My first game with my new 52+ senior baseball team.
Pregame
It was a beautiful evening for baseball at Trout Park. Temperature in the mid-70s; it was still 72 when the game ended at 9pm. I arrived about 90 minutes before the game and was able to complete my warmup before joining a couple of teammates for a few swings in the batting cages behind left field.
I took a couple of movies of the batting practice and reviewed them when I got home. My teammates were pitching from about 39 feet and it turned out that they were throwing at a nice velocity to duplicate the reaction time we’d need during the game.
BP went OK but not great. I hit a few balls off the end of the bat, which I don’t recall happening this year. I might have had one really good stroke toward the end. (I had done a VR session in the morning, and took a few swings at an empty tee before stepping into the cage.)
The Game!
A number of players on our team are starting the season injured, so we had exactly nine players to start the game. (Later in the game, one of our injured players took the field so that our starting shortstop could warm up in the bullpen with yet another injured player catching him, before coming in as a relief pitcher in the 5th inning.)
My team’s regular leadoff hitter arrived fairly late and at time game time was still putting on his gear, so I was asked to lead off. I’d been hoping for a less stressful role on this team!
One of my teammates gave me a quick rundown on the opposing pitcher: a junk baller with a decent fastball.
I took the first three pitches and got behind 1-2. I estimate his fastball was in the mid 60s and his off-speed pitches were in the low 50s, maybe sometimes even slower.
I then fouled off the next two pitches in the strike zone — the first was very high and off the screen, the second was closer to a foul tip. With a 2-2 count, I popped out to left field. Well, at least I was less under the ball with each swing, so I was hoping I’d square it up next time up.
We left the bases loaded without scoring.
On defense I played centerfield the whole game. I’d previously met only two players on the team at batting practice and they were both infielders, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from our defense. Our left and right fielder were solid; I still think I could be one of the better outfielders in this league, although my arm figures to be on the weaker side (still hoping for substantial improvement over the next couple of months).
Three infield errors that led to two runs in the bottom of the first.
With just nine players batting, I came up to bat again in the top of the second with two runners on base. I popped out to short on a juicy 3-1 fastball. Jammed myself. D’oh!
After two innings we were still down 2-0.
Down 4-0 after 3. My third at bat was in the 4th with two out, again with two runners on base. This time I swung at the first pitch, the fattest fastball I’d seen so far. I popped out to short again. I made my first catch of the year — a nice run to grab a sinking liner to the opposite field — to end the bottom of the scoreless 4th inning.
In our half of the 5th we had a runner picked off second base for our first out, then closed the inning with a bases loaded double play. The Mudville 9 — our opponents — scored four to make it 8-0.
In the top of the 6th, I faced my first lefty of the season. From postgame video analysis I estimate that he was throwing high 60s. This is one place where VR has really helped me. I was completely comfortable facing him, including his curve. I fouled off two pitches with a full count and earned a walk, that helped us score our first two runs of the game, but I ended up stranded at third base.
I got my first outfield assist of the season in the bottom of the sixth, throwing to second for a force out. I wonder if in past years I could have caught that ball and turned it into a double play.
Down 11-2 after 6, we failed to score in the top of the 7th, so that was the final score. I was in the hole at the end of the game.
Verdict
If I had hit the way I believe I should, I probably would have gotten to bat again, and we might even have had a shot at winning. I was expecting more challenging pitching, but really I should have crushed the ball every time. … I do expect to face better pitchers in this league as the season goes on.
Although it may seem like an unpleasant outing for me, I enjoyed playing. Unlike my 60+ opener, I was able to put good effort in for all seven innings, and over all the game delivered exactly what I was hoping to get from playing in the 52+ league: a chance to work through problems so that I can hit consistently in the 60+ league.