the baseball field in the corn field, part four.

shoeless joe: getting thrown out of baseball was like having part of me amputated. i've heard that old men wake up and scratch itchy legs that have been dust for over fifty years. that was me. i'd wake up at night with the smell of the ball park in my nose, the cool of the grass on my feet...the thrill of the grass...

man, i did love this game. i'd have played for food money. it was a game. the sounds, the smells. did you ever hold a ball...or a glove to your face?

ray: [nodding] yeah.

shoeless joe: i used to love travelling on the trains from town to town. the hotels...brass spittoons in the lobbies, brass beds in the rooms. it was the crowd, rising to their feet when the ball was hit deep.

shoot. i'd have played for nothin'.