(Photo via American Association Almanac)

While traveling around Baseball-Reference the other day, I came upon the story of Ed Kenna. Known as “the pitching poet” for his literary pursuits, sportswriter Charles Dryden wrote that Kenna, "may be long on meter but he pitches ragtime.“ I may not know what that means exactly, but it sure isn’t a glowing account of his baseball ability. I think.

The precursor to Miguel Batista, Kenna pitched one year in the Major Leagues, going 1-1 with a 5.09 ERA in 17 innings for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902, but hung around the minor leagues for another five seasons. Kenna was involved in a terrible accident in 1905, nearly losing his eye, but managed to throw 305 innings the next year and an unknown total in 1907. Talk about grit.

After his playing days, Kenna became the editor of the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia, but would pass away at the age of 35. After his death, his wife published his works titled, "Songs of the Open Air and Other Poems.”

The entire book has been scanned and uploaded to archive.org, once again proving that my love for the Internet is not unfounded.

Here’s one of them, apparently about Ichiro Suzuki:

“I sing not the song of the work of man, Be it music, or poem, or painting rare My song’s of the sod, the work of God, And the perfect joy of the open air. I sing the song of that beacon star That lights the mariner o'er the bar When the wind is high and the sailors dare. So its hey for the primal joys of man, The joys that are to God’s own plan The woodland air is a perfumed prayer To Him who made the woodlands fair, To Him who wills the breeze to blow, The birds to sing, the brooks to flow, Whose name is writ on the mountain’s crest And lisped in the song of the running streams, Whose love is hid in the bluebell’s breast, And glints in the light of the bright sun’s beams. So it’s hey for the noon-tide or sunsets fair, The glory of God is written there, Now or then, whenever or where, It’s hey for the joy of the open air.”

For those that love baseball and poetry and strange artifacts, it’s definitely worth your time. Click here for the full text.