Page 44 of Fake Love

“So what now?” I ask, not really wanting our day together to end.

“Now, we get something to eat and I try to convince you to go to Sacramento with me.”

“Sacramento? Why?” I ask, a bit confused.

“My suspension is up in a few weeks. To get ready, I’m getting sent down to San Jose for a few days and then Sacramento for however long it takes for the team to call me up.”

That explanation doesn’t help with the confusion. “Called up?”

Maddox nods. “Right now, the team has a full roster. I will be playing in Sacramento until they need a new player even if my suspension is over. Either because someone got hurt or because they are moving someone down.”

“So you don’t know when exactly you will be playing for San Francisco?”

He shakes his head, not looking as defeated as I expected him to be. “No, its all up to the front office, but I don’t care. As long as I get to play.”

By the sound of his voice and the expression on his face, this is a good thing.

So I give him a smile. “Then feed me, because I really want to see you try to convince me to head to Sacramento. San Jose, I can do. Sacramento may take some work.

He smiles all the while shaking his head. “Okay, let’s go feed you, then.”

I’m sure if he wanted to, he would have made that statement a lot dirtier than intended, but he doesn’t.

Later that night after eating and Maddox trying to convince me to go to Sacramento, I go through all the pictures I took of the day.

I sift through them until I find the perfect ones to post.

The world is about to see Maddox Bauer in a different light that they weren’t expecting.

My light and hopefully they can use it to see that he is very much worth rooting for.

13

MAY 7, 2022

Maddox

The stadium is packed with fans, which is what I expected to happen since it’s a Saturday night, but I didn’t expect it to be this back.

Every seat in the stadium is sold out and taken by a body, waiting patiently for the game to start. Waiting for the game to being.

Waiting for the starting pitcher to come out and show them what he’s got.

The starting pitcher tonight. Me.

I’m pitching tonight and every single person in this stadium, in the stands, is here to see me.

At the start of last season, that statement right there would have made my head three time bigger. My ego would have inflated to the point of almost explosion knowing that a whole stadium was here to see me pitch.

Now I’m nowhere near that.

I had a fear of being traded, but now I have a fear of messing up and messing up big. Because if this outing doesn’t go well, I won’t be seeing the mound in San Francisco anytime soon.

I was able to pitch in San Jose but it was only a few late innings but never a full game. Same thing goes for here in Sacramento. My first week here, I pitched in a few games but only an inning or two. That changed though two days ago when the Sacramento manager came up to me and said I was starting on Saturday.

Was I expecting it? A little. I knew I was going to have to pitch a few games so that the front office in San Francisco could take note. I just didn’t think that it would be this soon.

Two days a few years ago would have been enough to get me going and get my head in the right place. Now my head feels all jumbled up and it’s a minor league game.

---