Seeking sci-fi baseball story from my youth
October 7, 2014 10:33 AM   Subscribe

I'm hoping the hive mind can help me identify a sci-fi baseball short-story I read a few decades ago, probably in the 1970's.

The story was about an alien who comes to earth and plays baseball for a season. He passes for human. No one knows that he is from another planet. He uses telekinesis to help him play. He hits over 400 and he also pitches very very well.

The alien's attitude and the whole tone of the story is one of detachment. He just sort of comes in, plays, and then when the season is over he leaves. The stories title might have had the word "season" in it.

That's all I remember. Can anyone place the story from those details? I'd love to read it again!
posted by alms to Writing & Language (5 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I know I've read this too but I can't remember the title. Perhaps this may help? (although it's really time-consuming to go through)

It sounds a little bit like Effinger's "Naked To the Invisible Eye" but not quite...
posted by Electric Elf at 11:10 AM on October 7, 2014


1997 list of baseball SF stories.

SF Encyclopedia listing for baseball.

The 1981 anthology Baseball 3000 seems like a promising source for the story.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:19 AM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


The closest thing I can think of is an episode of The X-Files called The Unnatural.
posted by synecdoche at 4:50 PM on October 7, 2014 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks all for the suggestions!

It's reassuring to hear that the story sounds familiar to you, EE. Maybe I didn't imagine it!

Unfortunately, the lists of SF baseball stories aren't that helpful without have a synopsis for each story. It could almost be any of them.

Regarding the X-Files --- that looks great, but I'm pretty sure I read my story in the 1970s or maybe the 80s. It definitely predates the X-Files.

I'm still holding out hope. Maybe I'll find it some day going through a box of old books.
posted by alms at 6:12 AM on October 8, 2014


alms, just was providing those as a starting point for more research. A surprising number of old SF stories have a brief summary online from someone doing book reviews.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:31 AM on October 8, 2014


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