My glorious debut in a men's softball leauge...part uno
I sat here and tried to think of a good opening blog. I have published this blog before but I thought it was good to start out with. I have broken into two parts as to not have you reading this for about an hour. Plus, it's a good two part series.
At any rate, I thought I would talk about exactly what the title says. This was my first time in playing in a serious men's leauge softball league. I have played in church leagues, mixed leagues, and played some baseball (little league, babe ruth, etc.). So, in other words, I am not new to the game. And throughout my career in this sport, I had gone through some bumps and bruises and put my body on the line numerous times. And I came out of every game walking on my own and able to play the next day. I was virtual invincible but there are those moments in your life that will bring you back down to earth and remind you that you are only human.
It was a beautiful day at the park...a perfect day for playing softball. We gathered the team up and made out the roster and batting order. I don't have alot of power...ok I don't have any power...but I do have speed. I take pride in that. If I get a hard hit ground ball down third base line, the third baseman has to make one heck of a play to get me out. So, with that in mind, I was put in the lead off batter position.
I get up to bat, remember I am in the lead off position. So, this the first batter for our team of the first inning. I let a couple of pitches go by...one ball one strike. I was basically trying to get the timing down in my head of the ball and learning when to swing the bat. Then there it was, the pitch I was looking for. The softball came in the way I wanted and I acted on it. PING!! Crap...I topped it. Which causes a topspin on the ball, thus causing the ball to immediately go to the ground and was traveling towards third base...most call this type of hit a worm burner. At any rate, the ball was traveling in a bad place...right to the third baseman. Well, I am going to make him rush his throw by busting my butt to first.
SUCCESS!!! I made the fielder rush his throw and he threw it in the dirt. (But I believe that I had the throw beat out anyways.) Well, the ball went past the first baseman. Big mistake, especially when I am on the base pads. So, I ran towards second. I was going to make them pay for their mistake. As I barrelled toward second, I heard my teammates yell, "HIT THE DIRT!!"
I heard this yelled across the field and my body reacted to the statement. I made a leap and slid into second base head first. Now, I have done this slide many of times before. I love sliding head first. I never did like sliding feet first unless I was trying to take out the second baseman to destroy the double play attempt. Or if I was sliding into home plate...there is no way I am sliding into someone that has full catcher's gear on. That's why my body took over. It knew to slide before me telling it to. And it felt natural to do so. I beat the throw and the tag. But this time, something happened..something I didn't account for.
Usually when I slide into the bag, it gives a little. This time it didn't. The bag was concreted into the ground. So, the only thing that gave was my body. I knew I was hurt. But, it really didn't feel any different than any other time I hurt myself. I laid on the ground for a minute to collect my thoughts. I began to pick myself back up and put weight on my right sholder. Big mistake. Pain shot through my arm. I immediately shifted my weight. And then when I was back upright, I looked down at my arm. My shoulder was not where it was supposed to be..it was a couple of inches lower than where it was supposed to be.
I looked over to one of my teammates...looking for some help. I really didn't know how bad it really was until I looked into the eyes of one of my teammates. I knew it was bad. I asked him to try to pop my sholder back in. He just pointed at someone in the crowd. This is just great. The first play, of the first inning...of the first game of the season and I dislocated my sholder. Great.
I hobbled off the field but the pain hadn't really set in. I could feel it throbbing...shock hadn't wore off yet. And let me tell you, when that shock and adrenaline wears off...you know it. But now I had to get to a doctor. The problem was--I wouldn't be able to drive. So, a friend's wife drove me to the nearest clinic. Now, if I knew what would take place, then I would have went somewhere else. I would have drove myself to a hospital a couple of hours away before setting foot in that place. But that will have to wait until next time. Later.
At any rate, I thought I would talk about exactly what the title says. This was my first time in playing in a serious men's leauge softball league. I have played in church leagues, mixed leagues, and played some baseball (little league, babe ruth, etc.). So, in other words, I am not new to the game. And throughout my career in this sport, I had gone through some bumps and bruises and put my body on the line numerous times. And I came out of every game walking on my own and able to play the next day. I was virtual invincible but there are those moments in your life that will bring you back down to earth and remind you that you are only human.
It was a beautiful day at the park...a perfect day for playing softball. We gathered the team up and made out the roster and batting order. I don't have alot of power...ok I don't have any power...but I do have speed. I take pride in that. If I get a hard hit ground ball down third base line, the third baseman has to make one heck of a play to get me out. So, with that in mind, I was put in the lead off batter position.
I get up to bat, remember I am in the lead off position. So, this the first batter for our team of the first inning. I let a couple of pitches go by...one ball one strike. I was basically trying to get the timing down in my head of the ball and learning when to swing the bat. Then there it was, the pitch I was looking for. The softball came in the way I wanted and I acted on it. PING!! Crap...I topped it. Which causes a topspin on the ball, thus causing the ball to immediately go to the ground and was traveling towards third base...most call this type of hit a worm burner. At any rate, the ball was traveling in a bad place...right to the third baseman. Well, I am going to make him rush his throw by busting my butt to first.
SUCCESS!!! I made the fielder rush his throw and he threw it in the dirt. (But I believe that I had the throw beat out anyways.) Well, the ball went past the first baseman. Big mistake, especially when I am on the base pads. So, I ran towards second. I was going to make them pay for their mistake. As I barrelled toward second, I heard my teammates yell, "HIT THE DIRT!!"
I heard this yelled across the field and my body reacted to the statement. I made a leap and slid into second base head first. Now, I have done this slide many of times before. I love sliding head first. I never did like sliding feet first unless I was trying to take out the second baseman to destroy the double play attempt. Or if I was sliding into home plate...there is no way I am sliding into someone that has full catcher's gear on. That's why my body took over. It knew to slide before me telling it to. And it felt natural to do so. I beat the throw and the tag. But this time, something happened..something I didn't account for.
Usually when I slide into the bag, it gives a little. This time it didn't. The bag was concreted into the ground. So, the only thing that gave was my body. I knew I was hurt. But, it really didn't feel any different than any other time I hurt myself. I laid on the ground for a minute to collect my thoughts. I began to pick myself back up and put weight on my right sholder. Big mistake. Pain shot through my arm. I immediately shifted my weight. And then when I was back upright, I looked down at my arm. My shoulder was not where it was supposed to be..it was a couple of inches lower than where it was supposed to be.
I looked over to one of my teammates...looking for some help. I really didn't know how bad it really was until I looked into the eyes of one of my teammates. I knew it was bad. I asked him to try to pop my sholder back in. He just pointed at someone in the crowd. This is just great. The first play, of the first inning...of the first game of the season and I dislocated my sholder. Great.
I hobbled off the field but the pain hadn't really set in. I could feel it throbbing...shock hadn't wore off yet. And let me tell you, when that shock and adrenaline wears off...you know it. But now I had to get to a doctor. The problem was--I wouldn't be able to drive. So, a friend's wife drove me to the nearest clinic. Now, if I knew what would take place, then I would have went somewhere else. I would have drove myself to a hospital a couple of hours away before setting foot in that place. But that will have to wait until next time. Later.
posted by Temporarily sane at 4:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home