Regarding coal futures: more likely a reference to the quixotism of "selling coal to Newcastle"[1], and by extension to that famous Irish-American Quixote, Timothy Dexter, who indeed did so, and broke a miner's strike thereby. The similarities probably end there; Mr Rosier was clearly a literate man, and Mr Dexter decidedly was not.
As for the final baseball anecdote, I think you've misread it. It is not from the point of view of the batter, but the catcher -- the anonymous narrator was a boy watching the game from the stands, and he caught the ball at the final moment. It is unarguably the 12 year... (read more)
[Reposting and expanding on my reply from HN]
Regarding coal futures: more likely a reference to the quixotism of "selling coal to Newcastle"[1], and by extension to that famous Irish-American Quixote, Timothy Dexter, who indeed did so, and broke a miner's strike thereby. The similarities probably end there; Mr Rosier was clearly a literate man, and Mr Dexter decidedly was not.
As for the final baseball anecdote, I think you've misread it. It is not from the point of view of the batter, but the catcher -- the anonymous narrator was a boy watching the game from the stands, and he caught the ball at the final moment. It is unarguably the 12 year... (read more)