Page 10 of The Battery
Third baseman Silva stepped up next. Leo called for a slider. Which didn’t slide and instead Silva smashed a double. My heart sank as O’Brien scored, bringing the Winds up to three-two. I blinked through my sudden frustration. The positive energy I had built in the fourth evaporated like an open door sauna. I kept my eyes away from Leo.
Ivonav, the Winds’ right fielder. Leo wanted a changeup and, according to him, who was I to question?
I threw a changeup but it caught too much of the plate. Ivonav hit a groundout to second and Silva was able to reach third on it.
No, no, no.This wasn’t how it was supposed to go at all. I was meant to carry the momentum from the last inning into this one. How did things spiral so quickly?
Their designated hitter stepped up next, a tall, thin man named Jones. For him, Leo called for a fastball on the inside corner.
Okay, you got this.I wound up. Exhaled. Threw.
My pitch sailed well outside. Ball one.
The PitchCom call came in as I walked back to the plate. Slider, low and away.
My slider didn’t break and ended up below the zone for ball two. I bit off a curse that threatened to explode from me. That spiraling had begun to intensify, and I suddenly questioned if I had the wherewithal to bring myself back from it. My eyes found Leo, but he gave me nothing.
Changeup, down and away.
My changeup missed its mark, drifting too far outside. Ball three.
My awareness left me for a moment as Leo sent a call for a fastball on the outside corner. A piece of me knew that whatever happened next would change my standing with the team. Doubt hit me as hard as a fastball to the gut. And as anyone in professional sports would say, doubt kills.
My fastball was high and outside of the strike zone. Ball four.
Management called me off the field. I was pulled from my awful position of allowing the bases to be loaded after letting the Winds sneak ahead by two. I kept my face like stone as I jogged off the field.
No shame, Cody, no shame.If I didn’t learn from this failure, I would never survive.
Romo caught me as I left the dugout. This time, I did stop.
“Hill,” he said as I halted on the last step. “It’ll eat you alive, man.”
I took in a careful breath and released it. “You’re right. Gotta let it go.”
“Good man.”
But I didn’t let it go. Especially since one of the Assholes threw a perfect inning and managed to strike out three hitters in a row.
I’m done, I thought. Knew it deep in my bones.
CHAPTER SIX
Leo
Romo could prattleon for hours. I thought my ears would start to bleed after I hadn’t spoken a word for fifteen minutes straight. The man didn’t take a breath.
We circled the stadium concourse hours before the next game. They hadn’t let the early visitors in yet. (Romo loved them, I had come to learn, as he inexhaustibly told me about how special it was to meet each one of them.) Mostly,thankfully, we discussed strategy and the direction he’d like to see the Riders continue to grow. When asked about his fear of being traded like Hiroshi, he assured me he had a no-trade clause in his contract for at least the next three years. And by then, he thought he’d be past his prime.
I bit down on my tongue at that. I was two years Romo’s senior. Ifhethought he’d be past his prime at my age now…
Eventually, after our second circuit, the conversation swung around to the pitching staff. I let him talk so I could get his unbiased opinion. I needed a fast forward button on a remote that could control him. All I wanted was for him to zip through most of the roster until he got to one particular person.
“And then Hill. He confuses me,” Romo admitted. We had paused at one of the archways. A pizza shack behind us, third base before us. Romo rested his forearms on the metal banister and I mirrored him. Together we looked upon the field at a team at practice. “He’s good.Realgood. But he can’t get his emotions in check. Gotta admit that’s a little frustrating to see.”
I nodded in understanding. Most of us got to where we are today because of our ability to ignore the cloying nature ofoverwrought emotions. “I noticed that,” I said. “I think he feels pressure because of Hiroshi’s absence.”
Romo gave an “oh well” look and shrugged his shoulders. “We all do. Though I’m not sure why it’s bad with him. He was never here to experience Hiroshi as our catcher and captain.”
