Foul Ball: The Jonas Fossland Story

[TribeFanInNC]

Jan 2, 2000

So I’m in my shanty on Altermatt Lake, fishin’ for some walleye when my cell rings. Since I haven’t gotten a bite in an hour, I figured I’d answer. It was some bigwig from Cleveland rustling up players for a new league called the Great Lakes Baseball Association. He said he saw me back in college and thought I might be able to help the club in its first year.

I looked at my fishing hole, bobber lying quiet as a mouse on the water’s surface. I remembered my catch from yesterday – nothing. In fact, I thought back to a half seasons worth of fish. A couple pike after Thanksgiving, the trip up to Lake Superior where my brother and I found a school of perch, another big pike last week. 50 trips or so to various lakes around Minnesota and only a handful of fish to show for it. Most of a winter pretty much got me a couple meals and an extra 10 pounds of beer gut.

I ask this Mack Boudreau character how much he’d give me to play. He says probably around $100,000 if I make the squad but we’ll talk more after he sees me on the field.

I looked at my bobber again and said hell, I’ll give it shot. He told me outfielders should show up March 1^st and hung up. I crack open another cold one and smile – I got two more months of fishing left.

[TribeFanInNC]

Feb 15, 2000

Day 1 of my personal training regiment. I figure I can’t show up looking like a 40-year old ice fisherman. Bad enough my hair and moustache are almost totally gray before my thirtieth birthday. I certainly can’t show up looking like I spent the last 5 months in an ice shanty drinking beer, even if I did. I warmed up with some jumping jacks, then I ran a mile and crawled back onto the couch. I decide to wait until tomorrow to hit the batting cage.

Feb 17, 2000

Ok, so tomorrow meant the next day. I was a little sore from that marathon I ran. But today I hit at Ted’s Putt-n-Cage. Knocked around the 80mph ones from both side of the plate and felt pretty good. That’s as fast as they get at Ted’s. I’m glad Ted doesn’t have any real gas there. Still not the same as live BP though.

After hitting, I get a twist cone and wonder what it’ll be at big league camp. If you can call it big league camp. This GLBA is just a startup – who knows if it’ll last. But it’s the only thing around so I figure it’s as big league as it gets. We’ll see.

[TribeFanInNC]

Feb 20, 2000

So I talked the Springfield HS baseball team into throwing me some BP everyday is exchange for some coaching help before their season starts. And I had to help them shovel the field. Luckily I know the coach; Stan and I played together at SHS and we took them to the state finals before losing to one of them fancy private schools from St Paul. Stan was the ace and I was the centerfielder. Then I gained 50 pounds. I don’t think I’ll be seeing much centerfield in Cleveland unless they are holding a Christmas parade out there and need a Santa Claus.

Stan threw a few to me, then one of the kids took over so I could get some swings in righthanded. Felt pretty good still from the left side, but didn’t have any power as a righty. I’m sure it’ll come around.

Feb 23, 2000

So, it’s not coming around. As a righty, I pretty much ground everything right at the shortstop. Stan says it’s the cold. I say it’s the Pabst Blue Ribbon. I guess I could just hit left handed if it came down to it. I took some lefty-on-lefty swings just in case. I grounded all those at the shortstop too

[TribeFanInNC]

Feb 25, 2000

I managed to run two whole miles today. Yes, without stopping. I’m starting to get my wind back a little and I feel a little more athletic. But I can tell I’m not exactly in high school anymore either – more aches and pains, more stiffness. This isn’t gonna be easy, that’s for sure.

I got a call from my agent Herb Jorgensen today, said he got some information from the team to look through. Schedules, rules, medical forms, yada, yada, yada… I said fine, bring them over later.

Apparently later is five minutes to Herb as I hear the tires of his ’78 El Camino screech to a halt in my driveway. I finish up a few pull ups on a bar I setup in a closet door frame before I let him in. I fill out payroll and medical info until my eyes glaze over until he finally hands me the schedule. Position players report March 1, first exhibition game March 15, cuts on the 25th and 31st, before ending the spring on April 8. Final cuts by April 10. Season starts April 14.

It seems more real now. I leave in four days. My chance at professional baseball awaits.

Feb 28, 2000

Last workout with Stan and the boys. I spray about 100 balls around the field, then everyone wishes me luck and says they’ll be watching. The whole team is even talking about making the 2.5 hour trek to Minneapolis the first time Cleveland comes to town. It’s great to hear everyone is behind me.

Inside I’m wondering if they’ll even get the chance.

[NYY #23]

Nice start, and a different concept. I'll be following along, and rooting for Jonas.

[TribeFanInNC]

Thanks for reading. I'm going to try the more entertainment, less stat dump approach for this - the complete opposite of other dynasties I've done in the past on other sites. Hopefully it doesn't come out too corny.

[William Foster]

I like it so far. Although I'd like it a bit longer perhaps (read "You Know Me Al" for an idea) these updates are short, concise, and interesting. Any background on the GLBA you wish to share or will it come as the story goes on?

[endgame]

I stumbled on this today and was struck by the straightforward and casual narrative. I like the 'thinking aloud' concept and I think you're doing very well capturing the common man outlook in Jonas.

Perhaps just as interesting, for me, is maintaining that first-person perspective without having created a podium for your character. Unless I read too quickly, we know who he is only from the Dynasty or Thread Title. I like his . . . distance from himself. I have the distinct impression that by the end of his days, we will have come to know him better than he came to know himself. I find believing that, at this stage of your contributions, quite remarkable.

[Afino]

My name is Jonas.
I'm carrying the whil.
Thanks for all you've shown us.
This is how we feel.

Sorry. Couldn't help myself.

[TribeFanInNC]

. Thanks for the great feedback guys. It was good inspiration to write more. I am purposely focusing more on Jonas' place on his team and in the GLBA rather than the league as a whole. But I'm sure you will learn enough about league as we go.

Coincidentally, the next chapter is a little longer too...

************************************************** *********

March 1, 2000

So here I am in Cleveland. Uneventful trip here yesterday, but it was hard leaving the family behind. For that matter, it was hard leaving all of Springfield behind. I must have gotten 100 pats on the back from the well wishers this week.

I grab a cup of coffee from the lobby of the hotel to slurp down on the three block walk to practice. I meet up with a few of the other guys and we walk together. Everyone is a little apprehensive. I don’t think anyone really knows what to expect. But as usual, a couple dirty jokes loosen up the crowd and most of us have at least a smirk on our faces as we arrive.

Our spring training facility is actually a convocation center downtown that’s part of the local college. They smacked down some turf, strung a few nets, wheeled in a few cages, and voila – spring training. Not exactly ideal conditions to train a baseball team, but at least I haven’t seen any outboard motors in the Jacuzzis. Yet.

After a few minutes of milling and two donuts, the skipper gathers us in a meeting room and starts us off. The skip is Woody Boudreau, a 36-year old former scientist who was convinced to ditch the 9-to-5 rat race to lead the fledgling Cleveland Rocks in their inaugural season. Skip also doubles as the director of player ops. I guess that makes him two guys I don’t want to piss off. He seems like an egghead to me, but as long as the egghead doesn’t give me my walking papers he can use all the protractors and slide rules he wants.

After the meeting, we warmup, do some basic hitting and conditioning drills. After lunch, we break up by position. The outfielders go out to shag balls and work on our arm strength.

Tough to get much of a read on the competition today. There are only a couple guys that seem certain to make the team. Infielder Jim Rose hit the ball on the nose every time. One of his line drives went right through the netting and cracked a seat across the arena. Remind me not to eat in section 113, row 8 when he hits. The cream of the outfield seems to be Nikolai Bendiksen – the ball just lifts like a jet off his bat and he has one of the better arms to boot. Outside of those two guys, it’s tough to see a difference.

I felt like I held my own today. Like back home, I hit better from the left side, but I’m not prepared to give up switch hitting. I’ll just have to work a little harder I guess.

[damientheomen3]

Originally Posted by Afino

My name is Jonas.
I'm carrying the whil.
Thanks for all you've shown us.
This is how we feel.

Sorry. Couldn't help myself.

hahahahahaha weezer FTW

me likey so far

[TribeFanInNC]

Alright, back on the wagon with another update...

************************************************** *********

Friday, March 3

No big surprises the rest of the week in terms of practice. Mostly still working on the fundamentals. Supposedly we’ll begin intersquad scrimmages next week when the pitchers have enough arm strength.

I’ve met a few of the other guys now. My roommate is Jeff Silver, a 33yo outfielder from Illinois. He’s a decent slap hitter that looks like a cheetah on the basepaths. Fair enough in the field as well with a rocket for an arm. Like the skipper, he’s a little brainy for his own good too. Talked me into playing chess yesterday after dinner, then proceeded to whip my pants. I don’t think I’ll be playing chess with him again any time soon.

Rutger Wiegand is another veteran outfielder fighting for a spot on the team. Similar mold to Silver; fast, singles hitter that can hold his own in the field. He’s also the first one in every morning from what I hear. Personally I’m usually still checking my eyelids for leaks then, but to each his own I guess. The third guy that I wish I could run like is Zach Carson. He has a big swing from a lean 6’ 6” frame. When he connects, the ball flies off his bat, but he could stand to connect a little more.

Realistically, though, I don’t see a lot of difference between the four of us. Silver’s a little better all around in the field, Carson has a little more power, I probably have the best batting eye and I can switch hit, Wiegand is the more suited to play center field than the rest of us. Guess we’ll see what happens when we actually start playing.

Sat, March 4

So we find out today that yet another outfielder is being thrown into the mix. The team has traded one of our young infielders for an outfielder named Paul Harper. Supposedly he’ll be here on Monday when we start playing. Great, more competition. To boot, I started popping up all the breaking stuff in the cage today. Good thing they aren’t making cuts tomorrow.

[TribeFanInNC]

Sun, March 5

Light workout day on Sunday. Just a little hitting and some cardio in the morning. I didn’t fall off the exercise bike, so all and all a good day.

Jim Rose had invited the whole squad over to his house for a cookout to celebrate the end of a good week of practice. Rose lives here in town year round and is quite the local hero from what I gather. Led some Catholic school to three state titles in four years, then became BMOC at Ohio State where he brought home a couple of Big Ten championships and led the Buckeyes to Omaha for the first time in almost 30 years. After college, he was hired on by the local sports radio channel where he was a ratings monster. Boudreau talked him into pursuing his passion once again and here he is.

Needless to say, he's the talk of the town. Rose’s #8 jersey is already flying off the shelves in the stores and we haven’t even started playing yet. He’s had three press conferences already. I doubt the writers (both of them) would recognize me if their lives depended on it.

Cookout was a blast, though a little fresh fish would have been nice. After a couple malted beverages, I took to calling my roomie ‘Silverfish’ because he’s fast and just a little creepy. The guys thought it was a hoot, so I think the first official nickname for a member of our team has been crafted. Better him than me.

[TribeFanInNC]

Wed, March 8

We started scrimmages this week. They’ve had me playing mostly left field, but a little in right too. I got one hit the first day, took the donut yesterday, but doubled off the wall today to knock in a run. Could have been worse.

Paul Harper walked off the plane Monday and got three hits in our first scrimmage, then got two more today. I think he’s gonna be good. So he and Bendiksen are looking to be starters. Leaves one spot in the lineup out of the other four outfielders in camp. Not good odds for me.

Mon, March 13

Harper and Bendiksen have continued to hit the ball hard and have been batting in the top four during scrimmages. Skip has been rotating the other four of us in with these guys to see who gels and fits in the lineup. I’ve mostly been in the six and seven spots in the order. Not exactly where the cream of the crop hits. Meanwhile, I missed a cutoff man yesterday and struck out twice. Nice last impression.

After today’s practice, we say goodbye to the CSU Convocation Center and travel to Canada to take on Ottawa and Toronto in our first two spring exhibition games. Time for the real thing.

[TribeFanInNC]

Wed, March 15 – Ottawa

Harper, Bendiksen, and Carson got the first chance to start in the outfield, but managed only one hit in nine ABs. I replaced Harper in left field in the 7th and grounded out to first to end the game. Wiegand and Silverfish also got in the game, but failed to reach base. Winner: no one.

The Loons took us down 4-3 behind four scoreless innings from starter Kevin Page. Even worse, Bendiksen and starter David Thornton were forced from the game with injuries. I thought we were thin before. I guess I haven’t seen thin yet. At least it should mean a little more PT for yours truly.

Speaking of thin, I’ve managed to knock off a few pounds this spring and I’m feeling a little more nimble. Or at least a little less like a fat fisherman from Minnesota.

Thurs, March 16 – Cleveland

We found out after the Ottawa game that the Toronto facilities weren’t quite ready and they were moving the game to Cleveland instead. So back we went.

The Leafs scored six runs in two innings off starter Adam Uttley and thumped us 9-2. Harper, Silver, and youngster Garth Groves started in the outfield. Harper got a couple knocks hitting lead off and Groves walked twice hitting eighth. Zach Carson and I each went 0-1 off the bench.

Fri, March 17

The Cleveland Rocks got their first exhibition win in front of the home crowd, downing the Buffalo Hot Wings 6-5 in exciting fashion. Two runs in the fifth and a single tally in the seventh tied the score at 3-3. The score remained tied until Buffalo IF Sal Hanson hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 10th inning off RP Guillaume Gaudreau. But we turned three hits and an error into the winning runs in the bottom of the frame for the victory. Infielder Larry Liston got the game winner with a grounder between short and third. Jonas Fossland: did not play.

Next on the schedule are games in Chicago and Pittsburgh. No word from the skip if any starts are in my future either.

[TribeFanInNC]

Sun, March 19 – Pittsburgh

Bad news: Zach Carson hurt his knee diving to make a play in the second inning
Good news: One Jonas Fossland got to replace him

I finally got four at bats in a game. Managed a single in the fourth, but nothing else of note. Unless you consider striking out in the ninth with a runner on third and one out noteworthy.

I feel bad for Carson. Looks like he’ll be out a few weeks. He’s probably got the most tools of anyone in the outfield, but this isn’t going to help him much.

Mon, March 20 – Cleveland

Guess who got his first professional exhibition start today – me!
Guess who went 2 for 3 with a walk and a run scored – me!
Guess who stole three bases today – OK, that was Rutger Wiegand. But maybe someday that will be me.

Big win for the Rocks as we scored one in the seventh and three in the eighth to topple the Ottawa Loons 5-4. I scored the run in the seventh inning after a throwing error by an Ottawa outfielder, but got thrown out trying to score on a Logan Ferguson double in the next inning. Luckily we ended up not needing that run.

Felt good to see my name on the lineup card posted in the clubhouse today. Skip played me the whole game and hit me sixth. I can live with that. Hopefully I earned some more time by reaching base three times.

Tues, March 21 – Toronto

I guess not. Did not start in Toronto and struck out in my pinch hitting AB. Plus the Leafs broke our three game winning streak with a 6-4 win.

Wed, March 22 – Detroit

Tough loss today. We scored seven runs in the first two innings, but the Motors came back and knocked us off 10-9. I didn’t start but did come into the game early. Unfortunately I took the collar in three at bats. I think I could produce, but I wish I could get some consistent PT.

Thursday, March 23 – Cleveland

Came back home and beat the Minneapolis Ice Shanties 8-3. Paul Harper hit his first homer of the spring. So far through the first week, Harper is hitting .435 with 7 RBI and 3 SB in eight games. He seems to be a lock to join Nikolai Bendiksen in the outfield on Opening Day, provided Big Nik is healthy enough.

Wiegand has been getting his share of starts in center field, hitting .318 so far while mostly hitting in the two hole. Meanwhile, the rest of us have split time in right and spelled those two guys. My window appears to closing on a spot in the starting lineup in April. Hopefully my ability to switch hit will be enough to keep me on the bench as a pinch hitter.

[TribeFanInNC]

Saturday, March 25 – Detroit

Cut Day #1. No major changes however and I’m still around. Coach Boudreau has said most of us will probably stick around for the duration of the spring for a more complete evaluation.

On the field, we haven’t scored any runs in the last two games. I have one total at bat in that span. I see a correlation. I think the Coach sees a fat fisherman from Minnesota making sure the bench doesn’t fly away.

Sunday, March 26 – Cleveland

The Rocks finally broke out of their shell with four runs in the eighth inning to down the Chicago Bulls 5-1. Yours truly started off the rally with an opposite field double and scored the tie-breaking run three pitches later when C Zander Christensen singled me home. Hopefully the skip won’t forget about this over the Monday off day.

Tuesday, March 28

He forgot. Must have had a lot on his plate. Harper and Wiegand have still been getting the starts in left and center while Silverfish and Groves have been holding down the fort in right field until Nik returns. Still I’ve been getting my share of tries at pinch hitting. Maybe I’ll be the specialist off the bench.

Today I grounded to third in the sixth inning of a 14-0 game. Clearly I have big things on the horizon.

[CatKnight]

Refreshing.

First off, most career dynasties I see are about high school phenoms getting ready to start potential HoF careers - not a common uhm.. Jonas with a bit of a belly trying to just not be cut.

Second, I think the breezy, casual first person narrative works for you. This reads a lot like Sparky Lyle's "Bronx Zoo" without the challenges (and restrictions on your story) of MLB.

Good luck!

[TribeFanInNC]

Thanks for the kind words CK. I was looking for a different angle and think this fits the bill. Plus I wanted it to be somewhat entertaining. It's hard to find something that hasn't been done here. I hope the writing also gives me some additional momentum for my solo league through the winter.

Also, somewhat surprisingly, I've never read Bronx Zoo. But from what I heard, that's pretty much what I'm going for.

[Sparrow]

I just found myself wondering how Jonas Fossland was dong. Haven't heard from him in a while. I suspect the lack of news does not bode well for Mr. Fossland's career.