Top Of The First Inning
Andrew Panos

 

Mitch Cassidy: “So here we are fans in Indianapolis, where the Indie Yard Birds welcome the Portland Sharks. I’m Mitch Cassidy, and I’m here with John Vaughn. The skies are clear and the temperature is a cool 74 degrees outside.”
John Vaughn: “Good afternoon fans, I’m John Vaughn, and as Mitch said, it’s a perfect day for baseball.”
M: “That’s right. And today we will witness two young pitchers, Bobby Newman for the Birds and Pedro Ramos for the Sharks, as they will both take it to the hill. Newman has a 16-7 record, 182 strike outs, an ERA of 2.24, and is probably one of the three pitchers I would consider for the Cy Young award.”
J: “And Pedro Ramos is another one of those pitchers shooting for the same prestigious honor.”
M: “Pedro is coming in today, 15-5, 165 strikeouts on the season and an ERA of an even 2.00. Pedro’s Sharks are 3 games back in the West, but lead the wild card race by two. So this game has significant meaning for them. But the game also means a lot for the Yard Birds who are the team that sits back by two in the wild card.”
J: “And as the Birds take the field, the sellout crowd of 60,520 give an ovation.”
M: “Now a quick rundown of the defense alignment of the Yard Birds. As we mentioned before, Bobby Newman is pitching. On the receiving end at catcher, is the five-year veteran, Mark Logan. Playing first is George Rodriguez, while Tom McDonald is manning second base. Across form him at short is two time gold glove winner, Nick Vincent. At third is rookie Ramiro Hernandez. And the outfield will be Jim Harrison in left, Kyle DeBoise in right, and James ‘Replay’ Roth in centerfield.”
J: “Roth is an amazing specimen of athletic talent on the field. He’s fast, he has a great arm, great range…”
M: “…And as we saw an example last night, he makes some of the most amazing plays in the outfield.”
J: “Last night, as we show you here on a replay, Roth tracks down a long fly ball, gets to the warning track, and scales the wall.”
M: “He looks for the ball, but it’s going to be short. So still hanging onto the wall, he reaches back and makes the grab. Simply amazing.”
J: “He is amazing. It’s his third year in the league, he won rookie of the year his first year, and he has two gold gloves.”
M: “And not only is he good on defense, but Replay is a very good hitter too. But now fans, we take you to the game where Newman will pitch to Jasper Vern. Jasper leads off a potent Shark offense. He’s a threat on the base paths as well, with 35 swipes this year. On deck, batting behind Jasper is Juan Romeo batting .294. After him, Paul Hipper and his 34 home runs bats third. Batting clean up is the DH Rico Ortiz with 29 homers and a .302 average. Up fifth, with a .454 batting average against Newman, is Harold Timmerson. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum is Lenny Ledge batting sixth, who though batting .286 for the season, only bats .098 against Newman. Up seventh is Rickey Portly batting .248, followed by Martino Allen up eighth, and David Repon up ninth.”
J: “The Sharks score a lot of runs, leading the league in that category, but they also strike out a lot, fifth in the league in that department.”
M: “Ok, now here’s Newman pitching to Vern. He winds up. He delivers. Fastball taken for strike one. Now, as Vern steps back, you fans might notice something different about him today.”
J: “Ha ha. That’s right. As he takes of his hat to wipe his forehead, you can see his head is shaved.”
M: In the beginning of the year, Newman had long locks that his teammates always teased him about, calling him names and all. So what Newman did was promise to shave it all off if he pitched three complete game shutouts during the year. And last week against Dallas?”
J: “Bobby boy got his third complete game shut out.”
M: “And after the game, he had this to say.”
(Cut to new screen with a shaved ballplayer in a locker room)
Bobby Newman: “Ah, you know what, I did it for the team. They enjoyed it. They all got a cut in. But overall I’m just happy we got out there and got the win. We put a great effort in and I guess this is just a prize for the guys.”
(Cut back from the locker room)
M: “Ha ha ha. I love this guy.”
J: “And he’s been a great asset too. Ever since the Yard Birds got him two years ago, he has become one of the leagues top pitchers.”
M: “Not only one of the best pitchers in the league, but also one of the best teammates in the league. Right fielder Kyle DeBoise said that off the field, Newman is hilarious. Here’s Newman now making the second pitch of the at bat to Vern. Delivers. It’s another fastball, just low for ball one. Now as I was saying before, DeBoise says that Newman is one of the biggest pranksters in the club house.”
J: “One of Newman’s favorite projects, is opening a can of tuna, taking just a small amount out, and placing it in the bottom of someone’s socks.”
M: “DeBoise says that it’s such a small amount, that whoever he does it to, doesn’t know about it until the end of the game when they take of their shoes and the smell comes out.”
J: “Now that’s a pretty good prank. Just imagine that smell after all of the activity put forth on the field.”
M: “DeBoise says that the smell doesn’t go away from your feet for a good day or so. When I asked him how he knew, he said from experience.”
J: “Well baseball players are known for their pranks, probably from boredom on the road I’m guessing.”
M: “And now Newman winds up, delivers. It’s an off speed pitch just a bit outside and taken by Vern for ball two.”
J: “There’s Tony Delhorn, the pitching coach looking on.”
M: “Tony is usually credited as the person that quote ‘cured’ Newman’s problems. When the Birds got him off of waivers, Newman had an 11-12 record the year before and was 10-10 the year before that. Delhorn came in, took Newman, helped him with his release point and his approach to the game. Delhorn said that if Newman just sped up his pitching and spent less time on the mound, he wouldn’t have to worry about thinking of the pitch and situation.”
J: “And ever since that talk, Newman has sped up his game, and he’s been better ever since.”
M: “Delhorn has had a history of making decent pitchers with good potential. A few years back, he took in Mike Swink. It was Delhorn’s first year here, and he performed a miracle on Swink, who is now a constant threat to opposing batters and a solid number one starter.”
J: “Delhorn has formed this rotation and basically has the final say on who the Yard Birds should sign and who should start when.”
M: “Delhorn is going to be a fantastic manager one day. In fact, he’s gotten many offers from many teams, but he’s turned them all down. And although, he likes to take control of the pitchers, manager Harvey Madsen still has full control of the players on the team.”
J: “Madsen has been the manager of the Birds for the past decade, taking them to the playoffs five times and the World Series twice, winning both times.”
M: “And for the past six years, Delhorn has been with him all the way. Although it might sound, with Delhorn in charge of the pitchers, that the two wouldn’t get along, both of them admit that they wouldn’t be where they each are, without the other. Now here’s Newman with the 2-1 count. It’s a swing and hit to short left. Harrison is there, and he makes the easy catch. One out.”
J: “Next up, Juan Romeo.”
M: “Romeo is batting well, at .294, and is riding a five game hitting streak. He leads the league in doubles and is second in the league in triples with four. Which brings up a question: Who was the last player to lead the league in both doubles and triples?”
J: “Hmm. That’s a very good question. I’m going to have to think about it. It has to be someone fast, but still strong enough to hit the long flies and pull the ball down the line.”
M: “Yup, keep going.”
J: “It had to be someone recent. Right?”
M: “Actually it was in the seventies. Quite a while ago.”
J: “Wow I never would have guessed that.”
M: “Well while you’re thinking, let’s take you back to where Newman will deliver his first pitch to Romeo. He throws. Fastball, fouled back. 0-1 count. Newman relying on his fastball so far.”
J: “So the person was in the seventies. Was it Lou Gourd?”
M: “No, but very good guess. Gourd was a triple machine back in the day, but in ’78 this player beat him out in both categories.”
J: “Ike Orventhal?”
M: “Bingo. It was ‘the General’ Ike Orventhal when he played for the Novas. Orventhal however, sadly died recently in a bizarre cooking accident.”
J: “Sad and strange experience.”
M: “One thing that Orventhal said though, that the Novas imprinted on a plaque outside their stadium will go down as one of the most famous baseball saying of all time. He once said ‘Home is where the heart is. That’s why I feel every player strives to get to home. This game is full of heart, and full of players that all have great heart. This is the home I know of, and this is where my heart will always be.’”
J: “How classy.”
M: “The General surely was class. Now Newman deals the 0-1 to Romeo, another fastball swung on and missed. 0-2.”
J: “Newman is using his fastball very well so far.”
M: “And as we look at this chart right here, the majority of his pitches, about 68 percent of them have been fastballs during the year. Newman also has in his repertoire an off speed, a big breaking curveball, and a speedy slider that cuts in on lefties. All are very effective pitches.”
J: “Tonight around the league we have three other games going on. Down in Miami, the Sun Bolts lead the Vancouver Freeze 4-2 in the bottom on the fourth. Over in Sacramento, the Buffalo Blades have a 5-0 lead over the Griffins in the second inning. And in San Antonio, the Posse lead the Oklahoma Cactuses 8-7 heading into the top of the ninth. Yorkis Quellen coming in to try for the save.”
M: “Hey John. Did you catch what you just said?”
J: “No I didn’t. What did I say?”
M: “You just said Oklahoma Cactuses.”
J: “Did I? Ha ha ha! That’s pretty funny.”
M: “Ha ha ha! Cactuses! That’s great. Folks, what John meant to say was the Oklahoma Cacti, not cactuses. It could be a confusing word I guess.”
J: “It’s like octopi and fungi.”
M: “Or how about Lexi?”
J: “Lexi?”
M: “Well what else do you call more than one Lexus?”
J: “I’m not sure. I guess it would be Lexi in the proper sense. But I never heard the company use that term.”
M: “Neither have I, but it sounds good. Now here’s Newman again with the 0-2. Nope. Never mind. Romeo steps off to look at the signs and adjust his batting gloves.”
J: “Look at Romeo with the gloves, almost like he’s playing some young child game. Now he looks down to catch the sign.”
M: "You know what John. No one ever mentions it on the air, but for the first time, I think in television history, I’m going to point it out.”
J: “What’s that?”
M: “That guy on the cell phone behind the batter, waving at the camera. Look at him. He’s probably talking to his wife or kids. Probably asking if they can see him on TV.”
J: “Well I’m sure their letting him know that they can see him making a fool of himself. And their probably telling him that we’re mocking him on air.”
M: “What a moron.”
J: “Let’s see if there’s a reaction.”
M: “Yep, there it is, as he’s laughing and waving at us I guess, unless of course he’s still waving at the same people as before. But here’s Romeo looking at 0-2. Newman winds up and delivers. It’s a breaking ball taken and called strike three. Two outs.”
J: “Beautiful pitch right there Mitch. Look at that baby break. Romeo kind of flinches at it and just lets it go right on by.”
M: “Up now is a huge offensive threat, Paul Hipper. Hipper led the league in home runs a year ago, and this is his seventh year hitting over thirty dingers in one year.”
J: “Just look at how big this guy is. He’s 235 pounds, muscle all around.”
M: “And if you pitch inside to him, he still has the talent to turn on it. The MVP of the league two years ago, he hits pretty well against Newman. But Newman is showing no signs of fear right now as he calls for a new ball.”
J: “The last time these two faced, Hipper drilled a monster homerun, so look for Newman to go right after him here. And as we’re getting a look at Hipper, the guy behind him is still on the cell phone.”
M: “Somebody better tell him that there’s a game going on. And not only that, but a big match-up at the plate as well. Newman digs in, sees the sign from the catcher Logan, and shakes it off. It looks like he wants the fastball, and there it is the number one, and Newman likes it. He winds up delivers. And it’s a long fly ball to left-center! It’s way back! Way! Way! Way outta here! No! My God! Unbelivable! Replay Roth comes out of no where to scale the wall, lean over it, grab the ball, and bring it back in!”
J: “He is simply amazing. This is why he’s called Replay as we go to one right now.”
M: “The cameraman didn’t even see him coming!”
J: “No one saw him coming.”
M: “Look at him jump on that wall and take one away from Hipper. Unbelievable.”
J: “And there’s Harrison in left watching on in awe. And Hipper is shown in utter shock that he missed out on that one.”
M: “Folks we go to our first break right now. After the top of the first the score is 0-0. Stay tuned as we continue to cover what is turning out to be a very exciting game.”

 

 

Copyright © 2004 Andrew Panos
Published on the World Wide Web by "www.storymania.com"