A new major league baseball season is now underway, competing for attention with basketball playoffs, Stanley Cup hockey, and whatever siren song trills from the phones in our pockets. In this May 2017 Atlantic essay, sports writer Will Leitch contemplates some possible rule changes intended to speed up the game.
Read it here: Leitch, “The secret life of pitchers”
- In making his argument, Leitch uses an extended example of a pitcher whose career was derailed by one unfortunate incident. What is Leitch arguing? How does the example of this pitcher help make his point? Is the example persuasive? Why or why not?
- Leitch’s argument hinges on the “pace” of a baseball game, and he uses the pace of his essay as a rhetorical device to help drive home his point. How does Leitch play with the pace of his writing to illustrate his argument? Which parts of the article move quickly? Which parts move more slowly? How effective is Leitch’s maneuvering of the pace of the article? Why do you think so?
- Leitch draws heavily on two books in constructing his argument, and he summarizes specific anecdotes from each, adding quotations for additional flavor and drama. Is each quotation appropriately framed as described in Chapter 3 of your text? Go through the essay and identify the framing for each quotation.
- Most of Leitch’s essay celebrates the extraordinary skills of major league baseball players, but in the final paragraph he states that baseball is so beloved “because it can be played by anyone,” and that the game is “more about the mind, and the soul, than the body.” Does this statement contradict what Leitch was saying all along? Why or why not? Could the same thing be said about basketball? Soccer? Tennis? Why or why not? In your experience playing sports (whether voluntary or obliged), how large a role does the mind have? Write an essay that addresses these questions. Use Leitch or any other source you wish as your They Say.
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