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I sat in the dugout trying not to fume as, trailing by just one run to nothing, our manager pulled me and brought out a reliever despite my having allowed just a pair of hits, the run being unearned. We went on to give up six runs in the top of the eighth to make any comeback attempt a failure, and I got tagged with a loss in a game I felt we had held in our grasp. Why’d he pull me? I kept asking myself. Did he not trust me to keep it at one run? Completely ignoring, of course, the fact that our bats hadn’t put up a fight either.
I was drying off after a shower, when our manager signalled me to come into his office. He didn’t waste any time.
“I’m sure you’re wondering why I didn’t keep you out there,” he said, drumming his fingers on his desk. I was smart enough not to say anything. “You’ve done everything I’ve asked, and you’ve been pitching well, kid, and that’s why. Got the call this afternoon, they want you up in Rochester.”
“They do?” I’m incredulous. “I didn’t think they’d need me, they’ve been doing well enough.”
“That’s why they need you,” he said. “They’re actually competitive this year, and though he says he’s not sure you’re ready for the bigs, Hal Fischer wants to see what you can do in a pennant race, so he wants you in Rochester. So pack your bags, kid, train leaves first thing in the morning.”
My train left Houston at six in the morning on August 10th, and we got to Rochester in upstate New York in the morning on the 11th, in time for me to be at the ballpark to watch the team take on Toronto’s Maple Leafs in the first of three games we had on our home field. Rochester’s got a great team, with a 78-33 record heading into this series, and I’m still reeling a bit from the callup -- am I good enough to pitch for this team? Am I going to make them worse? -- wondering if I’m upsetting the balance on a contending team just by showing up.
But the guys are friendly, and they didn’t seem shocked to see me in the clubhouse. I hung out in the bullen for today’s game despite knowing I wasn’t going to pitch, and just got a feel for the team dynamics. We built an early 3-0 lead and held tough to win the game 4-3 as the Maple Leafs rallied. Jeff Turner, the team’s 26-year-old veteran ace, won his 13th game of the season, and if he was upset to see me here when he’s yet to get his call-up to the bigs, he certainly did a good job of keeping it to himself. Jim Lindsey, the Red Wings’ closer, saved his 40th game of the year as well, and you could tell he was hoping to get a call from the Cardinals before too long, with the major league team sitting just three games out of first at 62-47. But until that call comes, we’re all here dominating the International League and trying to look good doing it.
On the 12th of August we steamrolled the Maple Leafs 12-5, and I got word from our manager that I’d be starting the third game as we went for a sweep ... at 80-33 and leading the entire league by nine games there really wasn’t any “pressure” on me to do well, but I really wanted to go at Toronto early and show why I’d been called up ... to prove I deserved it.
Twenty four hours to go and I make my first mark on AAA baseball!
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