Keepin my head high

Ok.  So I had my first pitching start last night with the new team.  Firstly, they are a very nice bunch of guy s.  I don't mean that in the Leo Durocher sense of the phrase.  They're all nice guys, truly.

Now, I learned a really valuable  lesson from this start.

Gotta believe in yourself.
I pitched 2 1/3 innings.  Yep.  I didn't get rocked.  I made mistakes that they capitalized on, certainly.   My curveball hung, my mechanics were all off (my landing foot was way on the right side of the mound:  yep; I'm a righty...) and this was my first start, my first pitch this entire season.  I didn't feel awesome, but I'm not hurtin' today.  I feel pretty good, actually.  Despite giving up something like 6 runs in those innings (maybe 1 or 2 were earned)  I really had to dig deep.  I had to find a way through the crap.

I struck out 1 and hit 2, walked 2 and well, you get the idea.

This was not my finest moments on the mound (last years 16 2/3 consecutive innings, and I mean I pitched both games of a double header giving up 0 runs in 7 2/3 innings vs. the team that would go on to win the championship).  It was messy.  It was actually bloody ( my new cleats messed up my right middle toe).  And it was sloppy (my guess on the error total was somewhere around 12).  I also hit the opposing pitcher.  The nice thing was to help him.  I hit him just below the right knee (he's a lefty) on the insertion of the peronnal / gastroc area.  I helped him through it with a little massage on the calf which took off some of the pressure.  I don't envy the soreness he had today.  This is for fun.  Who wants' to watch a guy get hurt, much less be the guy who caused the pain?  I'm just sayin'

But through it all, I didn't pitch poorly.  I got key ground balls.  I made some pitches.  I had some fun when I wasn't terrified of the next possible problem.

I had to believe in myself.  When I started chattering back to the ump about strikes and balls, well, my manager took me out.  And that's when my character was really tested. 

I wanted to smash something.  I wanted to throw something.  But I couldn't.  These guys didn't need to see me outburst.  And I'm not 10 years old anymore.  So why would I let my temper get the best of me? 

I didn't.  I believed in myself.  I believed that I was better than acting like that.  When the fellas came off the field, I greeted each of them and bumped them.  My message:  Thanks for picking me up.  let's go get these guys.  I'm part of the team, despite not getting the results that I wanted. 

I believed in myself.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow...

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid baseball fan.  Recently I've had the luck to spend my summer in Upstate NY:  Chautauqua Lake, NY.  We've been coming to this region for years and it always has the charm of solitude while being in the middle of some very interesting events.

SO, if I was to spend the summer in Chautauqua, NY, I had better find a baseball team to play ball.  And I did.  Now, I've loved and played on several teams in the last 7 years.  Some more successful than others.  As a high school student I was cut twice from my high school squad.  I didn't try out in college (which was a mistake) and I pretty much fell out of the game until about 7 years ago.

I shot this commercial for a healthcare company.  It was great.  I played an outfielder and I had a blast.  I realized how much I loved the game and I looked for a team to play some ball.  Lo and behold: I've found several over the years.

This most recent team, the Chautauqua "giants" are a great bunch of guys.  Although the team has played 4 games, I've only been to 1 due to schedule conflicts.  In that one game I played third base went 0-2 (we only play 7 innings, wood bat) and made the final out of the game throwing out a ground ball to first to finish a 6 to 3 victory.  What a great introduction to the team and to playing ball in Chautauqua!

Tomorrow will be my next game (weather permitting: which it should).  I'm hoping I get to pitch tomorrow because I know I can contribute to this team in a meaningful way with pitching.

I was recently in NYC and reunited with some very close friends on my favorite team to play for, the Island Wide Reds.  Here's a team of incredibly talented men.  Some had played college ball.  Some were like me and just picked up the game recently or in the last 10 years of their life.  In all cases, these men were my friends.   I had forgotten how much I missed these guys as we've recently moved to florida (last november) and I hadn't really connected to anyone like that.  Naturally it takes time. 

Tomorrow:  so we play ball.  I'm juiced because right now the "giants" record is 2-2.  From what I saw my only game, I think we could have a winning team.  I don't know about championship team, but winning, certainly. 

I hope I have a chance to contribute in a positive way for the team, but moreover, I hope that I forge the kind of friendships with some of these guys that I was fortunate enough to enjoy over the years with my Island Wide Reds.  I know I'll have some of those guys in my life for the rest of my life.
I'm excited, I'm apprehensive, I'm eager to go play some ball, and hopefully I get a chance to throw off the mound or to play at the hot corner.  We'll see.