The Reggio weather has been having a tough time cooperating with me when it comes to playing home games. As you already know, I was scheduled to play my first homes games against Sicily a few weeks ago, but was rained out. On Saturday, we arrived at the field for our scheduled games against Florence. Of course, it was raining. After much debate on what to do, the games were pushed for Sunday. Normally, the games are at 3:30 and 8:30. Sunday is a very important day in Italy. It is the day of rest, and it is also supposed to be relaxing before the work week. With these thoughts in mind, the games were scheduled for 10 am and 3:30 pm.
I started my Sunday waking up at 7:30 am. After a quick breakfast, quick shower, and throwing my things together, we headed to the field. The field took some damage, and a few people were hard at work trying to get it game ready. We took bp in the tunnel, stretched and threw. There was no infield outfield, which was a nice surprise. We ended up taking the field at 10:30.
Florence is the worst team in the league. It would be all to easy for us to jump to an early lead and never look back. Instead, we came out flat. When I say we, I mean everybody. Our defense was poor, and our situational hitting was brutal. We must have left 15 runners on base, and due to poor defense allowed 3-4 runs. By the time the ninth rolled around, it was 6-6. This is where things get interesting.
After many terrible at bats and blown opportunities, we were about the enter the eleventh. International rules state that after one extra inning, they put runners on first and second and the inning starts with one out. This is the equivalent of little league baseball, maybe travel ball. I couldn't believe what was happening. To me, it was disrespectful to the game of baseball to do such a thing. Either way, it was happening and there was nothing I could do.
Our first basemen, Claudio, came in to pitch. Remember, only Italian pitchers are allowed in the first game. With runners on first and second, he got a ground ball to short. We were able to get the force at second, but unable to complete the double play, leaving runners on first and third. The next hitter hit a dribbler to third, and was safe at first. The runner at third scored, and they were ahead by one. After a couple of wild pitches, we went into the bottom of the eleventh down two. We wouldn't recover, and ended up losing the game. It was a devastating lose, and the circumstances made it that much harder to swallow. I had a miserable game, going 1-5. I knew something was wrong, and I needed to make an adjustment.
While getting our food in between games, I asked my teammate Paul if he had seen anything wrong with my swing. The foreign players need to help eachother out. Essentially, we are eachothers coaches. It is hard to communicate with the Italian coaches, so you rely on eachother. He told me I wasn't loading early enough, and this was causing me to force my swing. It turned out he couldn't be more right.
In the next game, we came on strong. In my first at bat, with nobody on, I hit an absolute bomb. Now normally I wouldn't say it that way, but it was the farthest ball I have ever hit in my life, metal or wood. Our field is one of the largest fields in the world. Yes, that includes major league parks and every other professional field in the world. Center field is approximately 450 feet away. The gaps are about 425. The lines are approx. 375. It is a monstrous field. The pitcher threw me a letter high fastball. I turned on it, throwing everything I had into it. I hit the ball to left center field, and it hit the fence on a fly. It was about 5 feet away from being a homerun. You can do the math. My teammates, as well as myself, were in shock that it even happened. I ended up getting a triple, then scoring on a passed ball.
Luis was throwing yet another gem. Going into the fifth inning, we were up 3-0. I got up with the bases loaded and nobody out. Facing the same pitcher, I was looking for him to make a similar mistake. After getting ahead 0-1, he did. I hit a line drive to left center for a bases clearing double. I then went on to steal third, and score on a sac fly.
We ended up winning the second game in dominating fashion. Luis pitched a gem, and all aspect of the lineup contributed. The final score was 8-0, but the other team never had a chance. We left in high spirits. Needless to say, it was an exhausting day.
I will try to write more about my weekend and the rest of this week in the next few days. Quite frankly, right now I am just too tired. I hope that my adjustment will translate in the weeks to come. I also hope you all had a great weekend, and I will be speaking to you soon. Ciao!
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