My Life Rewritten: A Journey Back With OOTP

[abell1198]

We’re traveling to Diamond today to play the Wildcats. Diamond is a short 20-minute bus ride, so there’s not a lot of time to talk to the players about the game. The Wildcats are 12-15 on the year and we beat them pretty easily in our last meeting a couple of weeks ago. Of course, that makes me even more nervous, as I’m expecting a letdown from the guys when they get overconfident. Fortunately, Doug Parlier is pitching today, so my confidence is boosted knowing I’ve got my best pitcher on the mound. I put freshman Kevin Dominy into the DH slot today.

Kevin is another bench player whose primary position is third base. In eight games this season, he’s hit .267, but he hasn’t seen any action for a couple of weeks. Kevin stands 6’1” and 180 lbs. He’s an average high school player at the plate, but below average on the field. Kevin has a typical teenage problem of thinking he’s better than he really is. He’s another one of these kids that’s going to make himself rich someday playing ball. Truth be told, he likely won’t play outside of high school unless he improves. Kevin is a “follow the crowd” type of kid too, which tends to get him in trouble occasionally. He moved to Sarcoxie a few years ago from Kansas City when his mom and dad bought the local nursery, which was in danger of going out of business. The Dominy family was able to turn it around and they can provide almost any flower or tree you’d need in or around your home.

The first couple of innings are fairly uneventful. Each team gets a hit, but nothing more. Our bats are non-existent and reinforcing my concerns about a letdown. The bottom of the third starts out with an error on Samir Shivers at short. Two batters later, it costs us, as Doug gives up a triple to score the runner. A second run would later score and we find ourselves down 2-0 after three innings. Hope returns for my team in the top of the 4th. Chris Gause and John Graham each hit a home run to tie the game up 2-2. Doug pitches into the top of the 6th as the game remains tied. Then the unthinkable happens. Doug gives up home runs to two of the first three batters. I have no choice but to replace him, with his pitch count climbing and down two runs. I bring in Bill Sams and he quickly gets a strikeout for the second out. But then Bill gives up a base hit, followed by the third Diamond home run of the inning. I’m just beside myself at this point, trailing 6-2 at the end of six. Our bats disappear as we go on to lose the game by the same score of 6-2. Our record drops to 20-8 on the season and Doug earns his first loss of the year. When we get home, I learn that Purdy has lost their game, giving us the District 10 title! Of course, I’m glad we won the district and will be in the playoffs, but I definitely didn’t want to back into the postseason. We’re not playing well and we’ll need to turn it around for the playoffs. We have two more games to go before then, so hopefully, we’ll find a way.

In Major League news, Wade Boggs of the New York Yankees has been lost for the season. Boggs was injured a few days ago and the team just released the extent of the injury. Boggs is out 9-10 months with a torn PCL.

[abell1198]

This afternoon we are traveling back to Pierce City, our arch-rivals. We’re 2-0 against them this season, but the second game was much closer than the first. The Eagles are 15-12 on the year. I’ve made a change in the lineup today by starting sophomore Rob Henderson at catcher. I’ve been interchanging Henderson and Billy Hill all year, hoping that one of them would find their bat. Alas, that hasn’t been the case with either. With the district wrapped up, I want to give Rob some more playing time.

Rob is a big kid, standing 6’5” and weighing 215. He and his mother moved here about ten years ago from Maryville. His mother, Edith, is the town’s library director. As a result of Edith’s love of books, Rob is a bit of a bookworm and a very intelligent young man. At school, he mainly keeps to himself and is consistently at the top of his class academically. He’s not as athletic as his build would lead someone to believe and we are regularly working on his skills on the diamond.

John Daves is on the hill for us today, his first start since being injured on April 21. I’m sure he’s bound to be a little rusty, so I do my best pep talk about playing defense. I don’t like what I see from the team right now. They seem cocky and overconfident. The crowd for the game is 268 people strong, with a great showing from our fans. Daves is sharp and doesn’t allow a hit through the first three innings. Unfortunately, we can’t score either. Daves gives up a leadoff double to start the 4th, then walks a guy. He follows that up by allowing a single to left center. But our center fielder, Corey Downs, throws the Pierce City runner out at the plate!!! Another walk loads the bases and a sac fly would score the runner from third. After four, we are lucky to only be down 1-0. We struggle at the plate through the 5th and 6th innings and still trail by one. Daves is wearing out in the 6th and walks the leadoff batter, so I get Jim Gillespie up and warming. An out and another walk later, Daves gives up a first-pitch homer to right center. The three-run shot puts us down 4-0 and I pull Daves. We get a run in the 7th on a sac fly but still trail by three. Gillespie does a good job of keeping the Eagles at bay. Pitching the 8th is too much for him though, as he gives up a double and single. Downs commits an error in center field which allows a run to score. Trailing by four, I bring Jeremy Williams in with runners on. He immediately gives up a two-run single. When the 8th is over, we trail 7-1. We try to rally in the 9th, scoring twice, but it’s too little, too late. We drop the game 7-3, with our record now at 20-9.

[abell1198]

In this morning’s paper, the only notable news in the Majors were suspensions being handed out after a brawl between the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. Orel Hershiser plunked center fielder Steve Hecht and Hecht charged the mound, igniting a bench-clearing brawl. I guess it must have been intentional because Hershiser was suspended eight games, while Hecht only got four games. 21-year-old Manny Ramirez of the Cleveland Indians was named Player of the Week for the AL. For the week, Manny hit .450, while his average for the season so far is .275. Dodgers’ first baseman Eric Karros earned the POW award in the NL after hitting .371 for the week. Karros’ season average sits at .347.

After losing three of four games last week, our ranking dropped from #1 to #6. In a way, I’m happy with the ranking. At #1, everyone is always after you. Below that, you have something to prove by beating teams with higher rankings. Today we are traveling to Lamar for our final regular-season game. The Tigers have had a rough season with a record of 10-19. We beat them a couple of weeks ago and I’m fairly confident in our ability to do it again. I’d like to get a win under our belt before we head into the playoffs. It’s a 45-minute trip north and the bus ride gives me a chance to talk with reliever Bill Mills.

Bill is a local kid, born and raised in Sarcoxie. Bill’s mother, Clara, is an accountant. His dad, Adam, runs the family construction business. Bill is a freshman and the oldest of three children, with two little sisters. According to Bill, they just play with dolls and annoy him. Bill is a skinny kid, standing 6’0” tall and weighing 160 pounds. He has talent but just hasn’t been able to bring it all together. He throws a fastball and curveball. We’ve been working on his changeup, but it isn’t a pitch he’s very good with yet. Bill can top out his fastball in the upper 80’s and has good movement and control on his pitches. But his stats don’t show that. He’s posted a 5.23 ERA this year, but he’s improving. Bill hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last three appearances. He’s a one-inning guy. I like to use him later in the game to get us through the 7th or 8th innings.

Brian Leonard gets the start for us today. Brian has been pitching well of late, but in the 2nd inning, he gives up a home run and an RBI single to put us down 2-0 early. Josh Quinn commits an error in the 5th inning, which allows another run to score. Leonard’s pitching gets better the longer the game goes on, but after six innings, he’s done. Blake McManus hits a solo shot in the 7th to finally get us on the board. Down 3-1, I bring Bill Sams in to pitch. He gets us through the 7th and we find our stroke in the 8th inning. Samir Shivers hits a two-run homer to tie the game!! We then load the bases and I bring in Chris Hadley as a pinch-hitter. The move pays off, as Chris smashes a 2-RBI single to left field to give us the lead!! Bill Mills records three ground outs for us in the 8th to hold our lead. We get another run in the 9th and Darius Turner comes in to earn his 6th save of the year. We win the game 6-3 and finish our season at 21-9.

[abell1198]

We had to wait until the end of the week to begin the playoffs due to some make-up and tie-breaker games which had to be played by other teams. A lot happened during the week in the Major Leagues. On May 10th, Doug Drabek of the Houston Astros pitched a 6-0 shutout against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The favor was returned the following day when Tom Candiotti of the Dodgers shut out the Astros 5-0. The Florida Marlins signed free agent pitcher Frank Viola. On May 12th, my Cardinals were playing the Cubbies. It was bad enough the Cards lost 5-0 but even worse, right fielder Mark Whiten got ejected for a tirade against the umps and earned himself a four-game suspension. On May 13th, Pittsburgh Pirates’ third baseman Jeff King went 5 for 5 in a 13-1 crushing of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers’ Kevin Gross also blanked the San Diego Padres 4-0.

We’re playing the Kingston Cougars today. Kingston won District 4 with a record of 18-12. A worthy opponent, but I’m confident with us playing in front of a home crowd of 391 people. It’s the first playoff game in school history and the whole town is abuzz with activity. Doug Parlier is on the hill for us today. Doug is 7-1 this year, with a 2.07 ERA. He leads all of 2A with 64 strikeouts. I’ve been playing around with the DH position, but I have to go back to freshman Jon Stevens for this game.

Jon moved to Sarcoxie when he was in 3rd grade from the St. Louis suburb of O’Fallon, Missouri. His parents, Phil and Edith, own the local funeral home. Jon stands 6’2” and weighs 170 lbs. He can’t field worth a darn, but man he can hit. On the year, Jon hit .257 over 27 games and has been primarily a DH. Jon has good speed, but bad luck, as he only had one stolen base this year with three caught stealings. But we continue to work on his fielding in the hopes he can play both sides of the game.

The game is scoreless until the bottom of the 2nd when Samir Shivers hits a solo shot to left to give us an early 1-0 lead. It’s a pitcher’s duel through the 6th as we hold onto our slim lead, but Doug is throwing a no-no. Storm clouds move into the area in the 7th and we have a short rain delay. I keep Doug in the game, but he’s starting to wear down. Shivers commits an error to put a man on. It would come back to haunt us. Doug walks a guy, then gives up a base hit to break up the no-hitter. The runner from second scores for Kingston and the game is tied 1-1. I bring Danny Worley into the game to pitch in the 8th. Danny has been lights out for us all season long. In 10 games, he’s 1-0 with a 0.90 ERA and four saves this year over ten innings. But I guess today just wasn’t Danny’s day. He gives up a solo home run to the first batter he faces, then gives up a 2-run shot three batters later. Down 4-1, I bring Jeremy Williams in to stop the bleeding. He gets us out of the 8th, but now we’re down three. The guys respond in the bottom half of the 8th with three base hits. We score a run to cut the deficit down to two. But a double play and ground out later, the 8th is over. Williams shuts down the Cougars in the 9th, but they do the same to us. We lose the game 4-2 and our season is over. We finish the year at 21-10 with a one and done appearance in the playoffs.

[abell1198]

School is getting ready to get out, so I don’t have much time to put together an awards ceremony. So, I invite the team and their families out to an informal dinner at a local restaurant to celebrate what we accomplished this year. I award our team’s Reliever of the Year award to Darius Turner. Darius pitched in 11 games for us, recorded six saves, and posted a 0.79 ERA. Doug Parlier earned our Pitcher of the Year award. He was 7-1 this year, with a 1.85 ERA in 11 starts. He had 71 strikeouts this season as well. Samir Shivers was named our Most Valuable Player. Samir hit .325 this season, with nine home runs and 36 RBI in 31 games. After the dinner, some of the guys come up to me and ask if I’m coming back next year. I joke with them that I don’t have any offers on the table right now, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. I honestly wasn’t planning on staying past one season, but I’ve found myself a little attached to these guys. I look around the want ads for coaching positions, but none of them seem enticing enough to leave what I have here. The loss in the playoffs left a bad taste in my mouth. None of my players are graduating, so I feel pretty good about our chances next season. So, I make the decision I didn’t think I would make. I’m staying with the team for the 1995 season!!

[abell1198]

The past two months of play in the Majors has been an interesting one. The San Francisco Giants lost Barry Bonds for the year after he fractured his knee on May 15th. On May 19th, Brett Butler of the Los Angeles Dodgers recorded his 2000th hit in a 9-5 win over the Colorado Rockies. Chicago White Sox center fielder Lance Johnson went 6-for-6 on May 28th in a 13-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles. Toronto Blue Jays’ first baseman Jon Olerud was the AL’s Hitter of the Month after posting a May batting average of .408, with six homers and 28 RBI. Right fielder Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs earned the honor in the NL. Sosa hit .312 on the month, with seven homers and 29 RBI. Pitcher of the Month for the AL was awarded to Seattle Mariners’ Greg Hibbard, who was 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA in May. In the NL, Atlanta Braves pitcher Steve Avery received the award after posting a 6-0 mark with a 2.30 ERA. On June 3rd, Mark Whiten earned himself another suspension, this time for fighting Mark Portugal of the San Francisco Giants. Seriously? What’s wrong with this guy? Can anyone say “Anger Management”? On a positive note for the St. Louis Cardinals, third baseman Todd Zeile went 5-for-6 in the same game, a 17-2 crushing of the Giants. That might explain why Portugal was in a bad mood.

The June 5th draft had some big names arrive into the Major League system. Pitcher Ryan Dempster was drafted #1 overall by the New York Mets. It took them a month, but he signed with the team on July 3rd and got a $1.755 million bonus. Pitcher A.J. Burnett was taken #2 by the San Diego Padres. He signed a week later with a $2 million bonus. Catcher Michael Barrett was taken at #3 by the Florida Marlins. Barrett signed the same day for a $1.755 million bonus. Right fielder Carlos Beltran was selected 4th overall by the Colorado Rockies, who signed him to a $2.055 million bonus. Beltran has been tearing up the Arizona League since. First baseman Todd Helton was picked #5 by the Oakland A’s. Ten days later, the A’s shelled out a $3.375 million bonus for him to sign with the team. The Milwaukee Brewers took pitcher Matt Morris at the #6 position but failed to sign him. Other notable names include Roy Halladay at #8 (Twins), Miguel Tejada at #10 (Pirates), Jason Varitek at #11 (Indians), Sean Casey at #12 (Red Sox), Marlon Anderson at #49 (Cardinals), Gabe Kapler at #58 (Padres), and Kerry Wood at #120 (Twins). Anderson and Kapler failed to sign with their clubs.

In other transaction news, the California Angels won the rights to sign pitcher Hideo Nomo. On June 6th, the Oakland A’s traded pitcher Steve Ontiveros and cash to the Cardinals for second baseman Geronimo Pena. The same day, it was revealed that second baseman Mark Lemke of the Atlanta Braves would miss the rest of the season with a broken bone in his elbow. On June 9th, the Marlins’ Gary Sheffield hit three homers in a 13-4 win over the Pirates. Larry Walker of the Montreal Expos went 5-for-5 on June 13th in an 11-2 win over the Pirates. On June 27th, the Cubs traded Mark Grace to the Seattle Mariners for a pair of minor leaguers. Frank Thomas of the White Sox earned AL Hitter of the Month honors for the month after .389 in June with 10 homers and 23 RBI. In the NL, Jeff Bagwell of the Houston Astros was named Hitter of the Month. Bagwell hit .424 in June, with 10 HR and 23 RBI. “Black Jack” McDowell of the White Sox won Pitcher of the Month in the AL. McDowell was 6-0 with a 1.95 ERA in June. Tom Candiotti of the Dodgers won the award in the NL after going 5-1 with a 0.77 ERA.

On July 11th, Seattle traded away Tino Martinez to the Brewers for pitchers Ricky Bones and Sean Maloney. The Cubs traded away P Dan Plesac the following day to the Baltimore Orioles for a pair of minor leaguers. The All-Star Game was played the same day, as the National League defeated the American League 5-4 in 11 innings. The Twins traded away Shane Mack on July 13th to the Yankees for SS Mike Gallego and P Sterling Hitchcock. The same day, 39-year-old Dennis Eckersley was traded by the A’s to the Cardinals with a minor leaguer for two minor league players. On July 14th, P Kevin Tapani of the Twins was traded to the Detroit Tigers for P Jose Lima and a minor league player. The same day, P Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets was shipped to the Florida Marlins for a minor league center fielder!! The Cubs’ purge continued on July 15th, as they shipped SS Shawon Dunston to the Marlins for a minor league pitcher. On the 17th of July, the Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates played a 21 inning game. The Astros won the game 9-7. Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds signed a four year, $25.9 million extension on July 19th, keeping the shortstop with the team through 1998. Larkin is currently making $4.8 million a year, but that will jump up to over $6 million a year. The Yankees’ Don Mattingly got his 2000th hit on July 21st in an 11-2 loss to the California Angels. On July 22nd, the Cardinals traded away P Rich Rodriguez and minor league P John Frascatore for 1B Paul Sorrento. Barry Larkin showed why he deserved an extension, as he went 5-for-6 on July 25th in a 12-11 (11 innings) win over the Astros, including the walk-off, two-run home run winner. Catcher Brad Ausmus was traded away from the San Diego Padres to the Cincinnati Reds on July 26th. Two days later, Colorado traded away SS Walt Weiss to the Cubs for a pair of minor leaguers. On July 29th, the Marlins shipped RF Gary Sheffield to the Chicago White Sox for three minor league players. The following day, the Brewers shipped P Jesse Orosco and minor league 2B Ronnie Belliard to the Yankees for a pair of minor league players.

The end of the month brought about the Player of the Month awards. In the AL, the Indians’ Albert Belle was named Hitter of the Month for July. Belle hit .379 with 15 HR and 32 RBI. Jeff Bagwell of the Astros claimed the award in the NL. Bagwell hit .381 in July, with 10 HR and 28 RBI. Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners was named Pitcher of the Month. “The Big Unit” was 5-0 for the month, with a 2.93 ERA. In the NL, Greg Maddux of the Braves earned the award with a record of 5-0 and a 1.37 ERA.

On August 1st, Mike Piazza of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit for the cycle in a 6-5 victory over the San Diego Padres. Piazza was 4-for-4 in the game. On August 3rd, Florida Marlins shortstop Shawon Dunston went 5-for-6 against his former team, the Chicago Cubs. The Marlins won the game 11-7.

[abell1198]

The summer went by quickly and the date of August 12th was quickly approaching. I was dreading it. Major League Baseball was on the verge of a strike and tensions were high between the players and the owners. If there was no baseball, what the hell was I going to do? Watch preseason NFL games? Ugh!

Some good races were going on in the Majors. In the AL East, the Boston Red Sox held a 4 ½ game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays. The entire division was within nine games of each other, so anything could happen. The Chicago White Sox currently hold a 6 ½ game lead over the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. The rest of the division is out of the race at this point. In the AL West, the Seattle Mariners have a 12 game advantage over the competition. The Atlanta Braves have a five-game lead over the Montreal Expos, their only competition in the NL East. In the NL Central, the Cincinnati Reds lead the Houston Astros by a single game. And in another close race in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers have a 1 ½ game lead over the San Diego Padres. I’ve included the real 1994 standings for comparison sake.

But in the 11th hour, something amazing happened. They avoided a strike and agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement!! At least in this reality. That’s right!! No 1994 strike! Gotta love the ripple effect!!!

In real life, though, the 1994 strike distanced me from baseball for years. As a regular guy with regular life problems, billionaire vs. millionaire problems just doesn’t sit well with me, whether it’s politicians, sports figures, or anyone else. I would love to give those people my salary and see how well they live on it. Okay. Stepping down from my soapbox now.

[abell1198]

On August 13th, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Mark McLemore went 5-for-6 against the Boston Red Sox in 14-12 loss. Boston scored four runs in the 9th to win the game. Oakland A’s slugger Mark McGwire has struggled at the plate this year, hitting only .205 this season with 10 home runs. He and Greg Hibbard earned suspensions during a fight on August 14th. On August 18th, the Mariners’ Randy Johnson struck out 15 in a 3-1 victory on the road against Toronto. Two days later, the Mariners were the victim of Albert Belle’s bat, as the Indians defeated Seattle 11-4. Belle went 5-for-5 with two homers. On August 25th, the Brewers’ Tino Martinez went 5-for-5 against the California Angels in a 10-6 victory. The following day, Martinez’s former teammate, the Mariner’s Jay Buhner, put in a 5-for-5 performance against the Minnesota Twins in a 19-8 win. Buhner had two home runs in the game. At the end of the month, Martinez earned the AL Batter of the Month award. He hit .385 in August with 41 RBI. Mike Piazza won the award in the NL after hitting .424 for the month, with eight home runs and 23 RBI. The Cleveland Indians’ Dennis Martinez won the AL Pitcher of the Month. Martinez was 6-0 with a 3.32 ERA. The San Diego Padres’ Andy Benes won the NL Pitcher of the Month award for going 5-0 in August with a 1.33 ERA.

On September 5th, Randy Johnson signed a six-year, $41.4 million extension with the Seattle Mariners. The contract will keep Johnson in Seattle theoretically through the 2000 season. Johnson has an opt-out after the 1997 season and a player option for the 2000 season. And in what is likely the most surprising trade of the season, on September 7th, the New York Yankees traded away minor league pitcher Mariano Rivera and two other minor leaguers to Pittsburgh for SS Jay Bell!! The same day, Toronto’s right fielder Joe Carter hit his 300th home run in a 3-0 win over the California Angels. On September 13th, A’s skipper Tony LaRussa was fired. The next day, one of his former players, Texas Rangers right fielder Jose Canseco, hit for the cycle in a 4-for-5 performance against the Kansas City Royals. The Rangers won the game 6-3. On September 18th, the Mariners clinched the AL West. The next day, the Cleveland Indians clinched a postseason berth. San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Williams hit for the cycle on September 24th. The Giants defeated the Reds by a score of 7-5. On September 29th, the Chicago White Sox clinched the AL Central title, giving the Wild Card position to the Indians. The same day, the Atlanta Braves clinched a playoff berth and the Phillies fired manager Jim Fregosi. Mo Vaughn of the Boston Red Sox earned the AL Hitter of the Month award for September. Vaughn hit .367 with 10 HR and 27 RBI. In the NL, Montreal Expos left fielder Moises Alou won the honor after hitting .398 with nine home runs and 25 RBI. Chuck Finley of the California Angels earned Pitcher of the Month honors in the AL. Finley was 5-0 with a 1.73 ERA in September. In the NL, Greg Maddux won the Pitcher of the Month award after going 5-1 with a 0.78 ERA.

On October 1st, San Diego Padres second baseman Bip Roberts went 5-for-5 against the Colorado Rockies. Unfortunately, San Diego lost the game 8-7 thanks to a five-run 9th. The same day, the Braves clinch the NL East title. The following day, the Expos won the Wild Card slot. In the NL Central and NL West, it took an extra game to determine the division winner and playoff teams. The Cincinnati Reds took on the Houston Astros, with the Astros winning the game 4-3 in 11 innings. The San Diego Padres traveled north to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, with LA winning the game 7-3. The AL batting champ was Frank Thomas of the White Sox. Thomas hit .368 on the year, with 49 HR and 146 RBI. Kenny Lofton (.360) and Albert Belle (.358) of the Indians finished 2nd and 3rd. Jeff Bagwell claimed the title in the NL by hitting .380 with 40 HR and 116 RBI. Tony Gwynn (.375) of the Padres and Mike Piazza (.367) of the Dodgers finished 2nd and 3rd in the NL race. The AL home run champ was Jim Thome of the Indians with 56 dingers. The NL was less productive, as Andres Galarraga won the crown with 42 homers. Kenny Lofton of the Indians stole 105 bases in the AL this year, more than double the number for second place. Barry Larkin of the Reds stole 72 to lead the NL. On the pitching side, Randy Johnson of the Mariners led the AL with 24 wins. He also led the AL with 333 strikeouts. The Braves’ Greg Maddux won 29 games to easily win the category in the NL. Andy Benes of the Padres led the NL with 267 K’s.

So, the playoffs are set. The NL leads things off, with the Expos playing the Braves and the Astros facing the Dodgers. In the AL, the Indians will challenge the White Sox, while the Red Sox will play the Mariners.

[abell1198]

Fall is upon us and school is back in full swing. I'm coaching with the football team as the offensive coordinator. It's a small school, so we all coach multiple sports. Whenever I get the chance, I'm studying everything I can about Bill Walsh and the San Francisco 49ers' offense. They were my favorite team growing up. When I started following football at 11 years old, we were living in San Jose, California. That was in 1981 and the first year of the 49ers becoming a dynasty. We moved back to Missouri after that single year, but I cheered the Niners until 1993, when my favorite player, Joe Montana, was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs. It was the best excuse to switch loyalties to the local team.

The 1994 MLB Playoffs are in full swing as well. My Cardinals aren't in the postseason, so I'm not following the playoffs very close. The Red Sox and the White Sox advanced to the ALCS rather easily. The National League was a little closer, with both series going the distance. Montreal and Houston advanced to the NLCS. The League Championship Series were rather lopsided, with both ending in sweeps. The Chicago White Sox advanced to the World Series to face the Montreal Expos. Most fans expected a seven-game series, but the Expos had other ideas, sweeping the White Sox to win the 1994 World Series. LF Moises Alou was named the series MVP, hitting .467 with three homers and seven RBI.

The beginning of the baseball offseason was interesting. The New York Mets were sold to new ownership. Hal McRae was fired in K.C., Tom Kelly was let go by the Minnesota Twins, and Don Baylor was tanked in Colorado. The A's and Brewers also let go of their managers, while the Marlins and Rockies parted ways with their GM's. Tony LaRussa became the new manager of the Phillies, signing a five-year contract with the team. My Cardinals chose not to renew the contracts of their bench coach, hitting coach, and pitching coach. Talk about cleaning house! In the postseason awards, Carlos Delgado (.280, 33 HR, 104 RBI) of the Blue Jays wins in the AL, while the Pittsburgh Pirates' Jon Lieber (12-7, 3.15) wins the award in the senior circuit. Real-life winner Raul Mondesi didn't even get a vote, even though he played all 162 games, hit .310, smashed 28 homers, and drove in 105 runners. Is OOTP not classifying him as a rookie? WTH?? Does anyone know if this is a glitch in the OOTP universe? Same thing for real-life ROY Bob Hamelin, who hit .307, 33 HR, 108 RBI. No votes. Not a single one. Gene Lamont of the White Sox and Felipe Alou of the Expos earned Manager of the Year honors. Seattle's Randy Johnson wins the AL Cy Young award, while Greg Maddux of the Braves wins the NL award. Both were unanimous winners. Frank Thomas of the White Sox and Jeff Bagwell of the Astros were named the AL and NL MVP's.

[abell1198]

After football season was over, I started focusing on the upcoming 1995 season. My boss wants me to stay respectable on the field. My ambitions are quite a bit higher. I want to return to the playoffs this season and advance at least past the first round. I spent a number of hours on the phone with other coaches trying to work out the 1995 schedule, but I finally got it done. Outside of district opponents, all but two of our non-district schedule is against different teams than last year. I bring back my entire team from last season, plus a handful of new freshman just begging to play. The core of the team's starters will likely remain the same based on what I've seen so far. The local press has picked us as a slight favorite over arch-rival Pierce City to win the district.

There was a lot of offseason activity in the Majors. In November, the Mets traded closer John Franco to the Yankees for a pair of minor leaguers. David Justice signed a 3-year, $16.7 million extension with the Braves, and the Orioles signed free agent Roberto Alomar to a 5-year, $34.8 million deal. In December, the Detroit Tigers signed Lou Whitaker to a 2-year, $7.2 million extension. Meanwhile, Wade Boggs signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays for $4.5 million. It's an interesting signing, as Boggs had a setback in his recovery from a knee injury which required surgery. He'll miss the entire 1995 season. Gary Sheffield, who was traded last season to the White Sox, re-signed with the team on a 5-year, $28.6 million deal. Rickey Henderson signed a 3-year, $5.3 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles. Kirby Puckett left the Twins and signed a 4-year, $13.6 million deal with the Red Sox. And Jay Bell, who was traded to the Yankees from Pittsburgh last season for some little known minor leaguer named Mariano Rivera, signed a 7-year, $35.8 million deal with the Blue Jays. The Cubs continued their purge of all we knew the Cubs to be in the 1990s, trading Ryne Sandberg to the A's for a pair of minor leaguers. The Yankees' free agents aren't being re-signed, as Mike Stanley heads to Cleveland and Shane Mack goes to the White Sox. Tim Raines left the White Sox and signed a deal with the Phillies. Erik Hanson, who was 18-5 for the Reds last season, signed a 7-year, $36.1 million deal with the White Sox. The Cubs signed SS Alan Trammell to a one-year contract. The Yankees signed Tom Gordon away from the Royals. Kansas City also lost Mark Gubicza to the Orioles. Finally, in the last deal for 1994, Chili Davis left the Angels and signed on with the Blue Jays.

The insanity of free agency continued in January. John Kruk signed with the Reds, while Brady Anderson signed with Oakland. Fernando Valenzuela signed on with the Mets, while Ken Hill left Montreal for a 6-year, $28.3 million contract in Kansas City. Dante Bichette left Mile High and went to the Phillies, and Kirk Gibson signed a 2-year deal with the Twins. And in one of the biggest shockers of the offseason, Montreal signed free agent pitcher John Smoltz away from the Atlanta Braves. Lastly, Roger Clemens signed a 5-year extension in Boston for $23.8 million. Three players were elected to the Hall of Fame: Don Sutton, Mike Schmidt, and Steve Carlton.

[abell1198]

Today is Opening Day for us as we start our 1995 campaign. Nothing much has changed in this sleepy little town. Just another year, so to speak. My team returns intact and I've only made one change in the lineup. Rob Henderson, who is a junior now, is the starting catcher for the team over senior Billy Hill. Rob's ability to make contact with the ball has improved over the offseason. Billy has improved as well, but not nearly as much. Doug Parlier is now a senior and let me tell you, he has improved!! It's a shame I have one of the best pitchers in high school and he just got BETTER!! His stuff is even better than last season and he is topping out on the radar at 98 mph! Scouts are already contacting me about him and showing up at practice. Of course, he's our ace and starting the game for us.

We are playing in front of 296 people today! It's a great crowd!! Much better than the 63 people we attracted for last season's home opener. Our opponent is Fair Grove. The Eagles are located northeast of Springfield, so about an hour away from us. Fair Grove was in our conference when I was in school. It was hit or miss whether we could beat them at any given sport. Seemed like they would be good one year and not so much the next. The Eagles play in District 13 and finished last season at an even 15-15, but they're predicted to finish 12-18 this year by the local press.

Doug starts us off on the right foot by showing us his dominance over opposing batters. He would pitch a great game, going seven innings and throwing only 78 pitches. Melvin Campa gets us on the board in the 3rd inning with an RBI double to score Henderson, who had led the inning off with a double of his own. We scored twice more in the 4th on back-to-back RBI singles by Henderson and Josh Quinn to give us a three-run lead. That's all the runs we would score, but it was more than enough. Parlier allowed only five hits over seven innings, striking out nine and walking none. I've moved last year's closer, Darius Turner, into middle relief this season, as his stamina is better suited for it. But old habits die hard, as I bring him into the game to finish out the final two innings. He earns the save as we win the game 3-0 and start our season out at 1-0.

[abell1198]

After a weekend off, we have our first road game of the year at El Dorado Springs. We played the Bulldogs at home last season and squeaked out a 1-0 win behind a two-hitter by Doug Parlier. El Dorado Springs went on to a miserable 10-20 record last season. They're predicted to be much better this year and finish in second place in District 13 at 17-13. The drive is about an hour and a half north from Sarcoxie. Senior John Daves is starting the game, so I go over his pitching strategy on the ride up. John's pitching ability is about the same as last year, probably because he didn't work on much in the offseason.

There are 267 people in the stands for the Bulldogs' home opener. They won their first game on the road and there's a lot of local hype about how good the team is this year. And they weren't kidding, as we learned early in the game. We get a walk to start the 1st, but nothing else. Daves allows a leadoff single, but we turn the double play to erase it. But then Daves offers up a pitch to their #3 hitter, senior first baseman Steve Varallo, who deposits the ball 420 feet away and over the fence in right-center. Down 1-0, we get through the 2nd, but our hitting is non-existent. Daves gives up a single to Varallo in the 3rd and base hits to two other batters. El Dorado Springs scores twice more and after three, we're trailing 3-0. We finally find our stroke in the 5th inning. With two outs, we get two singles and a double, scoring twice to get within a run. Unfortunately, we just can't get anything done after that. Don't get me wrong, we had our chances, but the guys just couldn't deliver. We drop the game 3-2 and our record is now 1-1.

[abell1198]

We return home for our third game of the year. Brian Leonard is getting his first start of the season. Brian has worked hard on his pitching in the offseason and it shows. He’s got better stuff now and the movement on his pitches are better. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is his control. He’s throwing harder now as well, clocking into the low-to-mid 90’s. Brian is a senior now, but like most kids his age, has no idea what he’s going to do after graduation. There aren’t a lot of opportunities in this small town, so it’s either college or work in one of the local manufacturing plants in the region. Our opponent is the Willow Springs Bears, who have started their season at 1-1 and are predicted as the favorite to win District 12. I’m pretty happy with the crowd turnout, as 292 people have come out to see us play!

The game is scoreless for the first couple of innings. Willow Springs gets on the board first in the 3rd inning. A walk by Leonard comes back to haunt him, as the runner worked his way around the bases by stealing second, advancing to third on a single, and then scoring on a fielder’s choice. We can’t find a way to score and I’m partly to blame. I challenge their catcher in the 2nd and 3rd innings by giving my guys the green light to steal, only to have both runners get thrown out. Things get worse in the 4th, as Leonard’s first pitch of the 4th gets knocked over the wall for a solo home run. We get a couple of base hits in the bottom half of the inning, but still can’t cross the plate. I pull Brian Leonard after five innings, as we still trail 2-0. Darius Turner comes in and pitches well for us, keeping Willow Springs off the board for three innings. Unfortunately, we were still being shut out. I bring Danny Worley into the game in the 9th inning. It’s his first appearance for the team since he melted down in last season’s playoff game. Danny is throwing harder than he did last season and his stuff is a little better, but otherwise, his abilities remain the same. He allows a leadoff single and the runner makes his way around the bases due to a sacrifice bunt and an error. Danny throws a wild pitch to seal the deal, allowing Willow Springs to go up 3-0. Our bats remain flat and we drop the game 3-0 and our record falls to 1-2.

I’m not sure what to make of our poor start. The talent is there, but our bats are just silent. Too many fly balls for sure. Only three players are hitting well, with sophomore second baseman Melvin Campa hitting .385, senior right fielder John Graham hitting .333, and junior catcher Rob Henderson hitting .400.