Does God Exist?
One of the most commonly accepted interpretations of the novel it is not really about baseball at all, but is actually a theological allegory about the rise of Christianity. Much of the evidence supporting this analytical reading is forward through the use of imagery. Some of it is quite subtle, such as this example from the final chapter which takes place entirely as if Waugh’s fictionally constructed world were real with Waugh as its mystery supreme creator and object of this philosophical observation:
“I don’t know there’s really a record-keeper up there or not, Paunch. But even if there weren’t, I think we’d have to play the game as though there were.”
J.H. Waugh
The imagery casting the novel as an allegory of Christianity actually begins with the title itself. Were the book’s metaphorical capacity only to be considered within the limitations of the symbolism of baseball itself, the author would almost certainly have shortened the title appropriately. It is significant that the full title includes the name of the main character and it is even more significant that only an initial is given for the first name. The result is that the “god” of this fantasy baseball game’s name—if the convention of identifying one’s middle name with an initial were followed—would be J.H. Waugh, which when spoken as is would sound quite a bit like Yahweh, the Hebrew name for God.
Playing Dice with the Universe
While Waugh’s name as imagery may be a bit obscure for many readers, there is one particular utilization that is likely to go unnoticed by all the most un-attuned of readers. In “fixing” the dice so that one of his imagery players is killed in retribution for his having “killed” Waugh’s favorite player, the roll of the dice which seals the doom is extremely hard to ignore for anyone rejecting the Christian allegory interpretation:
“6-6-6: Pitcher struck fatally by line drive through box; batter safe on first; runs advance one.”
History, Religion and Myth.
Though not at directly obvious as the reference to the mark of the beast that is the numbers showing on the dice above, it is in another example of imagery where the epicenter of the point of the novel as an allegory shines through. The reader assumes that the history of the UBA created and controlled by Waugh is the true story, but in fact it is merely legend written down. This connection between the novel and Christianity itself is pointed made clear:
“Some writers even argue that Rutherford and Casey never existed—nothing more than another of the ancient myths of the sun, symbolized as a victim slaughtered by a monster or force of darkness. History: in the end, you never prove a thing.”
