The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, June 25, 2013, featured Updike’s poem “Baseball,” which seems even more appropriate to share as Tuesday’s All-Star Game  draws nearer.

In fact, it’s tempting to contact starting NL first basemen Joey Votto to ask him how accurate Updike’s second-stanza simile seems—if he was ever “scared / of the shortstop’s wild throw / that stretches you out like a gutted deer.”

“Baseball” appeared in Endpoint, confirming Updike’s sustained interest in the Great American Pastime throughout his life.