Booby Ruth was a legendary cricket player, often considered the man who popularized the home…uh, the hometest…wicket…the hometestwicket. Ball. The hometestwicketball. Anyway a true legend. Immortalized by, amongst other things, the “Bobby Ruth Bar”, a legally distinct candy bar. Actually not at all associated with him, save for completely.
That being said, he wasn’t terribly smart. Falling for a stupid prank is one thing, and falling for a prank by Yogi is another thing…but falling for a stupid prank by Yogi is a third thing. A third thing that is even worse than the other two things.
And I was going to say it’s a thing that couldn’t happen to a lot of people…but then Gregory had it happen to him, and that weakens the point a bit. In Gregory’s defense, he’s not really stupid (obviously not, after all the brains he’s eaten), he’s just a little bit naive. Maru-maru is a teacher and person of authority, after all, no matter how badly he’s suited for that. Worse, he’s the coach…and going out onto the field for a crucial match without complete trust in your coach would be a huge psychological burden. So, in order not to let this sort of psychological liability limit his potentially-match-deciding performance, he has reasonably decided to place complete trust into Maru-maru…no matter how badly he’s suited for that.
He can now step out on the field free of mental encumbrance and do his best. Admittedly, at the price of having to clean up the locker room later. But then, somebody would have to do that. And Booby Ruth is no longer around…and would no longer fall for this old prank, anyway.
After guffawing extensively at his old joke, Yogi did explain what a clean-up batter actually is…but it was boring, so I left it off-screen. I think it’s ok if we all just use our best guesses.
More on Thursday.