It's the final game of the season, and I'm a nervous wreck as is DJ. He's come a long way this year, but today we go up against the undefeated team in the league, and it's an away game. It would be amazing to beat them on their home field, but from what I've heard this team is amazing. They've been playing together for years now, so they have their rhythm down.
"Where's DJ?" Stella asks me.
"Look." I point to the garden.
"Is he okay?"
"Not sure. He's been out there for a few minutes now. I was trying to give him some space."
"Will you come out with me?" Stella asks.
"Of course." I open the back door for her to step through and follow her out.
"Are you okay, buddy?" she asks him.
He shrugs. "Yeah, I like having this here though. It gives me a spot to come and talk to Dad." My poor kid got my emotional side, and sometimes I love it and sometimes I feel bad. He wipes the tear that rolls down his cheek. "I miss him and wish he could be here today."
"He is, bud." She puts her arm around him. "I have something for you, and although I'm not ready to let you wear it all the time, I think it would be nice for you to wear it today. At least until you have to take it off." She pulls a gold chain from the box and places it around his neck. "As you know, this was Dad's. I’ve had it aside for you because he always wanted you to have it." She fights back the emotion as he looks down at it.
"Tuck it into your shirt, and if no one says anything just leave it on," I tell him. "Don't play with it or they will make you take it off."
His eyes well with emotion as he tucks the gold chain bearing a cross into his shirt. "Thanks, Mom."
"You're welcome. Are you ready now?"
He sniffles and nods. "Yeah, let’s do this."
We pull up to the field, and we're all in awe as we step out of the truck and begin our walk over. The park is gorgeous. It's extremely clean, the lawn is immaculate, and there are beautiful sponsor banners lining the fields. "Can you believe this place?" Misty scares the shit out of us as she steps up behind us.
"Really, Misty."
She laughs, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
"Yes she did," Briggs jokes.
Mason fist bumps DJ. "You ready?"
He shrugs. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"Listen, you two, don't go stressing yourselves over this game. The team has made it to the playoffs, so yes a win would be really fun, but you don't need the win to move on. Just enjoy yourselves," I remind them and point to the field with a huge C on it. "That's our field. Let's get over there."
Some of the team is here, and they're all standing around waiting for everyone else. The boys are talking as they're checking out the other team. Their uniforms are even mint, but uniforms and a nice field don't make a team.
It's finally our turn to take the field. The boys hustle out with their heads held high. The mom squad is out there cheering as they do every week, and I have no doubt it makes these boys feel like a million dollars. "Okay, gather around, boys." I wait for them to make a tight circle around me. "I want to tell you all the same things I told DJ and Mason. This game means nothing to us. We go to the playoffs, win or lose. I want you to go out there and show everyone what an amazing team we are but have fun."
"But, Coach, they're undefeated," Ethan adds.
"They are and yes, you fight to the end, but if they beat us it's no skin off our back. Got it?"
"Yes, Coach."
"What did you say?" I shout.
"Yes, Coach," they scream.
"That's what I'm talking about. Now get out there and warm up." Billy, Vincent, and Briggs get them going in the field while I hang their bats and put the lineup on the wall.
"Trystan Shepherd." I look to see who's calling me, but it takes me a minute to realize I know the umpire.
"Hey, Justin. How are you?"
"I'm good. I didn't know you were coaching." He shakes my hand.
"Yeah, my girlfriend’s son is the pitcher." He looks over at DJ.
"Kid has an arm."
I smile proudly. "He sure does. Hey, can I ask you a favor?"
"What's that?"
“I may shoot myself in the foot for saying this, but his dad passed away and he's wearing his necklace for good luck. Turn a blind eye for me. He's struggling with his dad not being here."
"No worries. It's not going to hurt a pitcher to have it on. Make sure it stays tucked. If it comes out, I have to make him take it off."
"Thanks, man." We shake hands and I walk over to introduce myself to the other coaches who appear to be a bit cocky, but I push the thought out of my head and hope I'm wrong.
"Hi, I'm Trystan."
"Hi, I'm Luke. I hear your team is our toughest competition this year."
I shrug. "We're just here to have some fun."
"Sure you are. We all know that both our teams are in the playoffs."
"Yeah and we all know they're only about eleven-years-old. Good luck today." I walk away shaking my head. I hate that I was right. All this guy cares about is winning.
I call the boys into the dugout once again and have them get ready to line up in their batting order. Noah's first, and he strikes out. This pitcher is good. It's going to take a little to get them used to his pitching. Our second batter strikes out, and now Ethan is up. He steps up to the plate and swings at the first pitch thrown down the plate, but misses. The pitcher is already getting cocky, but Ethan smiles and shakes it off. The next pitch he throws is a beauty and Ethan connects with it, sending it flying into the outfield. The kid tries to rush over to catch it but misses. Ethan makes it to second base and the boys cheer him on. DJ is up next. He looks nervous, but he steps up, digs his feet in, and gets ready. He watches the first pitch go by, and it's a ball. The pitcher shakes his head, disappointed with the call. He takes a deep breath and throws the next pitch. DJ connects, sending a ground ball up the field between first and second. The second baseman dives for it but misses.
I can't believe these kids are undefeated and making these mistakes, but I'll take them because it's working out in our favor. DJ makes it to first, and Ethan is on third. "Okay, Colton, keep your eye on the ball, buddy." His first two pitches are strikes. He swings at the next pitch and it's a pop up to right field. Ethan tags up and bolts home to score, but the kid catches the ball and ends the inning, and the run home doesn't count.
"Okay, DJ, take the mound buddy." He fist bumps me and runs out. Mason follows him. I can see them chatting. DJ nods, they fist bump and Mason takes the plate. DJ throws a few pitches to warm up. The first batter takes the mound. DJ throws a pitch, the kid swings and connects, sending it flying into the outfield.
"I got it!" Colton shouts and sure enough, he does. The cocky batter curses under his breath and runs back to their dugout.
DJ turns to Colton with a huge smile and nods, pointing at him. Colton shouts to him, "I got you." DJ lets out a deep breath and throws the next pitch. The batter swings and misses. He strikes him out in three pitches. I can see his confidence growing. He looks over to me. I wink and he smiles as he nods at Mason's call. He throws the pitch, and the kid line drives it out to second. Ethan throws it to first, but he's called safe.
"It's okay, boys. You got this."
The next kid walks up, nodding. He's trying to get to DJ, and I can see from the look on his face he knows it. DJ throws his first pitch, and the kid swings and misses. Now it's DJ's turn to smile. He throws the next pitch, and the kid hits a foul ball. The kid points to DJ, digs his feet in, and prepares for the pitch. DJ throws the ball, and the kid hits it directly to him. DJ jumps up and catches it for the out. Mason cheers for DJ, who remains calm on the mound, while the batter runs to the dugout pissed. The coach isn't happy either. I can hear him yelling at his kids, and it's not cool. These are the coaches I hate because they take the fun out of the game for these kids.
The entire game has been a battle of the two teams. It's the last inning and it's still zero-zero, and we're at a disadvantage because we're up first. "Okay, listen up, boys. You've fought hard today and no matter what happens in this inning, I want you to know I'm damn proud of you. Now, bring it in." They pile their hands on mine, and on three they shout our saying before Landon takes the plate.
The boys are so amped up, they're cheering from the dugout. "Come on, Landon, you can do it. Put a little power to it. Hit hard, hit it hard.” Landon has a smile on his face when he steps up to the plate. We're at the tail end of our lineup which is really good for us because our key batters are up. Landon line drives it down the third baseline and bolts to first. The boys cheer excitedly. Noah is up. He's having a tough day at bat. He pops it up, and the outfielder catches it. The next batter gets a base hit, and now Ethan is up with a kid on first and second. The pitcher is messing with him, and I can see he's getting in his head. The pitcher throws the first pitch, and Ethan swings and misses.
"Timeout," I yell and run out to Ethan.
"Listen to me. You are letting him in your head. Don't. You keep your eye on the ball and do your thing." He nods. I slap his helmet and run back to the dugout.
"Is he good?" Vincent asks.
"Yeah, he's good."
The pitcher grins and throws the ball. Ethan connects, hitting the ball out of the park. It's a home run. Our dugout erupts as the boys scream for three boys running home. Sam takes the plate in place of DJ who is done pitching. Sam strikes out for out number two. "Come on, Mason," the boys cheer, but Mason flies out and our half of the inning is over.
Sam takes the mound. We need three outs and the game is ours. First batter gets a base hit and makes it to first. "Come on, Sam. You can do it!” the boys cheer. The second batter comes up, and he strikes him out. "That's it, Sam," the boys continue to shout. The next batter comes up, and it's their ace. I can see the nerves etched on Sam's face. He removes his cap, wipes his forehead, and replaces his cap. He lets out a deep breath and nods at Mason's signal. He throws the pitch, the batter swings and misses. Mason throws the ball back. He signals to Sam, and he shakes his head. Mason gives him another signal, and again Sam shakes his head. Mason jumps up, calls timeout, and takes the mound.
I run out. "What's happenin’, boys?”
“He wants me to throw a curveball, and I think it's a bad idea," Sam pleads with me.
"Listen, he's going to expect your fastball again, throw something else."
"Let's go," the other coach yells out.
I pat him on the arm and run back to the dugout, and Mason takes the plate. He throws a signal. Sam closes his eyes, but nods. He throws the curveball, totally messing the kid up as he swings and misses. Sam gets excited. He needs one more strike, and this kid is done. Sam narrows his eyes and throws the ball. It's a curveball, but it doesn't land where he wants it. The kid connects, nailing it out of the park. The two kids run home, and we're only up by one. "It's okay, Sam. Shake it off," I shout to him.
The next batter comes up and the first pitch is a strike, but the second he pops up and Ethan catches it. "Yes, nice, Ethan," Sam shouts over to him. One more out and this game is done. The next batter gets on second base. Sam lets out a deep breath as he throws another pitch. It pops up into the air. "I got it," Landon shouts. He looks up into the air and doesn't see the kid running at him. The kid knocks him to the ground, causing him to miss the ball. Noah is there to back him up. He grabs the ball as the kid is rounding third. He throws it home. Mason catches it and tags the kid. "You're out," the umpire yells. “And if I see you push a kid to the ground like that in the playoffs, you'll be ejected."
Our boys rush the field, and I watch with pride as Ethan holds a hand out to Landon, helping him from the ground.
I'm about to tell the boys to line it up when I hear the other coach screaming at his boys that they ruined a perfect season. "Practice is two hours this week, now let’s get out of here." The boys leave without even congratulating our team, but our boys don't care. They all meet in the center of the field. They jump up and down chanting, 'Refuse to lose, refuse to lose, refuse to lose.' I try to control my emotions, but I lose it when DJ pulls his cross from his shirt, he kisses it and looks to the sky, thanking his father. I'm so proud of this team. I love these boys and it's all thanks to Judge Mackey, who was right. This was more than good for me—it was great. I have a winning team and an amazing family.