Red Sox A-Z: X is for…

…xylography.

Admit it. You’ve been wondering what I would use for “x” since I started this. You’ve been waiting at the edge of your seat all along wondering. You knew there has never been a player for the Red Sox who’s last name started with “x.” You couldn’t think of a ballpark feature, or baseball term either. I’m sure you hoped I wouldn’t cop out and use Jimmy Foxx, or go with his nickname double-X. I hate it when alphabet books do that. If you do a book of animals of the alphabet, please don’t use Fox when you get to “x.” Use the dang xenops. So, for my list I made sure to not cheat. I’m using “xylography.”

What is xylography? I’m glad you asked. Xylography is the art of carving or engraving on wood. What does that have to do with a baseball game? Clearly you’ve never seen “The Natural.” Is there a m

ore iconic baseball image than the lightening bolt carved into the wooden bat?

Current baseball players do this as well. They’re just not nearly as creative. They’ll have their name engraved on the bats the use. The name of their team goes on there as well. It’s used as easy identification when they go to the bat rack. I’m not sure why nobody gets creative with it. Is there an MLB rule against putting an emblem on there? Can David Ortiz carve the Dominican flag onto his barrel? Are they afraid of compromising the quality of the bat? I wonder.

Us regular folk can have several examples of xylography as well. Many souvenir bats have carvings in the barrel, just like the pro’s use. You can even get custom engraved bats at many locations. If you’d like a bat with the date of your first Red Sox game you can do that. Do they still have the stand doing that inside Fenway? I don’t remember noticing it recently. You can even have a bat with your birthday, or anniversary, or favorite quote carved into it. It makes for a sharp looking display. I’ve even heard of people using a carved bat instead of a wedding guest book. With the wedding date carved in the barrel, it makes for a much better keepsake than a book full of signatures.

So, for Red Sox fans, xylography is all around us. It’s as integral a part of a Red Sox game as you can get.

X is for xylography.