Gregg SAPP
Gregg SAPP is the author of the “Holidazed” series of satires, each of which is set around a different holiday. To date, there are nine books in the series, from “The Christmas Donut Revolution” to the latest, “Baseball, Birthday, and Ten-Cent Beer.” Previous books include his dollar store epic, “Dollarapalooza” and “Fresh News Straight from Heaven,” which is based on the folklore of Johnny Appleseed (Evolved 2018). He also writes essays, humor, poetry and short fiction that have appeared in several literary journals. A native Ohioan, Gregg now writes and lives in Tumwater, WA. For more information, see www.sappgregg.net
Anushka Bidani: Why baseball?
Gregg SAPP: I’ve always wanted to write a baseball book. Baseball has a rich literary tradition, more than other sports. My theory is that the pace of a baseball game uniquely lends itself to introspection. In between the game’s many pauses, a fan’s thoughts can drift into fiction, fantasy, philosophy, or, in my case, comedy. I wrote parts of my book while listening to Seattle Mariners (my current hometown team) radio broadcasts.
AB: What is it about the Ten-Cent Beer Night incident that caught your fancy?
GS: First, I write satire, and the Cleveland Indians’ infamous Ten-Cent Beer Night riot of 1974 provides plenty of material for laughs. Second, I remember it. At the time, I was a sixteen-year-old Ohio boy, a true fan of the team, not to mention a bit of a troublemaker. When I heard about the bruhaha, my first thought was “I wish I’d been there.” Third, on a more serious note, there were some quirky social and cultural dynamics underlying everything that happened, and I try to bring those out in the book.
AB: You present an ideal where one can play a game to model good behaviour over objectivizing winning — a distinctive choice for a sports novel. Could you speak to that choice? Is that model transformed when some chaotic element—ten-cent beer, here—enters its system?
GS: “Baseball, Birthday, and Ten-Cent Beer” is also a coming-of-age novel. Solomon, who is turning thirteen, has been raised to believe in the fairness, integrity, and virtues of athletic competition. When he sees that code being violated, he feels like it’s his duty to do whatever he can to restore order, even though he’s just a ballboy. The game becomes Solomon’s personal morality play.
AB: When Solomon receives the invite he thinks, ““For a Catholic kid growing up on the north side of Columbus, Ohio, this was akin to a personal letter from Jesus Christ.” This is a device—a parallel—that runs throughout the book. What are your thoughts on sports—its players, its teams—being conceived as idols and gods? How did you go about translating these conceptions into your story?
GS: A lot of fans have an almost religious devotion to their favorite sports and/or teams. It can be a source of joy and inspiration. Or, it can bring out the worst in them. For some, athletic contests become like a holy war, and the opponents are enemies of the faith. At a deeper level, though, this passion is born out of angst and frustration. Mix that with cheap beer, and chaos breaks out.
AB: Solomon is both a player and a fan. How did you go about constructing these different identities while ensuring coherence for the character?
GS: Solomon embodies the same values as a player and as a fan. He’s not the most gifted player, but nobody works or believes harder. For example, in the beginning of the novel, he turns a game-ending double play—except the umpire incorrectly calls the runner safe. Instead of arguing, Solomon just resolves to do better next time. Similarly, as a fan, he associates with players who aren’t superstars but have a strong work ethic. Unfortunately, as the book shows, it’s true believers like him that tend to get taken advantage of.
AB: I loved how your different POVs showed different kinds of fans: the obsessive statistician, the hearty watcher, the devotee etc. How did you go about identifying these archetypes?
GS: Sports in general and baseball in particular attract diverse and colorful fans. I get inspiration by people watching at the ballpark. In the novel, there are characters who go there for their pure love of the game, others who are there for the sights and sounds, and some just to drink beer and raise hell. There’s also a contingent whose motives change as the game goes on, and more beer is consumed.
I should mention also that this book is dedicated to the long-suffering baseball fans of Cleveland, Ohio, who haven’t won a World Series since 1948. Some real people from Cleveland baseball lore are in the book, including Les the beer man, Rocco who sings the national anthem, and John the superfan who beats the rally drum.
AB: Baseball and its fandom in your book is—if not a male-dominated space then—definitely masculine. What were the ideas of masculinity-sports that you were working with here?
GS: The Ten-Cent Beer Night riot was precipitated largely by young men, who aren’t the most sympathetic characters. I had fun depicting their foolishness. However, I also enjoyed taking the female characters in the story on some odd journeys during the game. The ladies weren’t especially interested in the play on the field, so they found other diversions, like making new friends, getting lost and crashing into the men’s room, and sneaking into the players’ locker room. Throughout, the men try to look after these women, but they can’t even take care of themselves. Besides, the women don’t need to be taken care of.
Anushka Bidani is an Indian writer, editor, & cultural researcher.