Just because the Phillies aren't playing anymore, doesn't mean the baseball season has to end. What's that? The World Series is going on right now? Well, those of you who have Cablevision and can't watch might as well continue with your favorite youth team.
Week 8, Memorial Day Tourney, North Branford, CT.
One of the highlights of any Travel team’s season is playing tournaments. In the past, this team has traveled to as close as Delaware and as far as Florida to play. It’s a great way to expose the kids to even better competition from all over the country and to let them experience high level playing situations. This year’s choice was in North Branford, CT, only a couple hours away from NYC. We were guaranteed to play 3 games: 2 in pool play and then at least one playoff game. It was high stakes and I was fired up.
I played in one Little League tournament when I was 12 years old. I was on the All-Star team, which is basically what this travel team is. (We didn’t have travel teams in Jacksonville. Add that to the list of things Jacksonville didn’t have.) However, it was the first tournament in the official Little League World Series tournament. And had we not been eliminated, I may have been pitching in Williamsport.
Not to toot my own horn, I was pretty good at 12 years old. I had the nastiest curveball. I don’t know how I learned to throw it, nobody taught it to me. It was unhittable. Seriously. I once struck out 8 of the 9 batters I faced. Not joking. I threw the curve every single time I had 2 strikes on a hitter. They knew it was coming, and still couldn’t touch it. But in hindsight, I wish I never threw it. I blew my elbow out, ending my pitching career the following season when I moved to the big boys field. My arm strength didn’t develop like it should have. It’s too bad too. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0waNRaz6wU) It’s why I won’t let any of my 12 year olds throw one. It’s unnecessary and too damaging. They are a couple years away. The body does its most growing between years 12-15. I’m not a doctor, but I’ve seen a lot on TV. Unfortunately, parents and coaches are blinded by their hunger for success for their kids and players. There’s a reason why you never see kids who pitch in the LLWS end up pitching in Yankee Stadium. It’s not rocket science. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u7aUbRyMX0)
Our first game wasn’t scheduled until the afternoon, so Jeff and I drove up together early in the morning. It gave him a chance to brief me on what to expect and to discuss strategy. There were also some unusual rules, which I learned were really not that unusual in tournament play. Among them, pitchers could only throw 7 innings the entire tournament. (When I pitched we could not pitch more than 3 innings a game. Who knows how many more Ks I would have had in that 8 of 9 performance had I been allowed to pitch more.) In the event of a game ending in a tie, a runner would start the next inning on 2nd Base. If the score was still tied after the 1st extra inning, a runner would start the next inning on 3rd Base.
The complex in Branford was a typical Little League one, consisting of 5 fields. They were all dirt infields, with fences surrounding the outfields. The dugouts were covered and above ground. A couple of fields had designated bullpen areas. Most of the teams were from the northeast area. There were a couple tents set up for vendors of gloves and bats and other pieces of equipment. One guy was able to break in gloves in as little as 10 minutes, without the use of oil. He’d take the glove, disappear into a tent, and come out with a completely broken in glove. It was amazing, but personally, I always enjoyed the process of breaking in a new glove. It contributed to the connection a player should have with his glove. You bring it home from the store, spend a few minutes rubbing oil into the leather, then stick a ball in the pocket and tie the glove up with a rubber band. And that first night, you’d sleep with the glove tucked tightly under your mattress. All night you’d dream about all the great moments you’d share with it. You’d wake up with the youthful exuberance like 8 year old, no, 9 year old Vinny on Christmas morning, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9t2R9m7jqE) finding your glove in perfect condition. You couldn’t wait to go outside to play catch. Ironically, I was 12 years old the last time I broke in a glove like that. And not surprisingly, I have not used another glove since.
As we waited for our first game to start, my adrenaline was racing. It was important for us to get that first win under our belt. And it was even more important to get on the board first. So it was a good thing we lost the coin toss and were the visiting team. The boys seemed loose, but who knew what they were really thinking. I was more of a rookie than most of them anyway. Most of them had played in tournaments before.
Things got off to a great start as we scored 2 in the first, but left the bases loaded…again. But with Larry on the hill, Jeff and I still felt pretty good.
I got the first two outs in my All-Star tournament debut. The curve was working, like usual. I didn’t throw hard, but I was crafty like Greg Maddux. Hit your spots, I told myself. Get ahead in the count, then drop the hammer on them.
After putting a couple runners on, one of the biggest 12/13 year olds I’d ever seen came to the plate. Keep it low, just keep it low Larry, I said to myself.
Up walked the biggest 12/13 year old I had ever seen. Keep it low and try to hit the corners, I said. I started him off with a curve ball, uncharacteristic for me, but successful in this case. Most kids are taught to take the first pitch, especially a curveball. I told you I was crafty.
As the kid walked to the plate, Larry looked at us with a “what the heck do I do with this guy?” look. Jeff does a great job of calling pitches. And he was right on the money in guessing that the kid was juiced up and looking fastball. We started him off with a changeup and the kid swung out of his shoes. My heart skipped a beat with that swing.
I kept him guessing on the next pitch, throwing a Jamie Moyer-esque “fastball” up in the zone. The breeze from the kid’s swing almost knocked me down, but luckily he swung right thru it. Whew, that was close. Don’t throw that again. Awesome though, I’m up 0-2.
A little confidence came back to Larry’s face. I didn’t even have to say it to Jeff. He already knew. Throw it again. This time though, Larry got it a little up and the kid hit a long fly ball…just foul. Whew, that was close. But we’re up 0-2.
Time to waste one in the dirt, maybe he’ll bite. No bite. Striking this cocky kid out would be huge. I can’t let him get the better of me.
Striking this kid out would be huge. Not only would it get us out of the inning, it would also give the boys a ton of confidence. Jeff calls for a fastball up. Way up, out of the zone. Maybe he’ll chase one. Good call. No chase.
I can’t throw the fastball again. If I miss, he’ll crush it. Go with the bread and butter, and let it roll off the table. Sit this kid down. Shock the world.
C’mon, sit this kid down, right here, I said only loud enough for Jeff to hear. He was with me, as usual. He calls for the changeup again, below the knees, almost in the dirt. Let the bottom drop out of it.
As soon as I let it go, I wanted to take it back. It was rare, but sometimes, my curve didn’t break. And when a curve doesn’t break, it might as well be placed on a tee. This was one of the those rare times. It happened in slow motion.
Piiiing!!!!! Balls aren’t supposed to travel that far. Not from a 12 or 13 year old. And high. Maybe too high.
I didn’t want to turn my head. I knew. But I couldn’t resist. I took a peak. I shouldn’t have looked…
Just like that we lost our lead, and although we battled back a couple times, and overall fought hard, we never had the lead again.
After a team lunch at a nearby pizza place, we came back to the complex for Game 2, under the lights. Although I use the word “lights” in its loosest sense. Up the middle was dark like a cave. The ball was almost invisible. We sent Brad to the hill and he pitched his ass off. He also developed an unusual cocky swagger that we had never seen from the usually reserved Latino. After a strikeout to end the 3rd inning, he came running off the field saying, “Don’t mess with the Jesus!!” He did again after the 4th and then again after the 5th. It was as if he was possessed. At first, I thought he was just channeling his religious upbringing. But then it hit me. He was quoting Lebowski!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onzGJXTBt1A&feature=related) It was awesome to see.
Unfortunately, much like the Phillies this year, we couldn’t score. Our defense was garbage too. Albert committed a 2-out error in the 2ndinning that let a run score. Then 2 more crossed. We should have been out of that inning tied at 0-0. We lost the game 6-1. The lack of offense was especially frustrating because we were using aluminum bats. Jeff and I thought that the switch from wood to aluminum would surely be an advantage for us. Not so.
After we took Brad out, he sat at the end of dugout and his eyes began to water up. I went over to him and patted him on the back. “Hey buddy. You pitched awesome. You’ve got nothing to feel bad about.” I loved seeing the emotion from him. Then Jeff sat down next to him, put his arm around him and told him the same thing. I really felt for the kid. He pitched so well and got zero run support. But hey, that’s baseball.
Going 0-2 on Day one was not what we had planned. But we had at least one more game the next day and still had a chance to advance in the playoff round. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40mhBE5MpbA&feature=related) All we needed was a good night’s rest and we’d come out like tigers in the morning.
Jeff had told me stories of tournaments past and the shenanigans that took place between him and some of the fathers in the hotel. I like shenanigans. I was looking forward to the night. (Side note: Is that not the greatest name for a bar you’ve ever heard?! I’m serious. I claim copyright to it right now. The attorneys on this distribution list can act as witnesses to this. That’s how it works, right? I took a media law class in college and we covered copyright laws. I could be wrong though. My memory of college is as foggy as an LA morning. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYx7YG0RsFY&ob=av2e) Go Gators!
At the hotel Jeff and I joined a few of the dads in the bar, which was pretty dead. But they did have karaoke. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlKhfEWchf8&feature=related) Trouble. After a couple beers, a few scotches, and an electric sing-a-long version of Centerfield by Jeff and Mike, it was my turn. Mike, who had earlier slipped on the steps in the bar but impressively did not spill his drink, was now reminding me of Bill Murray’s lounge singer act on Saturday Night Live. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXAE5hsb-2M&feature=related) He came up to me and said, “We’re singing something Bri, so either you pick it or I will.” Without hesitation and knowing that he was also a Springsteen fan, I said, “Thunder Road.” We weren’t as good as Dong, but slightly better than Nick.
Our high hopes that we went to bed with for the following day turned into a nightmare when we took the field when the sun came up. We came out flat on both sides of the ball. Ned couldn’t find the strike zone and nobody could get a hit. Frustrating to say the least, especially to go 0-3 in the tourney. Maybe it had something to do with half the team swimming in the hotel pool until close to midnight. (Or the coaches having a few adult beverages?? Nah, we're adults, we can handle it.) I guess as coaches we should have set a curfew, but they are just kids afterall, and why shouldn’t they have some fun. And we figured after the two tough losses, a little fun may do them some good and keep them loose. Not the case, I guess. Although I think they had fun swimming. And the coaches also had fun hanging with the dads.
So from a winning standpoint, the tournament was a huge disappointment. But it’s more about the experience than it is about winning, right? And as long as we're having fun, who cares about winning and losing. Right? Right? Anyone? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4zyjLyBp64&feature=related)
Next episode: The Ghost of Earl Weaver
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