Warning: random reminiscing and not really ever making a point while eventually mentioning bunting...
Growing up in Boston, playing and adoring baseball through my whole childhood, I routinely made the city traveling All-Star team. I was always my team's best defender. Over the years I played every position except for catcher. Generally, I was either a center fielder or a second baseman. Shortstop usually went to one of two other teammates that had better throwing arms than I did, including the girl I had a wicked crush on....
(I wonder what ever happened to her?), but I'd roam wherever necessary. Managed a triple-play as a centerfielder at one point, as a matter of fact. Diving catch in
very shallow center, popped up and tagged second, tossed the ball to first. I suppose I could have had an unassisted if my brain had realized I could have tagged the runner heading to second quick enough. As a pitcher I wasn't overpowering but had a little movement and solid control (most of the time...).
Anyways, at the plate I tried to be a pesky hitter. I'd foul off a lot of pitches, strike out a lot (looking, more often than not... THOSE UMPS WERE BLIND!) and walk a lot. I was a line drive hitter, almost always winning the line drive competitions (in a batting cage, how many pitches in a row can you hit to the back of the cage on the line without popping up or hitting it into the ground) and usually managing to steal a base or two once I got on. I always wanted to crash into the catcher, but that was never allowed. I got kicked out of a game for doing that once, actually.
One time, as the leadoff hitter for my team in the very first game of the year, I absolutely
crushed the ball. I can't recall if it was the first pitch or not, but I doubt it. Either way, I wound up with a homerun. IIRC, it's the only homerun I ever hit. The best part is what one of the parents of some other kid on my team said... "Well, it's all down hill from here."
Ultimately... offensively my real skills became my bunting ability, speed and batting eye. I could still walk, smoke some liners, steal a base... but I'd wind up bunting once or twice a game as the leadoff hitter for my All-Star teams. The last few years I played for Boston, in some of our games I would look down at the third base coach for signs to NOT bunt. If I didn't see those signs, I'd bunt away. After my first season on the team the coaches had me running bunting clinics for my teammates. The end of some practices would wind up with me standing in front of the bench showing everyone how I bunted. It never really caught on among them, only two or three other guys got good at it.
I remember getting yelled at throughout my school years in gym class when I would bunt during softball games. Hey, it's baseball and it WORKED - I got on base! I can't help it if you don't like it. Of course, I'd also be the jackass diving for balls on defense during gym when no one else even wanted to jog.
I love baseball.
