You might remember Arthur C. Clarke as the author of such sci-fi masterpieces as Space Future, Robot Fight, and Robot Spaceship, but he was also a wizard. Back in 1986, Clarke wrote a book about the future, and it included a passage about baseball in the year 2019, written from the perspective of a scout.
Arthur C. Clarke is a wizard
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Not just any scout, though, but Don Mattingly. And in the piece, Mattingly is scouting the Dodgers.
Wizard.
You might be thrilled that he predicted the rise of Baseball Prospectus:
Prospectus: It’s our power and fielding against their pitching and speed. Our Sportspak computers say we’ll win if we get 4.2 runs a game.
Or that he correctly predicted the rise of PEDs:
Lance Nihilator — switch-hitting center fielder who can catch any ball hit within a block of him. The Dodgers’s steroid program has helped him get down to 8.7 seconds in the 100-meter dash, just .3 off the world record. He stole 207 bases this season.
But for my money, nothing proves the wizardry more than this:
Bud Garvey—right-handed first baseman. He can hit any kind of pitch you throw. Steve Garvey the Dodgers’s old first baseman, sired him so well that he keeps getting black market requests around the league to produce more offspring.
If you don’t know why that’s brilliant, here’s Steve Garvey’s Wikipedia page. Scroll down to personal. Then note that bastardgate didn’t start until 1989 -- three years after Clarke wrote this article.
Wizard. Just tell me where to send my money, Clarke estate. Just tell me.
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