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Self-Hypnosis: The Complete Manual for Health and Self-change
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The End of My Baseball Career
It has been a long time, so I don't remember much about my Little League baseball years in Massillon, Ohio, but one event does standout. My Dad worked most of the time when we had games, so he couldn't attend very often. Also, because I wasn't that good a player, I was relegated to second-string.
For reasons I can't recall, in one game I was to play 'first-string' first base. Maybe the regular first baseman was injured or sick or something, and I was the backup, so I was scheduled to play in the upcoming game for sure. I did the little-boy-guilt trip on my Dad to come and watch me. He said he'd do his best, but there was a big painting job he had to set up and he'd try to finish early and get to the game.
The game is in the 2nd inning, two outs. I'm playing first base and I've been looking in the bleachers to see if my Dad was there yet. There is a runner who was walked and on first base. I'm scanning the bleachers and suddenly, I spot my Dad walking to find a seat. Just then I hear the crack of a bat. I had not been watching the batter.
My Dad had seen me, and though he was moving toward a seat in the bleachers, he witnessed what he was convinced would be me getting hit in the face by the line drive ball flying toward me. However, in the final nano seconds before the ball would bust my nose, my gloved hand reflexively snapped up in front of my face and caught the ball. I was momentarily frozen.
The runner that was on first base must have been sure the ball would go past me and had started to run to second. In my shocked state of mind I could hear my coach and all my team yelling for me to touch the first base bag to put the runner out. The runner, halfway to second base, was now reversing and running back to tag up at first. At the last possible moment I unfroze and stepped over to put my foot on the bag, the runner was out, and the inning was over.
I wasn't a hero or anything, and we eventually lost the game. But for just a minute or so my team and the coach gave me an 'atta boy' for catching the ball and making the play. Later, my Dad told my Mom that saw me lollygagging around first base with my gloved hand to my side and a finger in my nose looking for him in the stands. When he heard the batter connect and saw me seemingly in a daze, he said he was 'worried as hell' that I was going to get smashed in the face.
He was as surprised as I was that my reflexes saved my face. My baseball career was short-lived, but I did have a moment I'll always remember.
"Baseball sure does have its ups and downs"
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5 Secrets about me I'll Share
- I do a fair imitation of Sean Connery (in his post James Bond years), it takes 2 drinks to get me there.
- At the start of college, I had planned to be an trial attorney. I changed to journalism after a 6-month solo walk, hitchhike, train, and bus through Western Europe.
- For the first three years of my life I spoke only Greek because we lived with my mom’s parents and the whole household only spoke Greek. I learned English quickly in Nursery School and beyond.
- In high school I was took drama classes and loved acting in the school plays. I secretly wanted to be an actor. I think planning to be a trial lawyer may have been sort of like acting.
- I enjoy doing karaoke because I can’t really sing, but wish I could.