Those it was one of those amazingly beautiful days in San Francisco, the kind that are hard to believe because they're so nice. The sun was out, it was 75° and there was a slight breeze blowing. Bay to Breakers had happened hours earlier and in the past we've been so afraid of the crowds and the mayhem. However, calmed by Greg's wise words, it was empty in the park, other than the occasional ragtag bunch of costumed walkers staving off their hangovers.
We started with 14, not ideal especially when it's hot; the last thing you want to be doing is filling in for the other team when you could be sitting and drinking water. But a few more trickled in, including a guy who has watched us a lot but never played, who finally agreed to because none of his buddies that normally come and play had shown up.
By the middle of the game, we had reached the perfect number
of 18, thanks to Don who was guilted in by an
e-mail sent out telling people that another player would be very much appreciated, especially on such a beautiful day.
With such a situation, of course, the game became a Sean
versus Satch grudge match. I was the home team and Sean the visitor, however
ultimately it did me no good. We both pitched complete games which is awesome. It was hot as hell on mound, but we both kept
dancing. I should have known that the game was not going to go my way in the
first inning when the visiting team pushed across three runs with little to no
effort. Every hitter was dangerous and I
couldn't throw Mike Naldony strike to save my life, after 12 straight balls he
took a walk, putting another base runner into easily scoring position. They
also had good/great Aaron, who I've been trying to avoid pitching to for the
last several games. I didn't do too bad in total, I
got him to fly out twice on some knuckleballs that dove at the last moment, but
he still put enough of a hurt on to get well into center field. His hits felt
like concussive explosions, and I was thankful to escape with singles.
I don't think we ever actually had the lead, but we did
bring it close at one point to a 4-3 ball game, then the roof caved in. Noah was filling in at 3rd for our team, had two go through the wickets and we were right
back in a hole. It was nice to see Noah, since the last time you played was the
4th of July BBQ and he brought out his son Liam who is proving to be an
excellent ball player collecting a couple of hits and every out that he made
was a productive one that ultimately resulted in a run being scored. Great job
Liam, screw you Noah.
The game went on very much like that, the visiting team
turned a couple of double plays that were crucial in ending our rallies. We did manage to get some base runners but
always fell short of the big inning that we needed. In the bottom of the ninth
we went quietly and the final score was:
Visitors- 8 to 4
Highlights:
* Thank you to all that came out for a perfect day of
baseball
* I think Mike N ended up being 4-5 on the day
* Don insisted on only playing outfield, and somehow that
put Mitch at 3rd, which while he is a great infielder, Mitch’s true defensive
value is always in the outfield
* Cap tip to Sean for a hell of a pitching performance
* Greg took a beating from several scuds I threw in the dirt
* I also screwed up a perfectly tailored pitch out, when I
was so locked in on throwing wide, I forgot to throw high
* My knuckleball was working big time
* Patrick, Chris, Nick S, and John McG all made great
infield plays
* Jack was steady in right field, playing everyone perfectly
* Noah did a flying squirrel impression at a fly ball in center in the first inning. He missed it, but may have sprung a rib
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