Legend has it, that it was a beautiful day in Commerce, Oklahoma in October of 1949. A young Mickey Mantle stepped into the batter’s box at the local high school for the last time. Big League scouts were in attendance, as they had heard of the kid from Oklahoma who could hit a ball a mile from either side of the plate. Mickey knew he was destined for big things, and he intended to prove it. With the next pitch, Mantle had launched the ball from his bat with such intensity that the people there that day swore it never landed.
The world’s top scientists postulate that if indeed the ball pierced the stratosphere and rocketed through the planet’s outer belt of cosmic radiation, it is possible that it could have been picked up by the solar winds and taken on a grand cosmic adventure to places beyond our known reality. They can only speculate as to what changes or transformations might have taken place within the molecular structure of the ball due to the heavy doses of cosmic radiation and any potential contact with extraterrestrial sentience or inter-dimensional travelers.
Then, in November of 2024, the North American Aerospace Defense Command detected an unidentified object traveling at an incredible rate of speed headed directly for the state of Oklahoma. Scientists, along with the concerned citizens of planet Earth, speculated for months what the object could be. On October 26, 2024, military satellites were able to identify the anomalous object just as it passed the dark side of the moon. Its heat signature matched that of the same ball hit by Mickey Mantle 76 years ago, but it had vastly increased in size and shape. But the question remained as to why the ball was headed back to its planet of origin. The genetically transformed ball was set to make impact on April 1, 2025, at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, directly in the heart of Oklahoma City. As the citizens braced for impact, they knew their ballpark and their lives were about to be changed forever. The unimaginable had happened, the lore was real, and a true moonshot had found its way back home.
Book:
Glory Days of Summer: The History of Baseball in Oklahoma
Hobbies:
Calling his shot, hitting home runs from both sides of the plate, and going really-really fast
Treat:
Dippin' Dots
Movies:
Safe at Home!, The Rocketeer, Homeward Bound
Little is known about the space squatch or its colony on the dark side of the moon. We don’t know how they got there or how long they have been building their civilization. Internet conspiracists believe that numerous sasquatch has been abducted from Earth by extraterrestrials and placed there for study. However, Ancient Alien theorists contend the moon to be the original homeworld of the Sasquatch. The Squatch once possessed a now forgotten portal technology enabling them to transverse space-time, allowing interstellar travel from their world to our own. Perhaps we will never know for sure.
Although its size and strength can be intimidating, the space squatch is a peaceful creature. It’s shy but loves to be around friends and family. It prefers not to be the center of attention but has been known to inadvertently be the life of the party. The space squatch can communicate empathically, often sharing feelings of joy and excessive optimism. It has a curious nature that sometimes gets it into mischief, but it always has the best intentions and only wants to be friends with the people of Earth. It has recently become fascinated with the earthling game of baseball and is eager to get some playing time. The space squatch is loyal and enjoys playing space fetch and games of hide and go-seek with its best friend, Rover.
Book:
Anything with “Where’s Waldo”
Hobbies:
Playing hide-and-go seek and space-fetch with Rover
Treat:
Soft pretzel and astronaut ice cream
Movies:
Harry and the Hendersons and Take Me Out to the Ballgame (1949)