Chapter Nine: My First Game

Chapter Nine: My First Game


Today is the day that I have always dreamed of; I am going to be the starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. I have been practicing for two months and today Coach said that I was ready. Unfortunately, we are playing my favorite team, which you know is the Yankees. At least we are home. I picked the number twenty-two for my jersey because that is how old Matt was when he died. Luckily, I have heard that I am pretty popular all over the USA, especially with Cubs fans. I heard that about twenty thousand people have already bought my jersey. I woke up extra early today to go to the stadium. I called up one of our catchers, Koyie Hill, and told him to come to the stadium with me. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, he also was nice to me after a couple practices; I guess Carlos’s advice about proving I just made a mistake worked. We met at the stadium and I practiced pitching for about twenty-five minutes. I would’ve practiced longer, but I didn’t want to wear out my arm. We both went back to our apartments and we waited anxiously for 6:30.
At 4:30 P.M., our whole team came to the stadium so we had time to have a little speech, practice, have another speech, and then… as the umpire says: “Play Ball!” When I walked out of the tunnel and onto the diamond after our speech, the whole crowd started to chant.
“Danny! Danny! Danny!”
It was the greatest feeling ever. A huge chunk of guilt fell out of my stomach. At least my fans didn’t hate me. We practiced for a little, and I have to admit, I was doing great. We headed back into the locker room and all sat down on the benches. Coach stood in front of all of us ready to speak.
“Okay, guys,” he said. “Today is Dan’s first game. We are in first place in our division by a lot of games. So really, this isn’t a big game, right?”
“Right!” we all chanted.
“Wrong! It is a big game for Daniel. It is very emotional for him, and to win his first game for his friend, will be a great honor for him…for all of us. We are playing for Matt tonight, gentlemen.”
Coach stared around the room looking at us.
“Hands in,” he said.
We all put our hands in on top of one another and coach yelled: “Matt on three!”
“One, two, three, Matt!” we all chanted at the same time.
We ran out of the tunnel all pumped up and again, the crowd cheered my name. Since we are home, we are in the field first. I walked onto the mound and threw my warm up pitches to Koyie and before I knew it, the umpire yelled, “Play Ball!”
The first batter, Derek Jeter, my favorite player on the Yankees, stood up to the plate; he did a couple of warm up swings and then posed in his stance. I saw the signal from Koyie… fastball. He reached his arm out to the outside corner so I would throw it there. Sweat dripped down my face, I was thinking about Matt. I could hear him screaming, telling me to slow down. I threw the pitch. I threw it right down the middle of the plate. Wham! The batter hit the ball on the sweet spot of his bat. Zoom! Right over my head I had to duck. The ball bounced right before the center fielder’s feet and he scooped it up. I looked over at first base and saw the batter standing happily on the base. He led off of the base about five feet. The first baseman had his one foot on first, and had his glove sticking out ready for me to throw it so we could pick the runner off. Matt’s name rung in my head like really loud bells. The next batter came up to the plate. He was in his batting stance, ready to nail the ball. I looked at Koyie, he gave me the sign, curveball. I looked at the batter, then the base runner, then the batter. Matt was still ringing in my head. I could still hear his voice.
“Daniel! Kid!”
I closed my eyes; I threw the ball at first base intending to hit my player’s glove. Unfortunately, the ball sailed right over his head. The runner took off. Our right fielder, who was behind first base, sprinted towards the ball. The runner rounded second and headed to third. Our fielder chucked it to third base but it was too late. Derek easily slid into third and was safe. I got the ball back and Coach already approached the mound to talk to me.
“Please don’t take me out coach. I can improve.”
“I’m not going to, Dan,” he said. “I know you’re thinking about Matt. Just don’t worry about him. Play like you would in college.”
He walked back to the dugout. I got into my pitching stance and was ready to face Curtis Granderson. Koy gave me the curveball signal again. Coach’s advice didn’t work, I thought about how he helped me in math. I remember everything he said, word for word as a tutor. I threw the pitch. The pitch went up out of the strike zone and had no curve to it.
“Ball,” the ump said.
The next sign was a sinker, I threw the ball and it sunk beautifully out of the strike zone. Curtis swung and missed.
“Strike!” the ump said.
Sorry, Curtis, I thought to myself.
The next sign, slider; I started to think about Matt again. I threw the slider and it went right down the middle. Boom! Curtis Granderson hit the ball. It sailed into the air. The ball went back and back and then, it flew over the fence. Curtis Granderson, one of my biggest heroes, just hit a two-run homerun off me. I managed to strike out the next batter, Mark Teixeira. The batter after that, Alex Rodriguez, flew out. Next, Jorge Posada grounded out. We ran back to the dugout because we got three outs, and now, it was our turn to hit. I sat down next to Carlos and Koyie as we watched our batters hit.
“It’s only two runs, Daniel, you’ll get ‘em back,” Carlos said.
He was right; we managed to score three runs, before we had to go back on the diamond. We were winning three to two. That inning, they scored three runs off of me and then we pulled off three outs. The score is now five to three Yankees are up.
It’s now the top half of the sixth and the score is eight to seven, we’re losing. I came up to the mound for the sixth time. Surprisingly, Coach didn’t take me out of the game. I let in eight runs. Like usual, Matt’s voice rang in my head. I could tell my teammates were really mad at me. I threw the ball; it was a terrible pitch right down the middle. Wham! Russell Martin hit a single. Before I knew it, the bases were loaded. Robinson Cano, unfortunately, is up. He is great at hitting the ball in situations like this.
“Danny! Danny! Danny! Danny!”
That was the first time in forever the crowd chanted my name. I threw a fastball down and away. I caught Cano looking.
“Strike!” the ump yelled.
The next pitch was a beautiful slider; swing and a miss!
“Strike two!”
Next thing I knew.
“Strike three!”
I struck out the next two batters and I left the bases loaded. I managed to let no runs in, so the score is still eight to seven, we’re losing.
It’s now the top of the ninth. I held their score at eight, and we pulled ahead at nine. Everybody headed out onto the field and I was about to follow after them but Coach grabbed my arm.
“Daniel,” he said. “This is the last inning. We are winning, so you just need to do what you’ve been doing. Strike out the side, and you’ll have your first win; for Matt!”
I ran out onto the field with the crowd cheering my name. I stepped on the mound. The crowd was roaring. They were screaming and screaming. They weren’t cheering my name, but it still helped my confidence. I struck out the first two batters which gave me two outs. Next, Curtis Granderson stepped up to the plate. He hit a homerun in the first inning. If he does it again, he’ll tie the score. I closed my eyes. I opened them and threw my pitch.
“Strike!”
I closed my eyes again, Zoom! Swing and a miss!
“Strike two!”
Koyie gave me the curveball sign. If I get this strike, I win my game for Matt. I pitched the ball at the bottom of the strike zone so it would curve down and out of the strike zone so Curtis would chase it.
“Ball!” the ump said.
My plan didn’t work.
“Ball two!” the ump said again.
“Ball three!”
Now the count is full, if I throw a ball, he gets a free base to first. If I throw a strike, I win. Koy gave me the fastball sign. I closed my eyes and saw Matt’s face.
You can do it, buddy, he said in my head. I opened my eyes. Curtis stared at me with intense eyes. He’s shaking way more than I am. I threw the ball. It seemed as if it were in slow motion. The ball hit the bottom left corner of the strike zone. Curtis didn’t swing. The umpire stared for about two seconds trying to make up his mind.
“Strike!” he yelled.
The crowd roared with excitement. I did it; I came back and won it for Matt. I fell on my knees and watched Granderson slowly walk back to his dugout upset. Tears spilled down my face. I knew Mom and Dad are watching on the television right now. I covered my face with my hands in shock. My whole team ran to the mound, coaches and players. They were cheering as well. They piled on top of me yelling stuff like,“You did it, Dan! You won!”
I guess everyone liked me now. When I climbed out of the pile, my name was on the screen. It said “Danny”. The crowd was chanting my name as usual. I won this game, I won it for Matt. We all walked back to the tunnel except for me. I luckily was carried on everyone shoulders. I achieved three things today. One, I won my first MLB game. Two, I won this game in memorial for Matt. Three, I was forgiven, for what I’ve done!

The End

Daniel’s Life

Daniel played nineteen seasons and then retired. He won eleven World Series rings and married a girl named Judy Stevens. Daniel Evans was loved by his teammates and fans and died a baseball Hall of Famer legend at the age of eighty-nine.