Hit by Pitch

Hit by pitch

With MLB starting and little league in full swing, there is a lot of baseball going on.  Baseball, to me, has a lot of life stuff to teach.  You have to be ready for anything at any time, it is a quick twitch game, five tools (you can’t just be good at one thing), etc.  I played a lot and analogize of a lot of things in terms of baseball fundamentals.  A funny thing about baseball is that it is a game of imperfection.  You can't be perfect all the time.  But you can give perfect effort, but even that is hard.  There are so many games played that things normalize over the season and you can be sure eventually everything that goes around comes around.  It is a game of repetition.  Like in life you don’t just show up and are automatically good at something.  You have to do it over and over again to become serviceable, much less great.  We used to have a saying, it takes 10,000 swings for a swing change to feel normal.  That’s a lot of cuts in the cage.

Connor had his first baseball game after spring break on Monday night.  We have been practicing his hitting and things were really starting to click.  Right before the game, we hopped out to the side yard and did a little batting practice, he was smoking the ball.  Then we headed over to the field where the coach had secured the batting cage for us and we went in to take our cuts.  Connor hit the ball so well that even his teammates were making positive comments…unprompted.  Connor’s smile was a mile wide.  And truth be told, mine was too.  The head coach made the lineup and put Connor third.  I was pitching.  Connor came up to bat and I was really confident, by the look on his face, so was he.  I threw the first pitch and Connor smacked it down the left side just foul.  Nice job son.  And then I did the one thing I could not do.  I hit him.  Plunked him right on the arm.  As you get better at this game you can hit your target pretty well…unless you get the yips.  So what was I looking at?  My son.  And what did I hit?  My target.  Shit! At that moment he stopped trying to hit and started trying to not get hit.  He bailed on every pitch after that.  Back to the drawing board.  You might think you know how bad I felt, trust me it was exponentially worse.  I’ve pitched every game and half the practices and I’ve only hit two batters…my son…twice. 

Back at Texas Lutheran there was a fall baseball tradition.  The pitchers would practice something that is harder to do than it sounds.  Effectively throw at a batter.  You see it in the Majors and in College all the time.  A batter will show up the other team, or their pitcher will hit the best player and retribution is swift and automatic.  Your next guy or best guy will get hit.  However, it is harder to hit a batter than it sounds.  When you are in little league, it is never on purpose.  The kids just don’t have enough control.  When you get older and better it’s 50-50; maybe a ball got away from you, a slider didn’t break, or maybe the batter is a little too close to the plate…or asked your girl out for the weekend.  When you are a pro, you better believe that 99% of hit batters are intentional.  So at Texas Lutheran, fall ball began with a week of every batting practice pitcher throwing at (and usually hitting) the first batter they faced.  So when the game situation arose, you could hit your man with confidence.  Whether you agree with this philosophy or not, it’s as much a part of the game as fighting is in hockey.  I may explain more another time, but rest assured your number 1 goon does not fight the small scoring wing, he squares off with the other number 1. There are rules and they are honored, or again, retribution will be swift.  The baseball season is so long and there are so many games that almost all things even out.

Josie had a practice on Tuesday night and I was hitting some outfield fungo to the team.  Yes they are tee ballers so of course I wasn’t hitting it hard.  But I also didn’t have a catcher with me.  So the kids would throw the ball back to me and I’d block it with my bat, knock it down and then fire off another one to them.  About ½ hour into the practice a kid threw a ball to the left side of me and I lunged with the bat to knock it down.  It was wet out and of course the ball skipped off the bat and hit me right in the face.  Thank goodness it didn’t hit my nose or it might still be bleeding.  But it hit just below my left eye and I have a very minor bruise… baseball karma didn’t take long to settle the score.  In tee-ball kids get hit all the time.  Many can’t catch well and take one off the shin or chest regularly.  I was able to show the kids how to “walk it off” and get back in the game.

The weekend was amazing.  The Dell Match Play golf tournament was in town and I honestly had no idea how they were going to handle the foot and car traffic to the event.  Well I should have had more confidence.  Dell and the PGA Tour did a fantastic job and erected a foot bridge under the 360 bridge.  Friday I went as a guest with my pal Lance.  He had skybox tickets for number 12 (that par five they constantly showed on TV behind Faldo).  It was amazing to see the talent and distance gap even among the top 60 golfers in the world.  Some guys hit Driver three wood, some even laid up.  Dustin Johnson and Jason Day hit Driver wedge.  Those boys can pound the golf ball.  The next day I ran into my old buddy Michael.  He works for ESPN and was able to get me the “media experience.”  I can’t say much more, but I did have a press conference and hold the trophy.  I also was able to hear some “inside baseball” type conversations with some of the top professionals that were off the record and will remain so.  In the media control center I ran into an old friend who used to have the golf beat in Austin a few years ago. He recently published a biography on Harvey Penick, and sent me home with a signed copy.  Go pick it up if you are a golf fan who ever poured over the little red book.  Thanks Lance, Kevin and Michael.

It was a great time and I hope within the next couple of years I can bring Connor to enjoy this with me.  Currently he’s got too much energy for a pro golf event.  I’ll also make a prediction, within 2 years the boats on the lake will be replaced by double deck pontoon boats sponsored by companies entertaining clients (water luxury boxes).  They can control food, beverage, do it at a fixed cost and still have access to three water-facing and exciting holes.  By year 3, the PGA will figure out a way to charge those boats a fee to be in the vicinity.  Let’s see if my prediction holds up.

My boss and I had a discussion the other night and we mutually decided that it might be time for me to look for another job. I won’t go into details, but there were some events at the company and in the industry that have created the perfect storm.  As such, it’ll be better to take my game to another field.  I really have a lot more to offer and am looking forward to whatever my next role will be.  We are still friends, my boss and I, and no matter where I land I will still help and consult for him as he navigates the industry environment.  There is no effective date set, but if you hear of any sales or marketing leadership roles, don’t hesitate to shoot me a note.  What I can say with confidence is although I don’t know how much time is on the clock, I’m a leave it all on the field kind of guy.  I feel I’m as mentally tough as anyone you may run into, and I’ll leave it at that.  (Not an April fools joke btw).

This was an off week for me and I’m wondering how much residual chemo is still hanging around.  My appetite was very low, but the nausea was very controllable, and I only needed one Imodium per day.  I was able to do all the baseball things with the kids and a lot of walking on the golf course over the weekend, even on my foot; but I did receive a steroid injection a couple of weeks ago.  I was told that plantar fasciitis takes a full six months to a year to recover, so I guess that brace will be my nighttime friend for a while.  The nosebleeds are somewhat subsiding and my platelets must be getting better because that ball to the face I took didn’t cause a huge black eye like I thought it might.  I think it is just the pollen in the air causing throat soreness but I am paying close attention.  Several kids in my children’s classes have had strep.  Luckily for me there has been no fever.  Actually, I’ve been quite lucky/blessed and have not gotten ill since my surgery and cancer diagnosis last August.  Frankly my energy level seems higher as well.

Next week is my 47^th birthday. I’m really paying attention to milestones now.  It seems like every one of them is a new gift that I had previously under-appreciated. Not anymore. I am really enjoying life, my family, and my friends.  My wife was talking to one of the ladies with whom she walks and mentioned that our marriage has never been better.  I have to agree.  I definitely work harder at it, that and being a better dad; and being a better friend.  It's not all rainbows and unicorns, but I do the best I can with what I have.  Sometimes that's enough. TeamMarco@austin.rr.com