Sometimes a great opportunity comes along, and you have to grab the bull by the horns. So the story goes that this guy William, known to JT and Bob, had taken it upon himself to build a baseball field. The dream many of us consider, but this guy made it a reality. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this, and he wanted a team of appropriate stature and respect to break it in. The MBC was happy to oblige.
The field is in Grass Valley which, for those that don't know, is nestled in the fabled foothills of California. I grew up south of there in Placerville, and for me it was a great opportunity to go home for the weekend, and also indulge a baseball game on Sunday, without the fevered drive home and then the race to the city for game time. Plus, who could resist being the inaugural team for a new field?
The scheduled game time was 10:30, so I was up and gone by 8:00am. The drive took less time than I thought, and as I rounded the curve of the back road, I couldn't believe it was real. The field was beautiful, carved out of a big stretch of sloped land, with a barn and pasture beyond right field.
I missed the turn, and as I turned and drove back and into the lot I didn't see drills, and teams warming up on the field, I saw dudes drinking and partying in the parking lot....so, it was truly a MBC vibe, a dream come true. Matt, our young power hitter, grew up in Grass Valley, and as he tracked the ins and outs of the players, he decided to call up his old baseball buddies to fill in for the cancellations. They knew what to do.
William, our generous host, was perched on the porch of the clubhouse, listening to music and enjoying the fact that something he had built and poured his heart into was about to be utilized. He sat, just soaking up the moment. The clubhouse, by the way, is beautiful, completely modern, and filled with baseball and sports memorabilia, in addition to a 12-burner stove and a lot of beautiful work.
I have to say, the locals were a lot more prompt than the MBC, I sat and waited for the rest of our team for quite a while. Kudos to Jordan, John, and Arson for being on time and picking up rocks and golf balls while we waited for the rest of the team. But they did finally show up. JT gave a very nice speech on the quirks and tenants of MBC baseball and how it differed from a regular game.
William started for the homers, after a misfire in which Liam McG thought he was getting the ball. I lay it at the feet of youth and skilled entitlement. Liam figured he would start because, who wouldn't want him to? And in a normal game, that may have been the case. But this was a special game, especially for William, and no one but he was going to toe the rubber on his field for the first pitch. Liam grudgingly agreed, good for him, and switched teams. I had already called the starting job for the visitors. A wise man once said, better to be smart, than quick.
Dan led off for us, which why not, he was the last person to arrive....and he struck out. Aiden was next, and he got on base, and when I came up, he stole second, then came around on a botched pick-off for the first run of the game. I got a RBI doing nothing. But I did manage to get a legit single, so that was something. Older McGrath also roped a solid one.
In the bottom half, the homers made noise, but no runs. Same with the next couple of innings, as I was helped by a weird infield fly, double play at first base. Burt Field, our eternal right fielder, made the call. He is a real umpire in his other life, and explained it to us so that we all felt like it was right. He then hit a down the line extra base hit, and our collective base coaching fell short, as he tried to stretch it into a triple and was thrown out by a large margin. I sruck out a few, got some groundballs, and bailed early on a pop up that landed on the mound-- "Fuck, I'm not getting it!"-- and then bowed out, with the score 1-1, after a failed throw to second contributed to another run scored. Liam took over for the next batch and threw very well.
In the meantime, people got hits, plays were made, the homers switched pitchers at least 3 times, including Jordan, and then William was back in again for the rest of the game. Bob talked a lot of shit from first base. Don got a clutch-hit, deep in the game, after listening to William complain about a called strike 3 two innings prior. When asked how and why he had hit such an outside pitch, Don's reply was " Well, I was tired of listening to you bitch about that call."
Like any quality game, it went into extra innings, and Aiden took over for Liam. The score was tied for two innings, and then, like a fairytale ending, a runner ended up on 3rd, with one out, William was up and he pushed a hit right through the left side, and the winning run crossed the plate. A win for the guy who wanted it, and a good game for all the rest of us.
Final Score: 5-4
This postscript from our resident poetic professor JT Tiemann to William, the field owner.
I’ve been thinking for the past couple of days about Sunday. Thanks for welcoming the Mission Baseball guys up to play the inaugural game at your field. The Field played great, and it’s fun to think about how much better it will get as the grass comes in and everything settles down. Building The Field was obviously a labor of love, and, well, we all loved it.
The Field is a thing of beauty on its own, but a baseball field is most beautiful when people are playing baseball on it. I’m sure Dave will organize rosters, and captains, and umpires, and such, and all that is to the good. But I’m glad we baptized your field with the spirit of Mission Baseball, sorting ourselves into teams organically, playing fair without umpires, and delivering a tight, well-played, enjoyable - and epic - game.
Sitting here watching the World Series reminds me of an observation I’ve long made about baseball as part of American life. Baseball only suffers a shortage of one thing: people coming out to play the game just for fun. Well, we made a little progress fixing that last Sunday, thanks to you and The Field.
