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Life in the Minors Brendan Sagara |
Bachi happens
in Missouri, tooAnyone who has been involved in baseball at any level can tell you how big a part superstition and routine play in the sport.
Not speaking to the pitcher with a perfect game going is one example. Hitters using one bat for pregame practice and a different bat for night games is another. There are lucky batting gloves ... a lucky pair of stirrups ... a lucky T-shirt, and yes, the lucky socks.
The madness reaches from the Little League level -- where a certain young shortstop for the Wahiawa Blue Jays had to have a new pair of white Tiger batting gloves fresh off the rack from Arakawa's old sporting goods department to begin each season -- to the big leagues and Nomar Garciaparra's infamous pre-pitch batting glove routine.
Heck, the greatest basketball player ever to lace up a pair of Air Jordans insisted on wearing a pair of his old University of North Carolina shorts under his uniform during his storied NBA career.
Amongst the members of the Springfield-Ozark Ducks are a number of superstitious sorts. Outfielder Eddie Harper, a New Yorker through and through, somehow finds it necessary to sniff the barrel of his bat after each foul ball during games.
Bryce Uegawachi makes sure he wears his beige Rawlings Pro Preferred I-Web glove when he plays shortstop, and his black Rawlings Heart of the Hide DJ-2 when he plays second. He says they feel different. I figure he's fielding ground balls either way. Todd Leathers, our all-star slugger, makes sure he uses a certain bat against side-armed relievers and another for all others.
Not quite superstitious but valuing routine as much as any other player, I had my quirks as well. Prior to my senior year at UH-Hilo, I started a personal win streak in summer league, so I saw it necessary to wear the same pair of green Billabong surf shorts under my baseball pants each game. By the end of the year, all I had was a faded, light green waistband, a couple of buttons and the Velcro that runs down the front of the board shorts.
Needless to say, as I started my "slower than molasses dripping down a frozen pole walk" to the mound during our game against the River City Rascals this past week, I should have known better than to do what I did.
Especially being from Hawaii, with my expertise on the whole "bachi" thing, I really should not have tempted fate and upset the baseball gods.
Not to say that I was not focused on the task at hand, because I was.
During games I keep pitch counts, batter-by-batter summaries and tendency charts on opposing hitters in my little corner of the dugout, so I am always working to give our pitchers any advantage I can.
But the day was just so nice. It was a glorious summer afternoon game in Missouri. The sun was out all day, with big, wide rays of sunshine beaming down from the crystal blue Midwestern sky. After all, it was a Sunday, and we did have a chance to take a series from the league's top-hitting club.
With our all-star lefty, Jamie Bennett, out on the hill, I figured we had a pretty good chance that day. Jamie has been one of our mainstays over the past three seasons. A stud at the University of Tennessee, Jamie first joined our ballclub in 2002, when we were the Dubois County Dragons.
Anyhow, the first six innings went extremely well. Jamie mowed through the Rascals' lineup, spacing four harmless hits during that span. Entering the top of the seventh, Jamie was now making his longest outing of the young season, facing a righty and then a lefty who was 0-for-9, with four or five strikeouts so far against him.
Even with a slim 2-0 lead, I thought Jamie would have another strong inning and take us to our set-up guy and then our closer.
Well, funny how things can change in a hurry.
As I walked out to the mound after Jamie allowed a runner to reach, I was still pretty confident that we would be OK. As I made my way up the slope of the pitcher's mound, Jamie, our rookie catcher Jud Kindle and myself talked about how we were going to work the rest of the inning. And then, having already said my piece, I turned to Jamie, cracked a smile, and then told him, "Hey let's go. You own this guy."
Hindsight being 20-20, I really should have kicked myself in the butt right there, or put my size 10-and-a-half Puma into my mouth, or something. I just thought I'd give our pitcher an extra shot of courage, or confidence, or whatever. I really don't have an excuse for it.
Well, as you can guess, Jamie's ownership of the River City batter lasted not a pitch longer. As I returned to my seat in the dugout, I looked up to see the ball leave Jamie's hand, shoot toward home plate, and then ... thwack!
The sound of the perfect connection and impact of a finely-turned white ash bat meeting a horsehide ball at 86 mph creates a sound that resembles a small cannon being fired off.
And there it was. There it went. A game-tying two-run homer. I felt terrible. I know it really wasn't my fault, but still.
And as if the baseball gods needed to make their point with a little more emphasis, they saw fit for us to play 11 innings on a getaway day; one in which we had an overnight bus trip following the game to get to our next city. On this getaway day, it was an eight-and-a-half hour ride to Chicago that awaited.
At least we won. Right? Well, once our manager, Greg Tagert found out, I knew he would give me some grief about the whole "you own him" thing. And he did.
As I stood in the shower in the clubhouse, I heard a loud roar and then the door to our coach's office flew open, as Greg playfully screamed, "You told Bennett what?!"
I had to laugh, and so did he.
So now, sitting here in the business center in Belleville, Ill., I am tempted to write about how things are going for the Ducks of late. How the last few games have gone, how the pitching staff has been doing.
But I think I better not.
Lesson learned. Bachi in Missouri. Who knew?
Brendan Sagara, a former University of Hawaii-Hilo pitcher, is in his first year as pitching coach for the Springfield-Ozark (Mo.) Ducks.
Brendan Sagara, a former University of Hawaii-Hilo pitcher, is in his first season as pitching coach with the Kenosha (Wis.) Mammoths.