Older Than the Game

Panel 1: Before a game, Tyler talks to Sam as Sam prepares his shin guards in the umpires’ room. Tyler: “How long have you been doing this?”

Panel 2: Sam secures a shin guard with his trouser leg rolled up. Sam: “Longer than you’d think.” Tyler: “How old are you, anyway?”

Panel 3: Sam stands with his trousers lowered over the guards, holding his mask. Sam: “Older than baseball.” Tyler, laughing: “Good one.”

Panel 4: Centuries earlier, men in old-fashioned clothes play an early bat-and-ball game on a village green at dusk. The same pale face watches from the shade of a tree. Silent.