The call from Coach Freddie came as a voicemail message. "I want you to play for the 37s this Sunday." Pretty exciting. From the beginning I was told that the over 30 team was the one I'd be playing for as I'd "have a better chance of getting some playing time." The younger team (counterintuitively for me) was the lesser quality team as it was in a less difficult league bracket. Getting to play on the 37+ team was unlikely, but here we are heading into the second game of the season and I'm being asked to play. I was thrilled and nervous again since I'd be playing under a new scrutiny and the stakes were a little higher.
Saturday came around after another rainy Friday and it was pretty cold. May in New England can be like March in an instant. As we went through batting practice guys were out raking around the infield and trying to get the puddles to a manageable condition. I took batting practice and to my own amazement tagged a couple of balls deep to center field. I had been thinking about keeping my head on the ball and completing the swing during the week and it paid off in a solid showing in BP - but anybody can hit in BP it's what you do in the game that counts.
At first it looked like we would be lucky to get 9 to have enough for a team, but in common fashion for this team several veteran players showed up seconds before game time. We had 14 as Freddie told us to get ready to go out to our positions. I thought about going up to him and letting him off the hook by saying "looks like you got enough I can sit this one out - no problem." But instead he announced the line up with me starting in left field. Left field?! Just as I mentioned in a previous post right field is for your weakest player, the fact is left field is for your better outfielder. Jesus, I thought, "Freddie must be trying to prove a point to me that this is no kid's game." Watch me flub a catch or two, pull me out for good cause and maybe I'll have the good sense to quit. He was missing his normal left fielder but you'd think he'd move things around to get me in a spot where I couldn't hurt the team.
Anyway I played the position the entire game pretty much flawlessly, though I nearly gave the coach a heart attack again. We're up by one in the top of the eighth and bases are loaded with 2 outs. A leftie batter takes the ball to the opposite field (towards me) on a pretty strong line. I see it and take 3 quick steps to my left and the ball starts to spin back the other way. I take a quick shuffle to my right and catch the ball cleanly eye-high. Nerve wracking - as it was a hard hit ball. Guys are smiling as I run in, since again, I catch the ball a little unconventionally. Coach Freddie says "Jesus,I almost had a heart attack again." I smile and say - "I had it all the way"
I grounded out and struck out in the early innings but my hero chance came up in the bottom of the seventh. We were down 3-2 and scored a run to make it 3-3. We have a runner on third and first. If I hit into a double play we're out of the inning and I'm the goat. To prevent that a good batter will try to take the ball the other way, that is to the right side of the infield. This minimizes the chances for a double play and gives the runner on third a better shot at going home. With the count 1-2 on me I decide whatever the next pitch I'm going to go to the right. Luckily the guy throws a slightly outside pitch and I put good wood on the ball -a rocket- just to the left of the first baseman. The guy makes a good play on the ball but can't get it cleanly. No play on the runner going home, no chance at the double play but he beat me to the bag for the out. I drove in the go ahead run which is the winning run if things hold up. Freddie and a few teammates give me the high five and knuckles saying "hey, you got an RBI". I'm tickled but try to show little emotion as my plan is to make this kind of great contribution all the time. Heh.
So in the top of the ninth our shortstop makes 2 errors leading to 3 runs and my claim to driving in the winning run is squelched. We lose by 2 and my batting averages stays a .000.
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