Second Chance at Bat, page 18
out why.
* * *
As Joey pondered all this, everyone had their turn reading until the Chapter was concluded. The leader asked people to speak up if they had something to say that was pertinent to the theme of the day. The basket was passed. A person would speak about their interpretation, then another, then another until all their spins were played out. This was not a time for discussion or give and take. You said your piece, then someone else would say theirs.
* * *
Then came the fun part. Joey got nervous because he knew he had to stand up and be
recognized. He was never really confident in public and shied away from the limelight. It was easy with Hot Shot around all the time, because he was never lacking for words in any situation.
There was no Hot Shot today.
* * *
The leader and all the sponsors in attendance went to the front of the room and the parade started.
* * *
“One Week?” a young guy jumped out his seat and fast walked to the cheers of the room to get a token from the leader and to shake hands with the sponsors.
* * *
“One Month?” a older man wearing a windbreaker and a woman who could have been
Joey’s kindergarten teacher both accepted their tokens with blushing faces, happy for the accomplishment just the same.
* * *
“6 months?” All was quiet as everyone looked around.
* * *
“One year?” Slowly, Joey stood up and waited to see if anyone else there had that milestone. Nope, he was by himself. He walked to the leader and received his coin. He stared at it for a moment amongst the applause from the small gathering. He had gotten awards before in school, sports and Cub Scouts. He had gotten trophies and plaques, but somehow this little brass coin etched with AA symbols and a big Roman numeral 1 in the middle meant more to him then the rest combined. He slowly made his way down the line of sponsors and shook their hands. Tom was last. When he shook Tom’s hand, he turned to face the others assembled and raised Tom’s hand in the air above their heads while the clapping continued. Joey thanked Tom quietly and moved to the side, but didn’t return to his seat as he stared at the coin. The leader knew Joey from the meetings and Joey did not speak for the sake of hearing his own voice. He
was one of the quietest members that attended and kept coming back. “Would you like to say something?”
* * *
Joey broke out of his thoughts and swirling emotions only to realize that he was still standing in front of everybody at the meeting. Without hesitation he said, “ My name is Joey and I am cross-addicted.”
* * *
“Hi Joey.” came back the choral response.
* * *
“ I was just thinking that it was one year ago exactly, that I woke up in a hospital bed. Tubes were coming out of my arms and I was hooked up to all kinds of monitors. A police detective was sitting there. He asked me what happened? I asked him ‘How’d I get here? Where am I?’
The cop just shook his head and said nothing. I told him that the last thing I remembered was sitting in my car with my girlfriend out by the lake. He acted like he didn’t believe me. Then he said, ‘you’re lucky to be alive, your friend wasn’t so lucky.’ I asked him if we were in an accident and I looked at myself and didn’t see anything broken or bloody. ‘Your girlfriend died of an overdose and if we didn’t come by when we did, you’d be dead too’. I couldn’t believe it. I was in shock. That’s when he started grilling me. After the detective left is when I hit bottom, rock bottom. I knew that if I didn’t quit, I wouldn’t get another chance. What I didn’t tell the cop was
this.” Joey paused for a full 30 seconds to try to get the next words out right. “You see, I talked her into trying some stuff I got from my main connnection. She had never tried heroin before. I found out later that if he cut it, he didn’t cut it very much or it was pure. Four people, including my main guy died from overdosing that weekend. I was lucky, very lucky. After I got released from the hospital, I wanted to go to her funeral but her father or brothers would have killed me. Even going to her grave site, I am always looking around; expecting them to come after me. Can you blame them? Anyway, when I was released from Detox, I knew that I had received a second chance. That’s when I got my car out of impound and I found myself here. I was lucky to talk to Tom and he said for me to keep coming back and I have. One part of me feels so bad for all the shit that I have done while drunk and high, while another part of me is so grateful for
being sober. If you would have asked me a year ago, would I been standing in front of you now? I would have told you no fucking way. Two years ago, I would have laughed at you. I was a ballplayer that drank some, like all the guys. Drugs? Not on your life. I don’t have to tell you how it starts and how fast you can fall. The lying, the stealing, the stupid shit you’d do to get your next high and not to mention how many relationships you destroy.” Joey flashed on his dead girlfriend and on his father. Joey ended with, “Thanks to this program I am alive. ”He shook the coin in the air,“This is worth more to me than a gold medal at the Olympics. ” He made his way to his seat.
* * *
There were a few dry eyes, not many.
* * *
A couple more people had longer anniversaries of sobriety to be celebrated and the meeting ended with the Lords Prayer and the admonition to “keep coming back”.
* * *
A couple of the attendees helped put the chairs back while several people came up to Joey and congratulated him on his year. Tom asked him when was his next meeting. Joey told him. Tom nodded and punched Joey in the arm.
* * *
Joey left the meeting knowing that he could now try to make things right with some of the people he hurt. He’d get Tom’s help, because he wanted to keeping reaching out to his father. How could he even begin to fix that fiasco? Joey thought about his dad’s pitching in “The Show”. Maybe talking baseball would be the way to get the ball rolling?
* * *
xxxxx
* * *
"You need more than a hot shower and Aleve, Clay.” Joe answered in response to the grunts and groans.
* * *
In an a old-fashion move, the Phils had the battery mates sharing a suite at the player’s hotel. Joe had already completed his yoga and got out for his five miler before Clay had even stirred.Now Joe was back in the room and getting ready to shower when he saw his catcher trying to put his pants on by laying on his back on the floor. “What hurts?”
* * *
“Nothin’, just a little stiff, that’s all.”
* * *
What’s stiff? Maybe I can help?
* * *
“Everything.”
* * *
“Do you do a morning stretching routine?”
* * *
“I reached for the phone for room service.” Clay pointed to the coffee pot and "Lumberjack" special remnants on the coffee table.
* * *
“The more you stretch now, the less miserable you will be later”.
* * *
“D, did you see yourself on the TV this morning? You are all over the dial.”
* * *
“No and don’t change the subject. I’ll take it slow and easy. I guarantee that you will feel a hundred percent better when we’re done.”
* * *
So they did gentle yoga. Joe the life-long exerciser and Clay the past his prime athlete. They both knew they needed each other. The Phillies could get another catcher, but not somebody as solid as Clay who could coach, play and shepherd Joe through the season. Clay went to bat for Joe when Joe was an unknown and Joe didn’t forget that. Clay needed Joe if he wanted to stay in The Show. So Joe showed Clay the basics and maybe downward dog looked like a Maryland Blue Crab, but it was a start. Clay was snoring in Corpse pose an hour later while Joe took a shower. When he finished and came out, Clay was moving about gingerly but not bent over.
* * *
“Hey partner, you know a record was broken last night. Actually, two."
* * *
Joe, just happy to have won the game and survive his first Major League appearance was only mildly interested. “What, heading a baseball like a soccer ball and what else?”
* * *
Clay ignored the retort and said. “I caught a rookie pitcher who threw eight consecutive strike outs and who threw them in his debut. They can’t find any records about the stikeouts being the first outs in a debut.
Joe was stunned. He was in the record books. “Clay that’s great. I am glad you were a part of history”.
* * *
“What? You’re not?”
* * *
Joe held up his hand to pause his response. “I am, but I don’t want it to go to my head. I don’t want to let my ego screw things up. Every ballplayer has some time to find out about their talents and gifts. They also have some ups and downs on the road to the Bigs. They learn how to handle all this. How am I supposed to process all of this so quickly? Tell me about it, share it with me, be happy and I’ll let you and Julio celebrate it with the world. I haven’t had my fame immunization shots yet. Do you get what I am saying.”
* * *
The coach in Clay understood, the player sort of got it, but the little boy that resides in any man that played baseball passionately when they were younger rebelled at the thought. Last night was every little leaguers dream come true.
* * *
“I sort of get it, D , but its a hard pill to swallow just the same.”
* * *
“I know Clay, but once bitten twice shy." Joe went into further detail about going to
Williamsport for the Little League World Series.
* * *
No sooner had they walked onto the team bus for the ball park, the Phillies traveling PR guy started jabbering at Joe about a blizzard of media requests. Joe nodded his head and walked to Doc Barnes’ seat. Joe whispered to Doc and Doc whispered back. Joe continued on to find his a seat and the publicist caught Doc’s forearm in the chest and came to an immediate halt.
* * *
“What did you say?” Clay asked.
* * *
Joe answered him very quietly. “I told him that I didn’t want all the media attention to screw up my concentration.
* * *
“What did he say?”
* * *
“He wanted to know what you had for breakfast this morning?”
* * *
“Huh? Me? Breakfast?”
* * *
“Yeah he wanted to know if you had your Wheaties, because you were gonna be catching your favorite rookie tonight”.
* * *
“You’re shitting me.”
* * *
“I shit you not.”
* * *
As Julio made his way onto the bus, sunglasses firmly in place, he was stopped by the publicist. Joe could see the plan being hatched. The bus ride was uneventful.
* * *
Julio regaled the press again. Clay got a great massage at the ballpark. Joe took BP and received some pointers from Ellis Long. They then talked bunts for a while with Joe and Ellis taking turns laying them down and getting out of the box.
* * *
“I’ve seen you pitched with zero days rest. Miami didn’t figure you out so they get another serving of your no-seamer again tonight. Not talking to the press is going keep people guessing and that is alright with me.” Doc said and then added, “Besides, giving the bullpen and the long guy more rest is a big plus. If we take the first two games in a three game series, the pressure is off the next guy.”
* * *
"I wasn’t surprised when you told me that I’d be starting again tonight. I am glad that you back me up on being mum to the boys and girls with the microphones and cameras.” Joe said.
* * *
“You didn’t get to see the look on Menke’s face when you turned your back on him. It was priceless.” Doc said.
* * *
“I stopped reading him a long time ago. He is just so negative, I had no problem giving him the cold shoulder”. Joe said.
* * *
“Remind me on one of our West Coast flights to tell you how we knew each other in Vietnam.”
* * *
The Phillies jumped on the Marlins in the first inning and Joe ran out to the mound with a two run lead. The Marlins were still stacking the lineup with right-handed hitters to face Joe, the lefty. Did they need to see his screaming 68 mph missile better?” As far as Joe was concerned, they would be two steps slower to first base. Clay settled in and the Ump leaned over his shoulder. Ellis led the infield chatter for D and the outfielders were playing straight up and more swallow. The Phils threw out the hitters chart this evening since Joe was such a wild card nobody knew how to position fielders for him. This was all new to him and new to his teammates. The vibe was different tonight. It was good mojo and they wanted to ride this wave again.
Joe obliged them. The knuckler came in and Clay’s nod told everybody that it was nastier than the night before. As the innings few by, the Marlins were lunging, chopping, spinning on the heel and hitting balls by accident . A few whoops and grounders made their way through the infield. The outfielders were running foul line to alley to grab miscues that had some air under them, none of them deep. The Phils added more runs, executing well and running hard. The banter on the bench between Vic Sievers and Clay Triandos as they talked baseball was fun and easy.
When Joe and Clay were pulled in the top of the ninth, they left with a comfortable lead. Clay had a double and scored. Joe was hitless with two sacrifice bunts. The hardest thrower in the Phillies pen came in and blew the middle of the order away. Going from flailing at Joe’s knuckleball to the flame thrower, John Duren was like going from sailing in a soft breeze to navigating in a hurricane out in nearby Biscayne Bay. Three quick outs and they had another road win. It was a four hit, two walk shut out.
* * *
The clubhouse was even more crazy, but Joe was getting iced and not available and had other plans. His designated speakers Julio and Clay talked about the game and were naturals in playing off each other from their different personalities. Doc Barnes was asked if Joe was going to pitch the following night and just shrugged with an impish smile. This team had been sinking fast by losing their ace to season-ending surgery and their number two guy to a freak accident. Instead, Joe had calmed the fears of a total capsize. One more game in Fishtown and then up
to the Big Apple.
* * *
xxxxx
* * *
This was the player's watering hole on Fifth Street. the Reading Phillies would come here for a couple of drafts after a game to wind down. Pizzas flew out of the oven in the front by the main dining area. Pasta, hoagies and cheesesteaks made up the rest of the menu. On game nights, the private dining area gave the players a place to decompress incognito.
Tommy Callahan liked sitting with the players since he was old enough to come with his father after they finished getting the field ready for the overnight. He could count on both hands the number of present Phillies stars that came here after a game. He didn't have to look at the framed and autographed glossies on the wall to know their names.
Nursing a diet coke, while the players took turns on their per diems paying for pitchers, he wasn't much younger than these boys and had ben just a year behind Hot Shot in school. Everybody was happy tonight after the win. Still feeling the glow of four innings of one-hit long relief, Hot Shot was holding court.
* * *
"I was getting some nice movement on the cutter. I should get hazard pay for all the broken bats flying around out there tonight." Hot Shot drained his draft and walked the empty pitcher to bar.
* * *
"Is he always this bashful?" asked one of his newer teammates up from Single-A Lakewood.
* * *
