The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop.

Imagine Walter Mitty but, instead of being the hero of his fantasy life, our main character is merely the chronicler. This is a story of how one major event (and life crisis) derail those daydreams.

The baseball players in Coover's story feel real, stepping from an earlier era of baseball. This bawdy bunch have distinct personalities and drives. Some of this comes from the results of randomness, some from J. Henry Waugh, Proprietor, as he envisions them based on their names. Baseball has a lot of myth, and the main character has embraced that - even leaving the actual game (and much of the real world) behind.

The game and the statistics match randomness to reality, and the protagonist's creation feels like a real ball game (and seasons). These exist today, more so in this computer age, and are loved by many. Henry maybe loves them a little too much as he lets reality slip away.

Worse, after this major event he puts a proverbial thumb on the scale, eventually nudging a die to another result and killing a character. As Henry descends to these depths, he ends up with a reprieve (of sorts) in the real world. The final chapter has the characters continuing on their own, now decades later - with no hint of what happened to Henry.

I first read this decades ago, and have often played simulated sports (though not to this extent). The post-modern appeal to other readers was lost to me as I focused more on the league than the life. I see the edgy attraction in this reread, but I still see more reality in Henry's baseball story than his real life.