A GIF and a Tune: Yu Darvish and Otto Respighi

I’ve been pretty heavy-handed with this theme recently, and this post wasn’t necessarily planned. However, as Dave Cameron pointed out, the baseball GIF game has changed, and therefor this specific one needs to be addressed.

Otto Respighi wrote Pines of Rome as the second installment of his Roman trilogy. The final movement, Pines of the Appian Way (edited here a little, for time), is meant to depict Italian soldiers marching up the historic Via Appia through the break of morning.

Imagine, if you will, that Yu Darvish’s pitches are not unlike the Italian soldiers, and the fabled road is not unlike the hitters’ swing plane. The pitches, like the soldiers, march through it valiantly — with grandeur. And in either case, the end is spectacular.

Watch:
(Author’s note: The present author has gained maximum enjoyment by waiting until the GIF is fully loaded, then starting the tune right as the pitches are leaving Darvish’s hand.)

 

Listen:
(Author’s note: This is best heard through a good pair of speakers/headphones, and, in any case, as loud as physically tolerable.)

pines