Baseball artists, writers shut out by coronavirus pandemic

NEW YORK (AP) — Anika Orrock was all warmed up for her big pitch. On the mound at Yankee Stadium, tossing out the ceremonial first ball.

On Tuesday night, though, the baseball illustrator and cartoonist will be far from the Bronx. Instead of starting off the Pirates-Yankees game, she’ll be back in Nashville, Tennessee, pondering her fate.

No way to tour the country, promoting and celebrating the publication of her first book, based on the women pros popularized by the movie “A League of Their Own.”

Now with the majors and much of the country shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, she spends her days pacing around a small cul-de-sac at home, managing virtual promotions and brainstorming ways to replace lost opportunities and income.

“The moment this happened, and I realized that a book launch was going to be a book flop, it was a struggle,” she said, wondering, “What in the world am I going to do?”

She’s not alone in being shut out, either.

Through what Orrock calls “the magic of the internet,” she connected with Brooklyn baseball artist Graig Kreindler, who experienced a similar letdown. His 230 paintings were to be a major part of an exhibit at the Negro League Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri -- instead, the shrine was forced to close four weeks into the planned four-month run.

While commiserating about their virus-related setbacks, Orrock and Kreindler discovered they both celebrated their 40th birthdays on April 17. To mark the occasion, the social-media conscious pair created a “Baseball Buddy Birthday” video featuring a 3-minute card “draw-off” for YouTube.

“Anika is experiencing a different set of challenges right now. It’s sad, because her book is so beautiful and she’s such an awesome person,” Kreindler said.

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source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Baseball-artists-writers-shut-out-by-coronavirus-15245625.php