Game over

So it was back to playing baseball today ...

Round one of our MSBL playoffs ...

Guess what?

We lost.

Season's over.

Thursday night was the epitome of our season ... Since today marked the first time we'd played in three weeks, I was waiting to see whether Coach would call a practice. Sure 'nough, on Wednesday night he calls to say he was scheduling a practice at 6 p.m. Thursday ... So I go and it’s just me and one of my teammates. Fifteen minutes later, nobody else had come and I called Coach on my cell to ask if we were going to practice. He tells me he called everybody and then names three or four people who said they couldn’t make it. And then he says “and I can’t be there, but everybody else should be there.” … so why did you call the practice?!?!? Yeah. Me and the other guy promptly got in our cars and left.

After the trainwreck that's defined our season, I went into today's game relaxed as ever, knowing too well it was going to be our team's last game. Not just for the season, probably forever ... The team has been so mis-managed and divided that three or four guys are already recruiting and building expansion teams for next years. Other guys flat out aren't coming back ...

I started the game at shortstop because our regular shortstop, Johnny, was tardy. Guys have been doing that all season long, but they still got to play, and those of us who were always on time and warming up at least an hour before the game sat frustrated on the sidelines ... Finally today, Coach called Johnny out. So I started at short, and he sat in the dugout and pouted for the first inning ... In the second, Coach put Johnny in, but I barely spent 10 seconds on the bench as our third baseman started complaining of back pain. I took his place and played the rest of the game at third ...

Playing in the field, I took quite a few throws as guys were tagging up or pulling into the base after hits, but nothing close. My only error came as the bases were loaded in the third and the batter hit a chopper in my direction. I charged it and was looking to throw the lead runner out at home, but the ball took a hard bounce on the grass and skipped over my glove …

At the plate, I had another good day. I struck out my first time up, thanks to some more of the curveballs that have defied me all season long. But, during my second trip, I slapped a 1-2 pitch back up the middle for a single. I moved to third on back-to-back singles and there I sat with the bases loaded as the next three batters went down and we failed to score any runs …

When it was all over, all I could do was join the other players on the field, shake their hands and leak a smile at the way I hung in there all season long, through good and bad ... That and I'd gone 6-for-11 in my last four games ...

And now I start thinking about next year ... I'll have a new team. And I'll be better prepared.

A look back ...
a Game one ... we lost, 19-9.
a Game two ... we lost, 11-5 ... or something like that.
a Game three ... we lost, 8-5
a Game four ... we won! 10-8.
a Game five ... back to losing.
a Games six, seven, eight, nine and 10 ... all losses.
a Game 11 ... another loss.
a Game 12 ... Call it a tie
a Games 13, 14 and 15 ... loss, loss loss (although I won with the other team)