Want an advance on which team will make it to the next World Series? Consult the Oracle of Baseball. Robert Kasher is the man who designed the cards on the future of the game, and early on in the summer he gave the thumbs up to the Baltimore Orioles.

    But don't bet on it. Although Kasher developed the "Tarot of Baseball" -- a 78-card Tarot deck that uses baseball images and characters -- he says he isn't convinced that the cards can accurately predict anything. Still, he says that as a meditative tool for helping you get a
different perspective on your life -- and your teams -- Tarot can't be beat.

    His card set and accompanying book (both illustrated by Beverley Ransom) marry the cliches and romance of baseball with the mythology of the centuries-old Tarot. Kasher, (MA history '76) says he brought the two together out of love and respect for them both, although he adds that the end product is "a gentle satire."

    In his deck, the Death card is the general manager who is driving a sleek black car and gleefully running over players, while chased by agents and the commissioner. The Devil is the base-stealer. And Justice is, of course, the umpire. He turned the Four of Swords into the Four of Balls, which shows the pitcher throwing one ball too many. The Tarot reading of that card is clear, says Kasher. "It's the tragic moment every fan can relate to. It's about not being careful."

    The idea for this deck came to Kasher while he was writing his unpublished novel called Everything We Know is Wrong which looks at the world as if the pseudo-scientific was real. From the moment he had the vision, destiny took over.

    It took him just six short weeks to write the Tarot of Baseball 150-page book and develop the deck, which can also be used to play a nine-inning card game. He then sent his work out to the world where it met with resounding rejection. "Six months later, after I had moved to a new address, I received a mysterious call from a neighbour," recalls Kasher. "He told me a private detective has been around looking for me. It seemed the publisher, US Games, had changed their minds and was now hunting me down to give me a contract. This was every author's dream."

    But Kasher hasn't quit his day job. From London, Ontario, he continues to run the software company Database Directories with his wife, and work on book projects. He is the author of six works, including Ethnic Toronto, a guide to the city's ethnic communities. Still, in his spare time, the cards call to him. He is now working on the "Tarot of Blues", which uses imagery from the mystical, dark side of the genre. Who'll be the Devil of Blues? Robert Johnson receiving his guitar from the devil of Crossroads, of course.