Week 3, 4/24, Doubleheader vs. Clippers, Randall's Island.
Today was the official home opener for the Eagles, playing on our brand new field on Randall's Island. Playing at home always brings a certain level of comfort to a ball club. Cirque de Soleil was also in town and playing on the other side of the island, which was fitting, considering that the boys looked like a bunch of clowns the last couple of weeks. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esJl7MZoVww) But with a brand new field hopefully brings a brand new attitude and a brand new result, not to mention finally getting that elusive first coaching victory.
Millions of dollars were spent on the improvement of fields that desperately needed improvement. Primarily used for corporate softball and little league games, the old fields were awful and dangerous. In addition to trying to avoid deep holes in the outfield, players would also have to keep an eye out for broken glass and bottle caps. They were fields you'd expect to see in Cleveland, not New York City. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZzgAjjuqZM&feature=related). Now I will say that overall, the new complex looked outstanding. The outfield grass on the little league and major league-sized fields looked immaculate and each field had warning tracks and fences (about 320 feet all the way around on ours). A new state of the art indoor/outdoor tennis center was also built. So now, with the already existing golf driving range, Randall's Island was now a pretty cool and elaborate sports complex. Of course, a mental hospital and a homeless shelter still exist too. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFeyf3NwHPc) Oh well, you can't have it all.
However, the smaller little league fields had grass infields but the big baseball fields did not. That's just illogical. I have no respect for those with no respect for logic. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2tXIm1OHvk) If you're already using tax dollars to make the place look legit, just go all the way. As my brother in-law (who designs and installs luxurious kitchens and bathrooms) once said to his wife who suggested he install a shower curtain in their own bathroom, "I'm building a top of the line bathroom, I'm not putting in a $0.99 shower curtain." (Ironically, that's one of the few comments by him that I've ever agreed with.)
The other complaint was that they forgot to build enough parking spaces which forced people to park on the grass along the outside of the outfield. And that would be fine if the two Mounties (cops on horseback) didn't show up halfway through Game 1, and give each of those cars parking tickets. Upon seeing this, the home plate umpire, who parked in centerfield, left the game to go move his car. For the final 2 innings, the base umpire called balls and strikes from behind the pitcher. First time in all my years of baseball that I saw that happen in the middle of the game. More on the Mounties later.
But other than that, we were lucky to have a great new field. Located on the back side of the island, we had clear views of the Whitestone Bridge and Queens as we looked out towards centerfield. Off the third base side, on the other side of the East River, was the NY Post building. And the huge warehouse across the water just past right field reminded me of Camden Yards in Baltimore. The airplanes taking off from nearby LaGuardia Airport fly above tug boats pushing the awesome-sized freighters across the most heavily trafficked waterway on the East Coast. And much like the unseasonably warm sun that was shining on the surface of the polluted waters, I hoped the Eagles would finally shine on the field.
Coach Jeff and I started a tradition every game in which before the first pitch to our leadoff batter, he points to me from the 3rd base coaching box and I point back from the 1st base box. It's a way for us to say to each other, "Let's get them buddy." (Just like Jason Mellon said to Chaz in Back to School.) Except for some reason, he didn't point to me this time. He must have forgotten, and I don't really think about it until it happens. So when the first inning came and went with no point, I must have forgotten about it completely. But when he pointed to me before the first pitch in the bottom of the second inning, I had no idea why. At first, I looked behind me, thinking he was trying to get me to notice something funny. Maybe one of the clowns from the circus came to catch a little baseball? I turned around and saw nothing. After the first pitch, I looked over, and Jeff pointed to me again. I looked down at my pants zipper, thinking he was trying to tell me it was down (wouldn't have been the first time), but it wasn't. I looked up and he was still pointing at me. What the $%&* was he pointing at?! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZtbASCE7ZY) After about 5 minutes and two batters later, with my arms stretched out at my side, I yelled across the field, "What??!!!" Silently, he pointed at me again. And then like a punch in the nuts, it finally hit me. I pointed back to him and he threw his hands up in a gesture that said, "Thank you! You @#$%! idiot!" Ooops. My bad.
One of my responsibilities as Assistant Coach is to position the defense. It's a frustrating role at times, especially since some of the boys act like elastic bands and bounce back to the spot I move them from after every hitter. I move them two steps to their right, they move back two steps to their left. I move them 3 steps in, they go back 3 steps. After every hitter. The first couple of games we had the middle infield playing even with the bag because a) we didn’t think too many kids were going to hit the ball over their head and b) our kids were having a hard time charging ground balls and felt the throw from a normal position was too far. But too many hits dropped just over the infielders. So we moved them back to play at normal depth. Our adjustment worked. And the boys were coming to the ball much better. Those balls that were hits the first two weeks were outs today. That’s coaching my friends.
With our ace, Ned, on the mound for Game 1, I could tell from the get go that today would be different. Ned was overpowering and the Clippers were overmatched. Ned, who is about 6'1" and yet only 12 years old, can top out at close to 70 mph on the radar gun. As he was mowing em down, the boys finally hit the ball like we knew they could. They jumped out to an early lead for the first time all year which not only gave them some much needed confidence, but it allowed them to start having some fun as well. It was great to see some smiling faces instead of the frowns that we saw during the first two weeks. We hit the ball. We caught the ball. We threw threw the ball. Believe it or not, the Eagles started to play a little baseball. In just one week, we went from being lollygaggers to being ballplayers. It was a good feeling.
Ned finished with 7Ks and only gave up 4 hits in 5 innings. Can you smell that? I think it's the smell of victory in the air. After the final out, Jeff turned to me and said, "Congrats, Coach." I was so focused on the game, I didn't realize it at first, but when he said that and shook my hand, it hit me. I just got my first win as a coach. A bunch of emotions swirled around in my head, but the big smile on my face said it all. Another chapter in my baseball career was officially underway. Now that the proverbial monkey was off my back, it was time to go win another one.
Victory wasn't the only smell in the air. Remember those Mounties? Well, as if not to be upstaged by the win, they wanted to make their presence known and leave an odor of their own. In between games, they trotted over to the area just behind our dugout and they dropped the biggest deuce you've ever seen. (The horses, not the Mounties.) And by "deuce", I'm not talking about a curveball. The bad part about having a field right on the water is that the afternoon wind blows in a wild stench that you wouldn't believe. A mixture of Queens, Staten Island, and the East River is not a refreshing scent. Now add what the horses left and you've got yourself something that is beyond the worst smell you've ever smelled. It's worse than bad B.O. It's beyond B.O. It's B.B.O. (I couldn't find the Seinfeld clip, so I just quoted it for you. From The Smelly Car episode. You're welcome.)
Quick Note: I'm not going to show it, because that would be way over the top, even for me, but you'd be amazed at how many results come up if you search for "horse taking a ____" on YouTube. Pretty gross I know, but I guarantee you at least someone is going to go search for it. Sicko.
So with the fresh aromas of victory and horse excrement in the air, we gave the "pill" to Larry for Game 2. His performance was just as dominating as Ned's was in Game 1. It was probably because he didn't eat a hot dog and a twix bar in between games this week. And the bats stayed hot, as once again the Clippers were just overmatched. In the 3rd inning, Jack hit a base hit to right field with a runner on 2nd. When he got to 1B, he told me he intentionally hit the ball to right field because he saw the second baseman playing very close to the second base bag. I was impressed that a 12 year old would know to do that. And I didn't even have to teach him that. But Jack is one of the smartest ball players on the team. He reminds me of myself at that age.
One of the things we are still working on with the boys is to not be so focused on technique, to the point that they do things in slow motion and mechanically. At this age, the kids seem to not only want to do things correctly, but they want to look good doing it. Which is all fine and dandy, unless they are sacrificing performance in the process. One example of this is how some of them swing the bat. Kai, in particular, has a real nice swing from the left side of the plate. It's very similar to that of Robin Ventura's, who used to release his top hand after contact. However, he seems to be too focused on that finish than actually swinging like he's trying to get a hit. It probably doesn't help that his father stands behind the backstop and shouts instructions to him after every pitch. "Turn your hips, Kai." "Don't lift your back foot, Kai." "Keep your front shoulder in, Kai." "Keep the bat head up, Kai." How can the poor kid concentrate on hitting the ball when he's getting so much instruction...and not even from one of his coaches??"
So I decided to try a different approach when Kai led off the 5th inning of Game 2. Before he got into the batter's box, I pulled him aside and said the following:
"Kai, this time, I want you to forget about technique and your finish. You have a great swing, but this time I want to see you swing the bat like you mean it. Get a little angry up there. Pretend that you have a sledgehammer in your hands and you are trying to break thru a wall." In other words, SWING THE %$#@! BAT!!! Two pitches later he knocked a hard single to right field. You should have seen the smile on his face when he rounded 1B. Once again, that's coaching my friends.
We won Game 2 by a score of 8-2, and completed the sweep for my 2nd coaching victory. After each game when we speak to the boys, we hand out a game ball to one of them. Well, this time, Coach Jeff surprised me by giving ME the game ball! He said, "Listen up boys. I've been doing this for about 10 years, but Coach Matoren is a little new, so for his first win as a coach, he gets today's game ball." He handed me the ball and all the boys applauded and gave me high fives. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j9QeUoPOi4) I won't say I got choked up, but it was real nice of him to do that. It meant a lot. Regardless of where my coaching career goes, I'll always have that moment. And I'll always have that ball, which now has the following inscription on it:
"1st Coaching Victory!!
4/24/10
Eagles 9
Clippers 1"
Current record: 2-3-1. Right back in it.
Next episode...Back to the Future!
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