81 – The Second Inning

81 – The Second Inning

By Aramis Thorn

Here is the second installment of the short story as promised, Enjoy

 

Warm Up

Jack walks the short walk to the plate.  He ponders how many times he has walked this walk from dugout to plate.  Quick crude math says that he has made the trip to the catcher’s position over twenty five thousand times in a twenty year career.  He can see that Aaron Sparks, the powerful Center Fielder is met by the bat boy who takes his glove and hands him his bat.  Aaron picks up the heavy warm up bat as well and begins to swing hard and true with both bats.  Zander indicates that he is ready to toss his eight. 

Morris lets the pitcher choose his pitches.  He wants to get into the kids head and see how the young pitcher ponders the long game.  To his credit Joe Zander tosses eight medium speed strikes.  He does what a pitcher should do with those eight tosses; he gets back his range.

Pitch 10

Garner Patch cleans the plate and signals Aaron Sparks to the batter’s box.  Sparks enters the left one.  He can be equally effective in both.  Jack knows Joe can control his curve.  Jack signals curve, inside, and low.  Sparks swings and misses as the ball tails down and under the bat.  Jack does not even need to move his glove to catch it.

“Steeerike  one,” barks Patch.

The red clock glares 92 mph.

Pitch 11

Sparks looks back at the catcher.  “Your kid can throw a speedy curve.  Can he toss the heat to someone who can hit it?”

Jack knows that this is part of the required dance between batter and catcher.  For over a century this duet has played out in major league stadiums and sand lots all over the country.  The two try to bait each other, out brag each other, and create the right tension for an advantage over each other.  This dance is vital to the romance that is baseball.

Crackerjack grins under his catcher’s mask, “He can throw the heat to anyone if he is in the mood.  The problem is that he does not want you to hit it so he is very picky about it.”

The catcher signals slider.  He knows the kids’ speed will make it look like a fastball and the slight movement will fool Sparks.

Zander nods, winds, and delivers.

Jack ponders his still sore left hand.

Aaron Sparks pulls the trigger on a power swing.  The sounds are very close; swoosh slap.

“Steeerike two,” quips Patch.

The red lights wink as if taunting catcher and batter.  97 mph.  Jack feels it in the heel of his hand.  He is still smiling but he is also wincing just a little.

Pitch 12

Sparks looks back at Jack to continue the dance as the catcher tosses the ball back to the mound.  “I thought the slider was supposed to be slower than the fastball.  Maybe that was just bad heat.”

Jack smiles up at the savvy cleanup hitter.  “Maybe your knowledge of pitching is better than you think.”

Morris signals fastball, away, and full heat.  The catchers hand reminds him that this is going to hurt.  Zander nods and deals.

Sparks chases the ball a full third of a second late.  Jack catches the ball right in the sweet spot of the glove.  Very grateful for this his smile is dual purpose when hears the call.

“Steeerike  three batter.  You’re out,” barks Garner Patch.

Sparks makes his way back to the dugout shaking his head.

Each infielder smiles as the ball travels around the horn.

The red clock seems to be smiling too:  103 mph.

Pitch 13

There is both respect and rivalry between opposing catchers.  Willy Span today’s opposing catcher has been in the majors just three years shy of Jack.  The two have shared four All Star hotel rooms. They know and respect each other. 

“Your boy is doing OK so far,” observes Willy.

“So far,” offers Jack, “but the game is young and so is he.”

Both men smile.  Jack knows that the game is young and he knows how quickly things can change no matter what inning it is.  In baseball there is no such thing as an insurmountable lead.  He decides to start out slow after the last heat.  Jack signals changeup.

Zander barely nods.  Jack can tell he wants to throw heat and heat only.  Once again the aging catcher ponders the conflict that is created when talent collides with youth.  Still the kid is listening even if he is thinking differently.

Joe stretches, cocks, and fires.  To Jack’s eye the release is in exactly the same place as the fastball that finished Sparks.  The pitch looks fast.  Even Jack considers that the kid threw heat instead.  The ball is headed right down Main Street.

Swoosh and then a heartbeat and then slap.  Jack is sorry he doubted his young protégé.  Willy is sorry he swung so soon.

“Steeerike one,” calls Patch.

The red clock winks out its report: 71 mph.
 

Pitch 14

Jack tosses the ball back to Joe.  “That one even fooled me Willy.”

Willy shakes his head, “I could say it did not fool me but there exists a preponderance of glaring evidence to the contrary.”

Morris chuckles at his friend’s honesty and signals curve, slow, and outside. 

Zander stretches and deals.  The ball leaves his hand as if it is a replay of the previous pitch.  There is not time to see that Joe releases off of the middle finger instead of the index finger.  Span is too busy judging speed.  He will not swing late again.  Were one to overlay the two images one would see that his bat crosses exactly the plane where the ball passed the plate on the previous pitch.

Had there been a second changeup it would have been launched into the stands in center field.  Instead a photo of this swing would reveal that the ball passes under the bat by a full inch and a half.  The ball lied to 

Span from the moment it left Zander’s grip. 

“Steeerike two, batter,” calls Garner Patch.

The clock does not change: 71 mph.

Pitch 15

Jack Morris respects this batter.  At the moment, however, all he wants is another out.  Two pitches at the same speed means that a good hitter like Span has the timing down.  Slow again would be dangerous.  The wise catcher signals curve, inside, and quick. 

Joe gets it and nods.  They both have seen the fast curve work for them.  The opposition has not seen enough of them to know what will happen.  Joe winds and releases.

Crackerjack watches his friend step back in the box to take the obviously inside pitch.  Span has assumed inside fastball.  The ball obeys the physics of deception and sails left to right across the plate.  Span realizes his error just before the resounding slap of the ball against Jack’s well-worn leather.

“Steeerike three, you’re out,” calls Patch

“You got me good Jack. I’ll pay you back in an inning or two,” says Span.

“We’ll see,” replies Jack.

The clock says the curve ball passed at 94 mph.

Pitch 16

Bob Cranes, the left fielder is an ass.  He rarely gets along with his own team.  He has been in the majors for six years and each year has been fined for poor conduct, bad behavior, and starting fights.  He has been ejected from seventeen regular season games and two post season outings.  He stomps into the batter’s box and directs his attention to the young pitcher.

“OK grunt, I seen what you done to my team mates.  You won’t be getting nothing by me.”  He pounds the plate with his bat and sets his stance.

Jack ponders that in this player is the sum of all that is wrong with education and culture in America.  He also ponders Cranes’ use of the double negative.  “You won’t be getting nothing by me” means that Joe will be getting something by him.  Heat first may be a good idea.  He signals one and full.  He sets up for the pain.

Zander grins, winds, and deals.

Cranes swings so late that there was time for another pitch.

Garner Patch, ever impartial signals his approval the only way an umpire can.  

“Steeerike one, batter,” calls Patch.

It takes another full second for the burning pain to erupt in Jack’s hand.  Morris thinks that the pitch clock winks at him as it registers the pitch: 104 mph.

Pitch 17

Cranes swears under his breath.  It is a catcher’s job to get inside the head of the batter.  Jack ponders that there is ample room in Bob Cranes’ as he goads him.  “You were right that was not ‘nothing’ that went by you.  That was pure southern heat.  Should I slow the kid down and give you a better chance?”

Cranes swears and spits.  He steps back into the box.  “Sure send the heat again.  I’ll crush it and your grunt pitcher in one swing.”

Crackerjack knows the batter has danced right into his arms.  He signals the heat and outside.  Joe grins and delivers.  The batters attitude hinders his judgment.  Cranes had decided to swing before the pitch was thrown.  He chases the outside pitch and misses by a full inch and by half a second.

“Steeerike two,” calls Patch.

The red lights record 103 mph.

Pitch 18

“What’s wrong catch?  Is your boy afraid to put it over the plate,” asks Cranes?

“I see no fear in the boy.  I do see that he got more ‘nothing’ by you” responds Jack.   “You like heat and easy targets is what I’m hearing from you.  How about a peach so you don’t walk back to the dugout feeling like you were treated unfairly.”

Bob Cranes just swears at Jack and squares his stance.  Garner Patch warns Cranes about his language.  Jack signals changeup and inside.  He likes the idea of Bob being called out after backing away.  The result is better than he could wish for in his deepest fantasies.

Zander cocks and fires.  The release of the changeup is exactly in place where the last two fastballs were.  

Jack sees that it is on target to crease the inside of the plate just below Cranes’ letters.  From Cranes’ perspective that ball is headed straight at him.

The batter backs and sits thinking he is ducking a brush back.  The ball flies true and Cranes is on the ground before it reaches Jack’s mitt. 

“Steeerike three, batter.  You’re out,” yells Garner Patch.

Cranes is on his feet as fast as he went down.  He steps into Patch’s masked face and begins his useless rant.  “Strike? That ball almost took my head off.  That little newbie tried to bean me.”

Jack steps back to watch the umpire deal with Crane.  He leaves on his mask in case someone should spot the grin on his face.

Garner Patch is a veteran umpire and a Baptist.  He detests swearing and will launch any player who makes it personal.  He considers himself an expert on human nature.  He always becomes the quiet gentleman when players get hot with him.  “You sir are free to question the call and appeal to first base.  Other than that you may wish to move along before I end the day for you early.”

Cranes is about to escalate things when Willy Span rescues him.  Span trots over to his team mate and hands him a glove.  “We need your bat later when the kid is tired.  I’ll talk to the ump while these bums try to get a hit.” 

Cranes swears again but under his breath. He takes the glove.  Jack removes his mask and smiles at Span.  The two understand each other and for now that is enough.  They both know that this was the first rumble of a storm that will blow later in the day. 

If the bottom of the first was boring then the bottom of the second is boring.  McCracken, Jones, and Brewer all get wood on the ball but each of them hits into easy grounders resulting in outs.  Andy Vine, the opposing pitcher is keeping the ball down.  It is zero to zero at the end of two.