<P> "Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888" is a baseball poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer . First published in The San Francisco Examiner (then called The Daily Examiner) on June 3, 1888, it was later popularized by DeWolf Hopper in many vaudeville performances . It has become one of the best - known poems in American literature . The poem was originally published anonymously (under the pen name "Phin", based on Thayer's college nickname, "Phinney"). </P> <P> A baseball team from the fictional town of "Mudville" (implied to be the home team) is losing by two runs in its last inning . Both the team and its fans, a crowd of 5,000, believe they can win if Casey, Mudville's star player, gets to bat . However, Casey is scheduled to be the fifth batter of the inning, and the first two batters (Cooney and Barrows) fail to get on base . The next two batters (Flynn and Jimmy Blake) are perceived to be weak hitters with little chance of reaching base to allow Casey a chance to bat . </P> <P> Surprisingly, Flynn hits a single, and Blake follows with a double that allows Flynn to reach third base . Both runners are now in scoring position and Casey represents the potential winning run . Casey is so sure of his abilities that he does not swing at the first two pitches, both called strikes . On the last pitch, the overconfident Casey strikes out swinging, ending the game and sending the crowd home unhappy . </P>

Where does casey at the bat take place