Cynthia Crossen wrote this awkward analysis of Malamud’s classic for a couple of weeks ago, trying to put it in a modern context.
Guess what? You can’t.
The piece is subtitled, “The Hero of Malamud’s ‘The Natural’ Wouldn’t Make [sic] With Today’s Pros.” Some time ago, I interviewed the sons of the late Mark Harris author of Bang the Drum Slowly and other books in the Henry Wiggen series. They told me of a remake of the movie version was being considered, under the “leadership” of Eddie Murphy. Anthony Harris said he didn’t think it could be redone as a “modern-day” film because he doubted a player would compromise a multi-million dollar salary for the benefit of a teammate, as Wiggen did for his dying catcher, Bruce Pierson. Of course, we were talking about the 1970s, here. Free agency was just beginning to be a common occurrence with paychecks, even for superstars, “only” in the hundreds of thousands. I suggested any remake could simply be a period piece (although it’s hard to think of 30 years ago as a “period”).
Crossen’s second sentance reveals how little she knows about her subject.
They are as powerful and graceful as always, but none of them came to training camp never having played a game before.
Anyone who knows the story could tell you that Roy Hobbs did play the game and played it extremely well. A natural, you might say (duh). He just had an ill-timed accident as he was about to make his mark on the game, becoming “the best that ever was.” She makes it sound like that he just arrived from Mars, with no experience whatever.
Read her piece and tell me if you have any idea what point she’s trying to make.
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I take her statement (“There’s nothing natural about professional baseball players today. They are as powerful and graceful as always, but none of them came to training camp never having played a game before. They have been drilled, conditioned, coached and bulked up”) to mean that today’s players aren’t merely people who have great natural ability who pick up a bat and play, but products of a highly regulated process that starts with high school, the draft, the minors, conditioning coaches, etc. In short, there’s no place for a “walk on.”
Whether that’s true or not, I don’t really know. I believe my favorite team, the Detroit Tigers, actually DO hold open tryoutsyou show up, they’ll take a look) (read: if in spring training, but they may be in the minority or unique in this regard.
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