washington Senators). President Bush and Pope Benedict, we are told, discussed several matters of mutual interest: likely the finer points of the splitter, the curve, and the change up — the latter two being specialties of the former Ranger owner, known in some quarters as The Great Deceiver.
To be clear, the Pope’s trip to Nationals Park was a polite formality. Not wanting to offend his hosts in the nation’s capital, and understanding that they wanted to show off the new stadium, he consented.
But a true baseball fan like Pope Benedict realizes that Washington, now hosting its third major league franchise, is no more than the Avignon of baseball, while the Montreal Expos are being held hostage in exile by the forces of a sinister cabal of dark princes, led by Bud Selig, the man who would be pope.
Benedict is also fully cognizant of the fact that he will visit the Vatican of baseball, the Grand Green Cathedral known as Yankee Stadium. It is The House That Ruth Built — Babe Ruth, that is, not the lesser-known Ruth of Old Testament fame. The Pope understands the significance of this faux biblical allusion.
Pope Benedict will be hosted by baseball’s one true pope, George Steinbrenner. Naturally we can expect a reenactment of the opening line of the book of Genesis, as the Yankees will have a big inning in honor of the Holy Father.
It is also expected that Benedict and George will reaffirm one another’s infallibility in an appropriate pre-game ceremony adjacent to Monument Park, beyond centerfield. It is, dare we say, a match made in heaven.
So let me be the first to say to Benedict XVI, “Play Ball!” As a matter of fact, let’s play two! And, by the way, we have an opening in our fantasy league, if you can work it into your busy schedule.
Posted at 9:04 AM | Permalink | | 
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As a junior at Fordham in 1965, I was asked to be an usher at Yankee Stadium when Pope Paul VI was to be there to celebrate Mass. I wasn’t interested until I learned I would get paid $25.00. That made it worthwhile.
I would like to say that I was overcome with religious ardor and bliss but that would be bull. The whole experience was surreal. I kept looking for my Yankee heroes like Mantle and Berra out on the field and some kid to sell me a hot dog and a beer. But instead there was the Pope and an army of bishops, priests, and altar boys.
It made as much sense to me as going to St. Peter’s and watching a baseball game. I was used to seeing the relief pitcher being driven to the pitcher’s mound from the bullpen in a golf cart. Seeing the Pope traversing the stadium in the Pope-mobile was all wrong.
Posted by kenny on April 19th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I hear that he is going to extend his visit so he can also visit the Cardinals, Angels and Padres, and the reason for his timing on making contact with the MLB was because he waited until after Tampa Bay eliminated the “Devil” from the Rays.
Posted by Gene K. on April 20th, 2008 at 5:25 am
We have all been Blessed with words of wisdom,
hope, and an awakening of something deep
inside that tells us we have to change, love,
and respect all human beings, born and unborn.
If anyone missed the message from this one
person very close to GOD, then God help us
all.
Posted by Patsi on April 20th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
I have given a paper at several venues, entitled “The Church of Baseball,” with all sorts of brilliant and witty choices of slides and film clips showing some of the many connections between religion and baseball, churches and ballparks, etc. In it I show a clip of John Paul II’s visit to Baltimore where he played a nifty centerfield, one of the better Polish ballplayers since Stan Musial. Benny 16 (his street name for us Roman Catholics in the know) I believe was situated at second base in Yankee Stadium, so perhaps he is a better infielder than outfielder. I thought he did okay out in the field and when I turned on the TV news heard a great cheer and assumed he had hit a home run.
Posted by George Grella on April 21st, 2008 at 1:53 pm