"Pafko at the Wall" Quotes
"Pafko at the Wall" by Don DeLillo is a narrative capturing the tension and cultural significance of the 1951 baseball game where Bobby Thomson hit the "Shot Heard 'Round the World," intertwining themes of American identity and historical moments.
fiction | 96 pages | Published in 2001
Quotes
Baseball is a haunted game in which every player is measured against the ghosts of those who have gone before.
The game doesn't change. The players change. And the percentages change. But the game itself is constant.
The moment itself is not so important. What is important is that the moment is captured, that it is held in place.
There is a low-level hum of expectancy at the ballpark, something close to prayer.
The crowd brings a kind of noise that has a shape and form, a tangible presence.
The game is a piece of the past that exists only in the present.
The players are caught in a moment, a solitary moment, in which they have no past and no future.
The ballpark is a place of refuge, a place where time stands still.
Baseball is the one constant in a changing world. It is a touchstone, a point of reference.
The game is a mirror. It reflects the world outside, but it is also a world unto itself.
