A week later, I had my arm in a sling to keep the shoulder immobilized, but I was getting around well. The pain was mostly gone unless I tried to move the joint too much. Then it was sore. That happened in nearly every physical therapy session, but my PT guy didn’t seem concerned about causing me pain.

The local radio station that covered all of the Charlotte Yellowjackets games invited me to join their sportscasters in their coverage. Medford Post talked to the producers at the station and suggested me as a guest. To them, it wasn’t an unusual situation. They often brought in guest announcers who had some past baseball experience or other connections to the team. Occasionally, they even hosted musicians who were in town for a concert.

The producers invited me to the radio station early in the morning to get used to talking on the air. I was a special guest on the morning show. They joked with me about being an out gay player and needled me with wickedly humorous comments. Ryan Bannon, one of the morning hosts, said, “C’mon Chase, you’re a good-looking guy. There has to be someone special out there.”

I joined in on the joking and said, “I was looking at you, Ryan.”

He laughed out loud on the air, and then the station played a song. While the music played, Ryan said, “You’ve got a great voice for radio, and I love your sense of humor. I can’t wait to listen to you tonight during the game.”

I said, “I’ve wanted to be a sports announcer since I was a little kid. This is like a dream come true.”

“You sound remarkably relaxed after such an awful injury. I read that it could even end your career.”

“But I might have a new career announcing.”

“Ahh,” said Ryan, and then the song came to an end, and he was back on the air. He said, “Chase told me he’s always wanted to be an announcer. I’ve got a follow-up question. Tell us, Chase, did you provide commentary while your mom was cooking dinner?”

“I didn’t do that, but I got in trouble for being a commentator in school.”

“School?” asked Ryan. “While your teams were playing other schools?”

I said, “No, while my teachers were lecturing in high school. I provided immediate assessment of the quality of the lesson.”

Ryan and his co-host both laughed out loud, and he said, “You were such a troublemaker. The baseball guys are in for a rough ride tonight.”

By the time the evening game rolled around, I was very comfortable behind the microphone. Half an hour before we were set to go on air, Jerry Green, the primary announcer for Yellowjackets games, asked, “Are you comfortable answering on the spur of the moment if I ask you a question during the game?”

I said, “I think so. I can usually think well on my feet.”

Jerry commented, “Mo Sadler throws a fireball out there. Have you ever batted against him, Chase?”

I paused briefly. I saw Jerry signaling me to say something, so I said, “I haven’t ever batted against Mo, and I’m happy that I’ve missed that opportunity. I’ve watched close up in the bullpen while he warms up, and a Sadler fastball would be frightening.”

Jerry nodded. He said, “You did well. Can you keep that up for nine innings? Or should we let you go halfway through the game? We often do that with many guests.”

“I would love to stay the entire game.” I leaned toward Jerry and said, “Do you know what’s been my biggest dream since childhood?”

“To appear in the All-Star game?” asked Jerry.

“I’ve always thought a World Series ring was bigger than the All-Star game, but in the radio world, I’ve wanted to do play-by-play. I know I’m completely untested, but would there be any chance I could take maybe a couple of outs or even half an inning?”

Jerry smiled. “We can do some quick practice here, and if it goes well, maybe we can squeeze in an opportunity for you before the game is over. Does that sound fair?”

I beamed. “That’s more than fair.”

Jerry pulled up film of the Yellowjackets game two days earlier. He had me call the game when Mo was brought in during the middle of the eighth inning with runners on second and third. Mo entered the game to try and put out the fire. I did my best to sound engaged in the game and keep talking about the score, relief pitching, and the Yellowjackets in general.

After Mo struck out a batter for the third out in the inning, Jerry called out, “Cut!” He said, “Wow, Chase, you’re good. We might need to start watching out for our jobs. I think we can slip you in for the play-by-play maybe in the sixth or seventh inning.”

Once the game started, and we were live on the radio, I took to the announcing like I was born to do it. The producer nudged Jerry midway through the 3rd inning and said, “We’re getting great calls about Chase. Our listeners love him.”

Jerry began asking me questions about growing up playing baseball during breaks in the action. I told him little stories about my experiences from T-Ball through high school. I said, “I haven’t thought about those times since before I got signed to the Ramblers. Everything has moved so fast in the last couple of years.

In the sixth inning, Jerry asked me to try play-by-play with both Javier and Eric coming up to bat. I whispered to him, “They are both close friends.”

Jerry shrugged, and off the mic, he said, “That happens for a lot of announcers. You have to treat the friends like any other player. The same goes for the guys who aren’t quite so nice. They are all equal out there on the field for us. Somebody out there loves even the biggest grinches on the team.”

I laughed and whispered, “Gotcha,” and started my call. The inning started with Javier on deck and Eric due to bat right after him. The first batter went down on three strikes, and I cringed to myself hoping it wouldn’t be the same for my friends.

I mentioned a tidbit of information about Javier’s play in the Dominican leagues, and Jerry gave me the thumbs up. I grinned ear to ear and almost forgot to keep talking when Javier lined a ball into the outfield reaching first base safely with a single.

As Eric strode to the plate, I said, “It’s a good game today for Hinsdale. He’s already reached base safely twice today. Will he make it three?”

Eric let the first ball go by for a strike. I added, “He got a good look at that one. Now it’s time to watch for his pitch.”

After Eric swung and missed the next pitch leaving himself in the hole with no balls and two strikes, I crossed my fingers to give him a little bit of superstitious assistance. Jerry noticed and held a hand up to his mouth to keep from laughing.

The third pitch was a ball, and for the fourth, I called, “Here’s the pitch. He swings, and that’s a long ball! It’s going…going…gone! It’s a big home run for Eric Hinsdale!”

I thrust my fist in the air as Eric began to round the bases. Jerry wound his hand around in a circle to keep me talking. I wanted to yell. I was having the time of my life.