In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #1008 from the issue of October 5, 2026, Mr. Met stands in a sports bar and discusses the baseball postseason with a fan. The drawing is by Paul Noth.
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| "All this hitting has ruined the game." |
This caption I'm saving for Old Timers' Day:
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| "Big deal. Where were they in 1969?" |
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In The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #964 from the issue of October 20, 2025, we are looking at a baseball park's outfield. Two groundskeepers watch an outfielder chasing a fly ball into a wild environment with waiting bears. The grounds crewman who is holding a rake speaks. My entry appears below. The drawing is by Ed Himelblau.
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| "We might be in for some overtime." |
These captions didn't get out of the batter's box.
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| "Those bears are bad news." "I call that one the Green Monster." "What's YOUR favorite postapocalyptic sport?" "Uh-oh. He's approaching the warning track." |
October 28, 2025 Update: The Finalists
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There's not a lot of action to be seen on the baseball diamond in an original illustration by W. B. Park. The several spider webs are apparently a commentary on the slow pace of some baseball games. Park died in 2021, but this watercolor may have appeared decades before the advent of the pitch clock.
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| W. B. Park's signature |
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| W. B. Park eBay listing ended April 30, 2025 |
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| W. B. Park eBay item description |
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An original illustration by Abe Birnbaum (1899-1966) depicts boys playing sandlot ball. It was sold in Seattle on May 11 with the title "Baseball Game." Birnbaum's work is celebrated for his many New Yorker covers and spot drawings.
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| Abe Birnbaum's signature |
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| Abe Birnbaum District Auction item description |
Note: I have no idea whether this was Abe Birnbaum piece was ever published, but I'd love to hear from anyone with the official stats.
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It just so happens that the very first of the original New Yorker cartoons offered by eBay seller Henning Fine Art in its current run of works from the estate of W. B. Park had been published with an exceedingly long caption. The words are not spoken but instead delivered in the form of a detailed minute-by-minute summary of the action in mock-documentary format. It's practically time-stamped. I recall that it sold in the same range as Park's other New Yorker originals, around $205; in other words, there was no surcharge for all the outsize prose.
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| 8:28: Charles stood up and strode into the kitchen. Everything was in readiness. He selected a fresh piece of stone-ground whole-wheat bread and balanced it carelessly in his left had. Behind him the electric wall clock hummed quietly. The peanut butter spread easily across the bread, Charles expertly turning the knife this way and that, guiding the creamy paste around the surface. The grape jelly proved more of a challenge, but he was equal to it. At precisely 8:30, he settled back into his chair, back into his reverie, back into the doubleheader. W. B. Park Original art The New Yorker, October 3, 1988, p. 99 |
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| Detail, right, with W. B. Park's signature |
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| W. B. Park eBay listing c. mid-2024 archived on Worthpoint |
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| 8:28: Charles stood up and strode into the kitchen. Everything was in readiness. He selected a fresh piece of stone-ground whole-wheat bread and balanced it carelessly in his left had. Behind him the electric wall clock hummed quietly. The peanut butter spread easily across the bread, Charles expertly turning the knife this way and that, guiding the creamy paste around the surface. The grape jelly proved more of a challenge, but he was equal to it. At precisely 8:30, he settled back into his chair, back into his reverie, back into the doubleheader. W. B. Park The New Yorker, October 3, 1988, p. 99 |
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| 8:28: Charles stood up and strode into the kitchen. Everything was in readiness. He selected a fresh piece of stone-ground whole-wheat bread and balanced it carelessly in his left had. Behind him the electric wall clock hummed quietly. The peanut butter spread easily across the bread, Charles expertly turning the knife this way and that, guiding the creamy paste around the surface. The grape jelly proved more of a challenge, but he was equal to it. At precisely 8:30, he settled back into his chair, back into his reverie, back into the doubleheader. W. B. Park Original art The New Yorker, October 3, 1988, p. 99 |
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| With an advertisement for DeBeers and a cartoon by W. B. Park |
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The National Pastime is John Cheever's reminiscence about baseball and family. It was published in The New Yorker issue of September 26, 1953. In 1982 the piece was published in hardcover as a limited edition. Copy 272 of 330 was recently sold on eBay.
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John Cheever eBay item description |
Note: The cover illustration is by Vance Gerry, who signed the artwork VG.
Thanks to David from Manhattan for making the identification.
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It's time for the home opener in The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #891 from the issue of April 1, 2024. My caption is shown below. The drawing is by Mick Stevens.
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| "Get back in the bullpen." |
April 12, 2024 Update: The Finalists
April 27, 2024 Update: I voted for the caption from Chicago.
May 5, 2024 Update: The Winner
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An original published cartoon by Barney Tobey from the 1940s was sold on eBay in October. Set in the business office of a baseball team, its humor reflects some broadly accepted sexist attitudes towards women at the time. The sale price for the artwork was a best offer somewhere below $324.99.
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| "One of our scouts discovered her sitting next to him in the stands one day." Barney Tobey Original cartoon art IAC?, April 1940s |
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| Caption |
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| Barney Tobey's signature |
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| Barney Tobey eBay listing ended October 25, 2023 |
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| Barney Tobey eBay item description |
Note: I don't know what IAC stood for in the 1940s or where this drawing may have been published, but I'm willing to learn. Those in the know should enlighten me.
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