Leap Forward in Time - Spring 2018

It's been 5 years since I made an entry here.

The quick background is I gave up softball, built a wiffle ball field (honeycreekfield.blogspot.com), and am heavily engaged in OOTP baseball simulations.  I am a GM in 6 leagues and host my own league (https://greatlakesootp.com/) as a commissioner, only.  Part love of baseball, part love of baseball the way I like it (aka no DH), and a good dose of addiction makes this the perfect sit down hobby for me.

So, why a restart?

First reason is I like a place to leave my thoughts on a particular subject of a given day.  As an aspiring novelist, I do have a work of fiction that I love, but the process is slow.  I think I will connect excerpts from that novel to my stevembakes.blogspot.com site.  This will be for wiffleball, OOTP baseball, and anything closely related.

Second reason is  I find the social networks too commercial and congested.  While I will no doubt have far fewer readers (not entirely sure I will have any) without the networks, this will be clean without political or commercial influence.  Ahhhh, it felt sweet to write that last sentence.

Third reason is I'm hoping that my baseball friends will derive some pleasure from reading the accounts that I post.

Fourth reason is I love our pet bird Mr. Blue who loves to sit on my forearm/wrist to preen or just chew the hell out of the shirt I am wearing.  This give me Mr. Blue time.  He's quite at home with the soft click on the keyboard.

I do have an amusing story about OOTP, on-line leagues, and the internal struggle of a game player coming shortly.

The Retired Softball Player

It was a short experiment that ended in the decision to stay retired.  It was worth every minute of the time I spent at practice as the experience brought back many fond memories of baseball in my youth.  The downside was that it was high risk (injury) with low reward (not much exercise).

Not a total loss because this experience pushed me towards the realization that I could be 'kinder' to my body and still play baseball which was my goal all along.  Solution?  I just needed to build my own Wiffle Ball Field.  And, that's what I'm doing.  Read about it on web site.

http://honeycreekfield.blogspot.com/

The dream lives on!

May, 8th - Practice #2

6:30 PM

• Mitt/check
• Cap/check
• Gum/check
• Knee Brace/check (new this week)

7:00 PM

• Took the field at 1B
• Missed a grounder; 2 throws in the dirt skipped by me (I had the scoop motion but not the ball)
• Dropped a toss over to first.  Don't worry it's not my normal position
• Had a few pop ups just into the outfield.  The Good News is I followed the track of the ball well; The Bad News is a few injuries make me hold back from doing what I want to do.  Run, stretch, catch
• Slide to the OF.  A pop fly I catch; Drop one; A few I can't really stretch for...damn, damn groin injury.  I should just wear a sign...it's my groin injury, really. But, hey, most of those other guys are doing close to the same thing.  See.   
• Liner into center....I roam a bit...Need to go for it.  Smack.  In my glove.  Nice.
• Two towering, mammoth flies to the OF.  I split the pair...drop one, catch one.  
• Oddly, it's starting to feel a little more natural.  35 years since I've been out here, am I crazy?  Purge the thought.  You're out here.  
• Batting Practice....I'll start out batting RIGHT.  First two swings are hard grounders down the 3rd base line.  Decent.  Don't strain the groin....OK, I'm being careful.
• Hey...couple of liners into the OF.  Not bad.  I can do this.  Attitude is starting to surface.  Bet I can go the other way, too.  Wake up second base. 
• The other way...sure a nice liner into right center; Sweet.  A pop up to 1B....hey, I'm going the other way!
• That was so good a few from the Left Side....a pop up and a hard liner.  .500...I'll take it!
• OK, no whiffs; No stinging like last week;  My bat is coming around.  
• Back to the OF.  Shag a few flies; make a few catches; Drop one.  Geez, what if I dropped one like this during a game at a crucial point?  Purge the thought, dude.  
• Hmmm...I can tell where the ball is going before the guy swings.  Instinct.  Now, if I can only lose the injuries so I can get that jump.  Easy guy...stay within yourself.    
• It's nice to be out here in CF.  70 F, I'm wearing a Tiger shirt with the Old English D, and I'm flashing leather circa 1975 Bernie Carbo, a mitt that I love more and more each time I put it on.  Sometimes I just pound it with a clenched fist.  I like the sound.  I'm so lucky.  
• OK, second week over.  Survived.  Hit better.  Actually, got a better feel for fly balls which I'm good at judging.  The adjustment is getting your body to respond in a natural way.  It will come.

8:25 PM

• On the scooter (Buddy 150).  "Hey Guys...I'm building a Whiffle Ball Field.  Let me know...."  

May 1, 2013 - Out of Retirement

Spring Training Practice #1

      It's been 35 years since I last hit a softball and ran the bases or even caught a fly ball.   But today I oiled up the circa 1970 Bernie Carbo mitt that I have faithfully saved for just this occasion and took the field at Almendinger Park. 

            What possesses a man to stage a comeback after all these years?  Too much money ball?  Viewing the Natural too many times?  An obsession with OOTP (Out of the Park) Fantasy Baseball?  Or just maybe it's part of my DNA and this just can't be avoided.  Whatever here are the consolidated notes:

• Caught my first fly ball
• Connected on my first swing;  had a few line drives and, yes, I whiffed on a few.  This took place when I tried to go opposite field.  Hey, it's just practice!
• Took equal swings from the right and left side.  I'm mediocre either way.  
• Tossed a little batting practice.  As Tommy Lasorda once said, "Guys have heart attacks from shoveling snow, right?  You ever hear of a guy having a heart attack throwing batting practice?"

So, officially, I'm calling it a success.  I wasn't injured (any worse than before I started) and I wasn't cut from the team.  For the record here are a few observations:

• The ball seems heavier than it used to (don't laugh here)
• Watching the ball into your glove is different when you are wearing glasses.  You hope it ends up there.
• The bat stings a bit when you connect.  Whose idea was it to have metal bats, anyway?
• I instantly connected with myself being on a ball field, again. 
• It is, after all, my request to have my ashes dispersed on the field that I played on when I was in little league. 
• I still love my mitt.

As George Kell used to say, That's it for now, everybody!