|
Andrew Zarzour didn't hear the 50,000-plus people cheering and didn't see anything but Mike Piazza's glove as he got ready to throw his first Major League pitch.
The 18-year-old had developed an ability through the years to focus and shut the world out whenever he got on the mound. No thoughts got into his head except the next pitch and the scenarios that may unfold after that pitch was thrown (i.e. whether he had to cover first, which bases to throw to, which base-runners he had to be concerned with, etc.).
Zarzour wiped his brow, went into his familiar wind-up and gave his first pitch everything he had in him.
Whoosh ... pop! It came right down the pipe. Alex Gonzalez didn't move.
"Striiiiikkke one!" the umpire yelled in a high pitched tone.
Had Zarzour been privy to a radar gun he would have seen his first pitch hit 96 miles per hour. Smokin'! Piazza quickly popped up and threw the ball back to Zarzour as nearly as hard. Everyone was pumped for this one.
Gonzalez got a piece of the next pitch but fouled it off behind him. Zarzour threw his next two pitches out of the strike zone, but Gonzo was disciplined and didn't bite.
It startled Zarzour when Gonzalez finally did make good contact with his 2-2 slider, and the tall pitcher jerked around to see where the ball was going. His shortstop, Edgar Renteria, scooped the ball up calmly, fired to first baseman Eric Karros and beat Gonzalez by three steps.
Andrew Zarzour had recorded his first out as a Major Leaguer. It was just another day at the office for everyone else, but Zarzour's heart was racing...
|