Baseball's Sad Lexicon, also known as Tinker to Evers to Chance after its refrain, is a 1910 baseball poem by Franklin Pierce Adams. The poem is presented as a single, rueful, stanza from the point of view of a New York Giants fan seeing the talented Chicago Cubs infield of shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers, and first baseman Frank Chance complete a double play. 1910 in topic: Arts Architecture- Art- Film- Literature- Music- Television Science and technology Aviation- Rail transport- Radio- Science Other topics Australia- Canada- Ireland- South Africa- Sport Births- Deaths Lists of leaders: State leaders - Religious leaders 1910 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Baseball is a team sport, in which a fist-sized ball is thrown by a defensive player called a pitcher, and an offensive player called a batter attempts to hit it with a tapered, cylindrical, smooth stick called a bat. ... Bust of Homer, one of the earliest European poets, in the British Museum Poetry (ancient Greek: ποιεω (poieo) = I create) is an art form in which human language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or instead of, its notional and semantic content. ... Franklin Pierce Adams (November 15, 1881 - March 23, 1960), was an American columnist (under the pen name F.P.A.), writer, and wit, part of the famous Algonquin Round Table of the 1920s and 1930s. ... San Francisco Giants AAA Fresno Grizzlies AA Norwich Navigators A San Jose Giants Augusta GreenJackets Salem-Keizer Volcanoes R Arizona Giants Edit this box The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California. ... The Chicago Cubs are a Major League Baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. ... The position of the shortstop A shortstop moves to his left, toward the center of the field, to play a ground ball Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. ... Joe Tinker baseball card, 1912 Joseph Bert Tinker (July 27, 1880-July 27, 1948) was a Major League Baseball player and manager. ... The position of the second baseman A second baseman often ranges onto the outfield grass to field a ground ball A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base. ... Johnny Evers baseball card, 1911 John Joseph Evers (July 21, 1881 - March 28, 1947) was a Major League Baseball player and manager. ... The position of the first baseman First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that players team. ... Frank Chance baseball card, 1909-11 Frank Leroy Chance (September 9, 1877 - September 15, 1924) was a Major League Baseball player at the turn of the 20th century. ... After stepping on second base, the fielder throws to first to complete a double play In baseball, a double play (denoted on statistics sheets by DP) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. ...

Text of the Poem

 1 These are the saddest of possible words: 2 "Tinker to Evers to Chance." 3 Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds, 4 Tinker and Evers and Chance. 5 Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble, 6 Making a Giant hit into a double -- 7 Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble: 8 "Tinker to Evers to Chance." 

This work was first published in the New York Evening Mail in 1910 and is now believed to be in the Public domain. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

Notes on the Text

• A gonfalon (Line 5) is a pennant or flag, referring in this context to the National League title.
• A "double" in baseball usually means a two-base hit, but here it means a double play.

This article refers to the American baseball league. ...

History

Tinker, Evers, and Chance were all part of the Cubs World Series-winning team in 1908. The Chicago Cubs have not won the World Series since. All three players were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946; it has been speculated that the fame they enjoyed through Pierce's poem contributed to their selection. In baseball, the World Series is the championship series of Major League Baseball in North America, played in October after the end of the regular season between the pennant winner of the American League and the pennant winner of the National League. ... 1908 is a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, United States, is a semi-official museum operated by private interests that serves as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in North America, the display of baseball-related...

Despite their celebrated success at turning spectacular plays in collaboration, relations between the teammates were said to have often been strained. Tinker and Evers feuded for many years, and player/manager Chance was reputed to have had an occasionally combative approach to discipline.

See Also

• Franklin Pierce Adams

Franklin Pierce Adams (November 15, 1881 - March 23, 1960), was an American columnist (under the pen name F.P.A.), writer, and wit, part of the famous Algonquin Round Table of the 1920s and 1930s. ...

External Links

• Joe Tinker at baseball-reference.com
• Joe Tinker at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Johnny Evers at baseball-reference.com
• Johnny Evers at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Frank Chance at baseball-reference.com
• Frank Chance at the Baseball Hall of Fame
• Tinker to Evers to Chance! at the Library of Congress
• Chicago Cubs Official Site
• San Francisco Giants Official Site
• History of the Chicago Cubs
• History of the San Francisco Giants