A few injuries, along the way, served as slight speed bumps but the club kept rolling. One of the injuries (illness) was Paul's but he was cleared to return to play just before we played our final league game on the hill.
In addition to playing tournaments that season as well as interleague games at a couple nearby parks, our team also played each of the rec teams in our age group. It gave those teams a couple extra games to finish out league play and it gave us a chance to try out various players at different positions and get in a few more games as well.
On the night in question, Paul was back in time to take the mound. I really wanted to get him some innings and get him back in the groove of pitching before the Choppers began play in the Knox County Tournament.
Back on our home field, the team started to warm up. We had shut out our opponents earlier in the season 8-0. I could tell our guys weren't all that psyched up for the game. I reminded them that our opponents would be and they should give this game, as in all games, their A Effort.
Unfortunately, they didn't hear the message.
The opposing team threw a pitcher with very odd mechanics. His arm angle was somewhere between three quarters and sidearm. He almost shot-putted the ball.
For five innings, he had the Choppers flummoxed. They were used to seeing faster pitches and were unable to adjust, on the fly, to the funky motion and slower speed. Meanwhile, opposition batters managed to push across a few runs.
We wound up losing 9-4.
Honestly, I was delighted. You never want to lose, of course, but there was a great teachable moment for the ballclub. On any given day any team can win.
For our opponents, it was a big deal to play us and beat us. Our guys had given the game the brush-off early on. By the time they realized, "Oh, we have a fight on our hands," it was too late.
But the post-game discussion brought us back to the basics. Always respect the opponent. Always give each game your best effort. The Choppers agreed.
And from that moment, they went on a roll.
The ballclub closed out the season by playing well in a tournament. They lost one game by one run and, somehow, in the odd math, they didn't make it to the finals. They certainly could have. They played well all weekend.
Then, they closed out interleague play with two Ws before they went on their run to win the Knox County Championship.
I'm not sure if that little hiccup in the last game on the hill was the deciding factor. But, it sure didn't hurt.
JG
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