Part 2: Put me in Coach, I’m Ready to Play, Today…
I met withCoachabout when to start varsity baseball practice.
Of course, I reported back to Coach and told him my thoughts about the players.
Occasionally, Coach would walk the perimeters of the field, watch a bit, and then leave.
It was the reason I was hired.
He was a natural.
He could run, hit, hit with power, field, and throwa true five-tool player.
He was also our best left-handed pitcher.
He got to balls other kids couldn’t and made perfect throws from deep in the hole.
He toed the rubber, too, and he threw strikes when he did.
For a skinny kid, he hit with surprising power.
He was only a junior…
Newkwas our catcher.
He was a big dude with a big personality, exactly what you want in a catcher.
He was solid behind the plate and could hit with power, too.
He was the"Gronk"on this team…
Stagswas our big first baseman.
His career goal was to become an engineer and design and build high-performance engines.
He was a pure power hitter and batted cleanup.
He could drive the ball to all fields and was an RBI machine.
Jared (aka Potatah)was a skinny sophomore with glove and bat skills.
I was immediately impressed by this kid.
He was a baseball player and a chatterbox, which is good to have on any team.
He was a natural middle infielder, but those spots were already filled.
There were three plumbers on the team:Ryan,Fooch, andGada.
Fortunately, he was an athlete and could adjust to his missteps.
Because of his speed, he could usually get to the ball.
His bat was serviceable.
Gadawas a pitcher and second baseman.
He was quiet in the shop, even a bit timid.
I immediately ran down to break it up.
I scared the crap out of this kid, as he would confess years later.
I probably could’ve been fired.
The kid apologized to Gada and me and swore he’d never use that word again.
After the incident, I stopped acting like a crazy plumber and more like a well-behaved plumbing instructor.
(yeah, right)
Gada had several pitches in his arsenal.
He threw a nasty curveball and circle change, which made his fastball sneaky.
He had solid control and could paint the corners.
When he wasn’t pitching, he was a serviceable second baseman with a very weak bat.
However, the kids liked him; he loved baseball, and there were never any problems with favoritism.
What’s not to like?
He had a great glove and solid arm, but his horrible hitting mechanics resulted in a weak bat.
I was confident I could work with him and fix that.
He assured me he would listen and do everything I said to improve his hitting.
Even with a weak bat, he was my starting center fielder… My wife and I proved the accusation false after providing town officials with bank records and receipts.
So, it was nice to be part of a team again…
Swing batter, batter, swing, batter, batter, swing, batter, batter swing… To be continued…
*All characters appearing in this work are fictitious.
Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental…
