SHORT HOP - My Career In Baseball by David Driscoll

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by Tib

Gable? What did he ever do? What was he, a lifetime .265 hitter? Why should I listen to him?”
“Maybe because you’re hitting twenty points less,” I say, but he’s still running his mouth.

Great like the Rest

[UngratefulDead]

Still excellent, been looking forward to this read while on vacation

[jaxmagicman]

Originally Posted by Tib

Chapter 12: <i>Business As Usual</i>, Part One



Something else happened too, I noticed. Guys began to play ball like I played ball. They changed what they did, their habits. I don’t think I can call it leadership, but my style of play became an influence. Certain guys worked a little harder, ran a little faster, concentrated a little more. I guess they decided my way was the right way. Bradley Sing shut up. They say a team takes on the personality of its leaders. If that’s true then the Gents became my team the moment I landed the first punch.

I only wish Guevara had been around to see it.

Next week: <i>Business As Usual</i>, Part Two

It became Davey's team. That is great. Keep it up.

Oh, btw, go to photobucket.com, you can dump your photos there and then hotlink the URL's here. It works great.

[dnhdnd]

Great work on an excellent piece. You have inspired me to buy the game and to attempt a story of my own.

[Tib]

Excellent! That was the whole idea. Good luck.

[Ford Prefect]

most of you know that already but bring the ITP experience to the next Level you should join a Players League where you can live your Dream and meet others. Obviously i recommend the GFBL

[Jazzmosis]

Originally Posted by Tib

Excellent! That was the whole idea. Good luck.

You've succeeded again: I also started a story because of this excellent writing.

Mark Jazzington - a managerial career

[laxman2789]

dude I just just discovered this yesterday and gotta say you are destroying my summer reading. how am I ever supposed to read a boring book like Empire Falls when this stuff is around Top notch reading for sure, can't wait for some more.

As for the logos and pictures it probably wouldn't be too difficult. You could open up a free geocities account or something and make a "webpage" with just pictures you want to post. Once they are posted you right click and it will give you the images html, then you copy and paste that in the OOTP forum, highligh it, and press the image button.

[Tib]

It must be Saturday because it's time for the next installment of <i>SHORT HOP</i>. This one is going to be a doozy. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions about photos and other images. When I get some spare time I'll put up some logos and such. I'm leaning toward not doing photos of Dave and the guys. I'm also reading jazzmosis' Dynasty and it's a unique approach; a managerial career dynasty. Very nice.

OK, time to drop the bomb. Here's <i>Business As Usual</i>, Part Two.

[Tib]

Chapter 12: <i>Business As Usual</i>, Part Two

Whatever Theo did with Dave, it worked. None of us saw him for two weeks. The team was told it was a viral infection. Everybody just assumed it was a bad case of sexually transmitted disease. Moose and J.R. grilled me about Dave’s absence. They knew I knew something. I didn’t say a word. This only convinced them it was something worse than venereal disease, but I never said a thing. It was not easy. On the one hand I felt bad for having to keep secrets from my closest friends. On the other hand, it was for a friend that I was doing this.

On the 21st I was getting ready for a home game against the Clarksburg Dragons. Moose was wrapping his left hand in padded tape because he was catching Hassell that day. Out of the corner of my eye I see him stop. It dawned on me that the room was unusually quiet. I look up and there was Guevara setting his stuff down on the bench in front of his locker. He looked good, a little thinner, but good.

Everyone welcomed him back, some with barbs about using protection next time. He just smiled. I shook his hand with all the rest.
“How do you feel?” I asked.
His smile was still there, but his eyes were serious. “Good,” he said. “Really good.”
Theo banged his way into the room.
“Can it be?” he exclaimed in mock surprise. “Has dickwet Dave Guevara finally decided to work for a living?”
“Hey, Skip,” said Dave, like he hadn’t seen him for two weeks.
“You ready?” asked Theo.
“Yeah. I’m ready.”
“Good, ‘cause you’re starting.”

Guevara went four for six in the next two games. He stole bases. He made plays. Most of all he smiled. Each time we turned two we would point to one another and say “business as usual!” It did not last long, however, but for a very good reason. On the 23rd of May Dave Guevara was called to Durham. Jose Landeros was coming back to Hinesville.

There was fallout from both the fight and the Guevara episode. I became aware of very slight, subtle differences in the way Gable, Costello and Theo spoke to me. For one thing, Theo didn’t ride me anymore. At all. I finally went to Theo and asked him to rough me up a little once in a while.
“What the hell for?”
“I’m worried that guys are starting to think you think my **** don’t stink.”
“Hey, Ayala, get in here!”
So Cristobal comes in. “Yeah, Skip?”
“I want you to tell everyone that Dave’s **** stinks as much or more than the rest of you slobs.”
“Right, Skip.”
After Ayala leaves, Theo gives me one of his looks. “You worry too much, Driscoll.”
“I don’t want anyone to think – “
“What? That I like you more than them? ****’em. You don’t answer to them, you answer to me.”
“I guess so. Thanks, Skip.” I turned to leave.
“Besides,” says Theo. “I do like you. You’re a good egg, Driscoll. Not many people would have done what you did. That’s worth something in my book.”
“Is it worth a trip to Durham?”
“No,” replied Theo without looking up.

Over the next few weeks Theo offered more and more advice to me, above and beyond what Gable was teaching me. He would appear at during batting practice while I was hitting. “Watch the angle of his arm to his body,” he would say. “When it drops you know he’s tiring. The ball will stay up.” And another time: “If the ball spins this way, it’ll run in on you. If he turns his wrist over, you’ll see the back of his hand. That pitch is going to break away.”

The Gents hovered around .500 all the way through June. I tried to lead by example, at least as much as I knew how. I bought a book on hitting by Charlie King, but King’s explanations were so detailed I had to read it three times before I learned anything useful. I went back to Brock Airs after Pegasus was implicated in an Asian child labor investigation. At the end of June I was hitting .264. I had scored 39 runs in 78 games from the #7 spot. Not bad, but not good enough for AA. I led the league in fielding for shortstops, making only 6 errors (.978). I bought <i>The Way of Stealing</i>, a classic from Henderson Publishing, who also printed <i>Zen and the Base on Balls</i> and <i>The Tao of the Strike Zone</i>.

I became immersed in my game again, but I never forgot to look around once in awhile. Dex brought his ERA down to respectable levels again. Yoogie remained our most consistent pitcher. Cristobal Ayala led the league, hitting .362 with 18 HR and 26 stolen bases. Lino Lopez continued to outperform me. He led the Sergeants with 23 HR. For a scrawny guy he sure had a lot of power. J.R. was hitting .344, Moose .355.

July was hot that year. I remember wondering if there was anywhere in the south where it wasn’t so damned humid. Turns out there isn’t. Theo started batting me leadoff against lefties, but I still couldn’t get anything going. I went to see Cliff.

“Cliff, you ever have a long slump?”
“Sure. Lots of times.”
“What did you do?”
“Back in those days we didn’t have the organized farm teams like you do now. We were just a bunch of colored players trying to make it happen among our own people. On the one hand, we didn’t have to contend with all kinds of players coming from all over the world to take our jobs, like you do. On the other hand, if we couldn’t find a black restaurant, we had to eat in the kitchen in back of the white restaurants. We had to room anyplace we were allowed and be mindful of angry white folks who resented us playing what they considered a white man’s game.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”
“We played through it, Davey, my boy. That’s my point. We played through it because it was all you could do. The real world was far more difficult than a slump. Slumps come and slumps go, but prejudice and hatred are always nearby. At least they were for us.”
He looked at me. “Relax, son. What are you worried about?”
“I don’t seem to be cutting it.”
“Nonsense!” was Cliff’s retort. “You don’t really think that, do you?”
“I’m not hitting what those other guys are hitting. .350, .340. I’m not burning things up like I thought I would.”
“They’re not in Durham either, Davey. There’s a reason for that. There’s more to a ballplayer than a high average. You save a lot of runs with your defense. I’ll tell you this much for free: you’re the smartest player out there. Why, Miss Draper still has high hopes for you, in spite of your obvious mistake letting Marisa Hollings back on the open market.” He laughed that deep laugh of his.
“I feel like I should be in Durham by now.”
Cliff was silent for a while. “Maybe,” he said. “The way I see it, some of you boys should have made the jump by now. Of course, the Generals are deep on the farm these days. Not a lot of room right now, especially for you. But what are you going to do? Go home?”
“No. I’m not going home unless Theo sends me home.”
“So, play through it. Davey, if this is the worst thing to ever happen to you, you’re one lucky young man.”

Then an interesting thing happened. Before a game against Ft. Wayne, I was reading in the “player’s lounge”, which was just two ratty couches that faced each other on one wall of the locker room. Up walks Bradley Sing. I see Moose stand up from a bench, but I give my head a tiny shake.
<i>Let’s see what he has to say</i>, I think.
“Hey,” he begins.
“Hey.”
“Uh, listen,” he says. “No hard feelings, huh?”
He was clearly uncomfortable and I was more than happy to let him stew for a few seconds. “Hard feelings about what?”
“You know. About the other day,” he says. “I was out of line to say that stuff. Can we just forget about it?” He sniffled through his plastic nose brace. Guys were watching. I stood up. I saw Bobby Gable come in the room from his office. He was watching, too.
“Bradley, I don’t pretend to know everything,” I said. “But I know you can’t win without the right attitude. Sometimes believing you can do something is more important than all the raw skill in the world. If we’re going to make the bigs, we’re going to have to show the franchise we can get it done under all kinds of pressure.”
“Yeah,” he says.
“And losing streaks and slumps and personality conflicts are part of that. Everyone on this team can play ball. And the coaches on this team have paid their dues, too, believe me. Start by respecting their experience, if nothing else. When you complain all you’re saying is ‘I can’t take the pressure’. Negative stuff like that is contagious. I just didn’t want to see it affect the team. I’m not going to tell you what to think about me or the coaches or anything else. But I don’t want to hear that stuff in the locker room. It takes more than batting average to move up in the organization. So no hard feelings.”
I offered my hand.
“Yeah,” he says, taking it. “Okay.” He walked away and that was it.
<i>Well what do you know?</i>

Finally, at the end of July I had a hot stretch where I went 12 for 34 (.353) during an 8-game hitting streak. My average was climbing (.267), I had stolen 13 of 17 bases, and I led the known universe in fielding percentage.

On July 29th I went 2 for 4 against Long Island and the Gents were in second place by a half-game (55-46). We were really starting to gel. After the game, I was standing by the tunnel door waiting for Dex to get dressed. He, Yoogie, Moose, J.R. and I were going out for barbeque. As Dex approached, Theo came out of his office.
“Driscoll, come in here for a minute.”
I told the guys I’d meet them out in the parking lot.
“Don’t wait up for him, guys,” said Theo. “He may be awhile.”
With looks of confusion for me, they filed out slowly. J.R. gave me a big smile and a thumbs up as he left.

Theo’s office was as cluttered as usual. The naked woman ashtray from Mesa, Arizona had been replaced by a naked woman ashtray from Savannah, Georgia. Theo removed some printouts from a chair and tossed them onto the bookshelf behind him.
“Sit down, Dave,” he said.
<i>This is it!</i> I thought. <i>I’m moving on!</i>

Twenty minutes later I walked out the tunnel door into the players parking area. There were Moose, J.R., Dex and Yoogie, standing by my truck, waiting. They just looked at me. I looked back.

“I’ve been traded to Little Rock,” I said.

Next week: Chapter 13, <i>Goodbyes</i>

[dnhdnd]

Leave it to the darn trades to make the goodbye.

[Rasmuth]

WOW! Didn't see that coming.

[UngratefulDead]

Wowza, still a great read as always, didn't see that coming at all.

Anyway, I'm soon to join the ranks of those you've inspired to make a player dynasty report of their own, though I still haven't decided how to do it,

[laxman2789]

guys that other SS Lopez was a bigger threat then you originally thought lol. Maybe in Little Rock they'll call him Dave instead of Davey...

[Jazzmosis]

Wow.... wow.

..Wow.

..wow.

Incredible read. Absolutely incredible read. Did you organize the trade, or did it just happen in the game? (I'm not sure about how the skematics of ITP works compared to OOTP)

Also, thanks for the comments about my managerial dynasty. It's still peanuts compared to this, though.

[jaxmagicman]

Originally Posted by Jazzmosis

Wow.... wow.

..Wow.

..wow.

Incredible read. Absolutely incredible read. Did you organize the trade, or did it just happen in the game? (I'm not sure about how the skematics of ITP works compared to OOTP)

Also, thanks for the comments about my managerial dynasty. It's still peanuts compared to this, though.

It just happens in ITP.


I want to say I had a fear that he was going to be traded when Cliff said the minors were full.

[Tib]

Originally Posted by jaxmagicman

I want to say I had a fear that he was going to be traded when Cliff said the minors were full.

Yep. That was a clue. But to be honest the trade hit me like a ton of bricks. I was not expecting it either. I had all these plans for his life in Hinesville and now they had to be scapped or amended to fit into Little Rock. I sat at my computer in silence for about 30 seconds, staring at that little cellphone going <i>what the hell do I do NOW?</i> Remember, all the on-field events are right from the game. I may embellish things to help them fit the story, but the career path is created by ITP. Oh, well, I've never been to Little Rock. Time to do some research. Besides, a new team means new characters.

Then I realized that Little Rock was in the Kansas City organization! And hey, Theo was from KC! But I'm pimping the next chapter. You'll see what I mean...

[UngratefulDead]

Originally Posted by Tib

Yep. That was a clue. But to be honest the trade hit me like a ton of bricks. I was not expecting it either. I had all these plans for his life in Hinesville and now they had to be scapped or amended to fit into Little Rock. I sat at my computer in silence for about 30 seconds, staring at that little cellphone going <i>what the hell do I do NOW?</i> Remember, all the on-field events are right from the game. I may embellish things to help them fit the story, but the career path is created by ITP. Oh, well, I've never been to Little Rock. Time to do some research. Besides, a new team means new characters.

Then I realized that Little Rock was in the Kansas City organization! And hey, Theo was from KC! But I'm pimping the next chapter. You'll see what I mean...

It is really a different way of writing, having to adjust yourself when the game throws you a curve (no pun intended).

[jaxmagicman]

Originally Posted by Tib

Yep. That was a clue. But to be honest the trade hit me like a ton of bricks. I was not expecting it either. I had all these plans for his life in Hinesville and now they had to be scapped or amended to fit into Little Rock. I sat at my computer in silence for about 30 seconds, staring at that little cellphone going <i>what the hell do I do NOW?</i> Remember, all the on-field events are right from the game. I may embellish things to help them fit the story, but the career path is created by ITP. Oh, well, I've never been to Little Rock. Time to do some research. Besides, a new team means new characters.

Then I realized that Little Rock was in the Kansas City organization! And hey, Theo was from KC! But I'm pimping the next chapter. You'll see what I mean...

Hey you can have Davey sing that Coline Ray Song:

Well, I know I disappeared a time or two,
and along the way I lost me and you.
I needed a new town for my new start
selling VCR's in Arkansas at a Wal-Mart.

I haven't had a drink in nineteen days.
My eyes are clear and bright without that haze.
I like the preacher from the Church of Christ.
Sorry that I cried when I talked to you last night.

I think I'm on a roll here in Little Rock.
I'm solid as a stone, baby, wait and see.
I've got just one small problem here in Little Rock,
without you, baby I'm not me.

I don't know why I held it all inside,
you must've thought I never even tried.
You know your daddy told me when I left
that Jesus would forgive, but a daddy don't forget.

I think I'm on a roll here in Little Rock.
I'm solid as a stone, baby, wait and see.
I've got just one small problem here in Little Rock,
without you, baby I'm not me.

Lying here upon this motel bed,
my thoughts of you explode inside my head.
Like a castle built upon the sand,
I let love crumble in my hand.

I think I'm on a roll here in Little Rock.
I'm solid as a stone, baby, wait and see.
I've got just one small problem here in Little Rock,
without you, baby I'm not me.

Without you, baby I'm not me...

I think I'm on a roll here in Little Rock.

[Faroo6]

that's a great song