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Saturday, Jul. 23, 2005 - 4:47 p.m. Codeman had a make-up softball game last night at 6 pm. That meant 2 things- it would be hot as Hell when the first underhanded toss was thrown, and some of his teammates would miss the game due to their work house. As we got out of the Vibe, Codeman and several of his buds were at the fence, asking me if I would fill in for them. Uh-oh� I tried to use the �All I have on my feet are flip-flops� excuse, but since Codeman wears the same side shoes as me nowadays, that didn�t work. All they wanted me to do was play catcher, so they could move the guy stuck there into the outfield. Playing slow pitch softball with just 3 outfielders is a recipe for disaster. So�I gave in and played. Now, mind you, I haven�t played on a team since 1992, 13 years ago. My body isn�t in that bad of shape, but it�s not in �running around the bases� shape. Walking on a treadmill and with the dogs doesn�t get the muscles you need for that into shape. So decided that I would take it (somewhat) easy if I had to run . As catcher, running wasn�t going to be a problem. Only if I hit the ball or got on base would running be an issue. After the second inning, another guy they knew showed up. I told him to take over behind the plate, and was ready to end my �comeback� until Jordan and my boy told me to stay in the lineup as the extra hitter. Might as well, since I had put on Codeman�s basketball shoes. My first at bat ended up with me hitting strike three foul for an out. I didn�t want to end the night with only an out to my name. Uh-oh #2. Second at bat- walked without having a strike thrown to me. Stranded at first when the late arriver popped up for out #3. Third at bat- bases loaded, 2 outs. Walked without taking the bat off of my shoulder. After ball three, I asked the kid pitching to put something near the mat, so I could swing my bat. Ball four hit my left foot on the bounce. Maybe he was afraid this old man would keel over with a heart attack if I had to swing the bat again? Anyway� Fourth at bat, bases loaded again, 1 out. By this time, Codeman�s team was up by something like 19-4 to a team that beat them the first time through the schedule. So nothing I was going to do would have any effect on the outcome of the game. First pitch, fat and right in the strike zone. I connected, and hit the ball deep into the hole at short. That�s when my stupid former baseball/softball player�s instincts took over. I left the batters box in full stride, and ran as fast as my old wheels would take me down the first base line until I was about 10 feet from the bag when� My left quadriceps muscle felt like someone had stuck a steak knife into it�s center. I was out by one step at the bag, but didn�t want anyone to know what I had just done. Instead, I told the team I would stay at first to coach the rest of the inning. Bet you saw that one coming, didn�t you? Old legs. Not played ball in 13 years. Injured myself. Duhhhhh... So� I ended up batting 0-2, but had an on-base percentage of .500. �Knocked� in two runs, too. Oh yeah- and screwed up my left leg for at least the next few days. The umpire told me after the inning ended that he knew I had pulled something, and that he had seen a bunch of people do that on that diamond in particular. He thinks the dirt is low once you enter the �runner�s box� near the bag, and that people are overstepping once they reach that spot. I don�t know � my guess is I am just old, and was dumb to be running that hard (or playuing at all, for that matter, with 20-something year old guys) without any practice for many years. I�m not blaming it on the dirt- just stoopidity on my part� BTW- Codeman went 5-5 last night with 2 triples and 7 or 8 runs batted in. Best game he has had all year. I think he has finally adapted his swing from baseball to softball. I played on various softball teams from 1979- 1992. Even though I am a large person, I never was much of a home run hitter. I had more fun swinging big on the on-deck circle, and then watching the pitcher move his outfielders back when I stepped to the plate. Then, I would just dink a ball or two over the infielder�s heads and go for a double. Walked a bunch, too- if they weren�t going to throw a ball near the plate, I wasn�t going to swing at a bad one and make an easy out. But that was many moons ago, as my left quadriceps continues to remind me as I type this entry�
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