long post... deal with it. yall are used to it by now. this is a story i am proud of, an email from a parent of an arkansas 16 year-old i managed down in cary at the national team identification series. it encapsulates why my architecture degree collects dust as i continue down the more rewarding coaching path: Coach Ross, Tried to call to say thank you for getting that last inning for Adam to pitch again at the USA Baseball event. It took a leap of faith and a lot of begging but you got him borrowed time. Because you did that, Coach Vitello at Arkansas got to see him pitch. On Sept. 2 Adam received a phone call from Vitello saying he liked what he saw and wanted him to come visit. He told Adam that he is now a top prospect for the Hogs, his lifelong favorite team. You played a major role in Adams life, getting the stars to align. We wanted to let you know what transpired and say thanks! backstory time: adam (lhp/1b) entered game two of our tournament in north carolina as a reliever and had a day to forget. his line was something close to 2 ip, 5 er, 4 h, 4 bb, 1 so. he was near tears, thinking his chances to make the national team and showcase his skills to college coaches were both out the window. with eleven pitchers on my midwest roster there was no plan to pitch him again. he was a two-way guy getting plenty of time at first base; the lions share of innings needed to go to the pitcher-onlys. he and i both knew he was a better pitcher than he showed -- he proved as much weeks before at the regional tryout in st. louis. there was nothing we could do to right the bad day. fastforward to our fourth (and last) game: up 3-1 over the north atlantic region in the 7th. the game was flying along and i risked the jinx to talk to the usa baseball higher-ups about it. the speed of the game gave me a bold, spur-of-the-moment idea. if we get there before the next game needs the field, could we have a top of the 10th? even if they take the lead, itll just be a top half. i have to get this kid another shot on the mound. they knew this was a slippery slope; getting talked into this would empower other coaches to make special requests, too. the field coordinator and umpires reluctantly agreed, while the north atlantic manager saw it as an opportunity to get at least three more at-bats for his guys (minimum of three happier parents). so everybody was on board as i broke the news to adam. he was surprised and pumped. dont make me regret this, i said with a joking smile. but on the inside, i was kind of serious. we could get in serious trouble from the usa baseball top brass: if the next game started late, my idea would get the blame. we could have lost the lead with no shot to answer in the bottom of the tenth -- a tough why? to answer from my other 17 players and especially their parents. adam could have rolled out the same subpar performance as two days before; a scenario the field coordinators said they would put a stop to, even in the middle of the inning. pulling us off the field, after a bunch of walks and runs scored, would have been so embarrassing to adam. it would have left such a bad taste in the mouths of everyone: the opposition would have felt uncomfortable in the handshake line, the umpires would have felt we wasted their time, my team would have felt robbed of a high-note ending to the tournament, and the on-site staff would have felt like idiots for allowing it to happen. it was a gamble, but i had to do it. adams experience down there needed to match the left-it-all-out-on-the-field nature of his teammates. they all showed their best, with his still in the tank. i can honestly say i had never been more nervous in a dugout, as adam went 3-0 to the leadoff guy. he rallied back to get a full-count flyout and i finally exhaled. he then got a swinging strikeout, surrendered a weak single, and induced a broken-bat 6-4 fielders choice. it all worked out and our players came off the field giving adam some love. we won the first-ever game in baseball history with a ten-inning regulation. i am happier today for him that his redemption outing was not the end of the story. good luck to all my players. success stories like this continue to motivate me to do what i love every single day. im not getting off this ride -- to get a real world working stiff job -- until they kick me off.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 20:41:59 +0000
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