In lieu of actual baseball, I’ll be posting snippets that were cut from The Baseball Codes as a way of amusing myself and, hopefully, you. Today’s theme: showboating and celebrations These old stories help show just how far baseball has come.

“After what Reggie [Jackson] did tonight, all the mustard in the world couldn’t cover him. He hit a single to right, and as he rounded first, he gave one of his stares at [Angels right fielder Lyman] Bostock as if to say, ‘Go ahead, challenge me, motherfucker.’ Bang, Bostock fired the ball in and picked him off first base. Challenge me, my ass.”

—Sparky Lyle, The Bronx Zoo