Out of the dugout

Out of the dugout

The evening sun cast light into the cabin of the minivan as he drove along the road toward its destination, inside was a thirteen-year-old boy looking down at his cleats covered in the red tinted sand used in the baseball diamond, a couple tufts of grass were stuck in some crevices of his shoes. He would just stare at them intently thinking back to the moment he fouled up in the game. As other kids from his team were going home happy about winning the game but he could not share in their revelry. While his team had won the game it was in no part thanks to him. So, for much of the ride home after the game he had just sat there in silence not wanting to say a thing and just stayed lost in his thoughts.

“Cheer up Flynn, you did great out there.” His mother said with an air of sincerity in her voice.

She hated seeing her son in this state and being powerless to do anything about it. Flynn was her first-born son and so through much of his life she and her husband had to learn on their feet what it was like to raise a child. But all in all, they made it work and now here he was participating in sports with other kids in his class. They couldn’t be happier for him, but things never turn out the way you think they will and that was proven with how much trouble he had with learning baseball.  

“Maybe Dad can help you practice this weekend? Would you like that? she asked as she peaked at the rear-view mirror to gauge his response to only see him tilt his head up a little to look back at her before turning his head back down in disappointment. She felt a lump in her stomach at seeing his sadness. It hurt just as much as anything else, and she would do anything to help him through it.

The rest of the ride home was spent in silence as the minivan pulled up the driveway to a two-story house that sat in a row of nearly identical houses with only slight variations in their architecture. Each owner did what they could to make their homes stand out from the others with different colors of paint to lawn decorations.

Once the car was stopped, she began to step out of the car as she addressed her son.

“Okay now, go wash up and get ready for…” she trailed off mid-sentence as he stormed off in a fit of frustration. Inside the house the husband was coming out of the kitchen as he had just got home from work moments before and was enjoying a nice glass of cool lemonade as he noticed his son walk in.

“Hey champ, how did the game go?” He would get his answer when Flynn threw his glove at the base of the stairs and stormed off to his room. “I never want to play baseball again” he shouted just as he slammed the door shut behind him.

“That well, eh?” He asked no one, but his wife heard him just as she passed the threshold into the house. “Actually, his team one, but he fumbled the hit, and it took another team member to get the home run and clinch the win for the team.”

“Maybe you can give him a pep talk, I’m sure you have a few stories you could tell him, what about the one you told me about when you were seven playing tee ball?” she asked bring up an old story he had told her back when they were dating.

“I suppose that one could help, but maybe I should let him cool off a moment then I’ll go up” Patting his shoulder gently before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re a good father Sam” she said softly before leaving him alone in the living room.

Up inside his room he was still wearing his uniform covered in dirt as he fought back tears as he wished he could be someone his team counted on instead of being the butt of so many jokes among his teammates. Suddenly light taps at the door drew his attention and looked at the door to see it opening slowly. “Champ… Flynn how are you buddy?” he asked as he walked in and slowly closed the door behind him to see Flynn sitting against his bed on the floor. Sitting beside him on the floor resting on his back against the bed he pulled out a couple of old photographs.

“What are these?” he asked as he couldn’t recognize the person in the picture. “That’s me when I was around your age, well a little younger” he added as Flynn looked at, he photos and they depicted a young boy age seven crashing into the dirt just short of first base and another kid standing above him pressing the ball to his back.

“That was one of the most humiliating experiences of my childhood, I missed the base by a few inches, after that I got the nick name Short stop since I stopped short of the base thinking I was right on it.”

“But I’ve seen you play dad, your one of the best I’ve ever seen.” This warmed his heart as he heard his son say that to him. Ruffling his hair a little as he smiled at him. “I’m not that good, but I have come a long way from those days.”

The next photo was taken of him walking away in despair after being mocked by his teammates. “Why do you have these if you were being called names?” He asked as he was curious to why his dad would hold onto such reminders of pain and suffering. Taking the photo into his hand and looked at it again.

“I keep it as a reminder to myself, that when things get you down there is only one way you can go, up” Taking out another photo he handed it to Flynn it was of his father at the same age but in this photo he was holding a small trophy in his hand with a cheerful expression on his face. “That was the following season, I improved my skills, and I did much better and earned that trophy.”

A look of realization hit him as he looked up in wonder and smiled. “Is that the one on your desk?” he asked as he was connecting the dots together and Sam just nodded with a smile on his face. Flynn could feel himself being inspired by his dad and what he had gone through as a kid.

“Dad? Can you help me practice?” Sam could feel so much joy and happiness in that moment he could jump for joy, but he kept his calm and nodded. “Of course, Champ”

Over the course of the next few weeks Sam would help Flynn hone his batting skills at a nearby park that had batting cages. Days passed as Flynn would keep trying his all to hit the ball and several times, he almost gave up but with Sam’s reassurance they kept at it till eventually Flynn started hitting the ball perfectly.

Sam cheered for him shouting so loudly that others in the adjacent batting cages could hear him, but he didn’t care what they thought. Only that his son finally triumphed over his self-doubt and insecurities.

Time passed before the last game of the season as Sam and his wife Patricia watched from the stands, their cries of encouragement were drowned out by the other parents in the stands who were there for their kids. As Flynn’s team the Top Guns went up against the Spirit Colts. As the game went on, each player did their part to further advance their team on the score board.

The Top Guns started out strong but during the middle of the game the players on the other team managed to tag out several players in a row allowing them to catch up and even start to gain one on them. It was coming down to the wire where a couple runs meant the difference between victory and defeat. Throughout the game Flynn could feel his nerves getting the better of him as he looked calm on the outside but was terrified on the inside.

After what felt like an eternity the game came down to the bottom of the ninth with the Colts leading by one with bases loaded. When Flynn was called up to bat his teammates braced for the worst and stopped paying attention to the game. Only a few dare watch the disaster that was about to unfold before their eyes. As he got up to bat, he could feel his legs shaking and when he looked to the stands, he saw his parents were throwing their fists in the air with reckless abandonment.

Turning toward the pitcher and fixed his grip and steadied himself. Everything came down to this, there was no one to cover him if he messed up. Suddenly as the pitcher released the ball time slowed down to a crawl as Flynn took his swing as he did so many times at the batting cages. This time it was for real, but he couldn’t think of it like that, he instead pictured himself back in the cages where he felt no pressure. Taking the swing he let the bat loose and in moments there was a loud crack as the ball contacted the bat and soared off in the air. Not hesitating one moment the players on the second and third hotfooted their way off the bases and toward home.

“Run, run, run,” cried the crowd as Flynn snapped out of it and ran to first base. As his foot tapped onto the base the first player made it home and was then followed by the next player. By this time, the ball had been thrown back towards the catcher and he was turning off third base as the ball landed in the catcher’s mitt ready to tag him out once he reached the base.

By now Flynn was running on pure adrenaline and plowed right into the catcher, knocking him to the ground. A cloud of dust engulfed the pair as the onlookers looked on with bated breath to see if he had made it.

A moment later the ball rolled out of the dust signaling that the catcher had dropped the ball and Flynn had made it safe to home base. Flynn’s teammates jumped and hollered after seeing what had just happened. They couldn’t believe it; Flynn had won the game for the first time. When the dust settled Flynn pushed himself off the ground and helped up the catcher and apologized for knocking him down before joining his teammates.

They rushed to him and several of them lifted him up and carried him away off the field calling out his name. In the crowd both Sam and Patricia watched, their hearts filled with joy for their son and what he did to overcome adversity. Any doubt that he could make it was washed away in an instant by everyone who knew him. The team would then walk off back to the locker room to change and get ready to go home.

Later as he was stepping out of the locker room, he could see his parents waiting at the entrance to the corridor leading to the parking lot. When a soft voice caught his attention, turning to see who it was, he was shocked to see Lilian. She was one of the girls in his history class.

“You did really good out there Flynn, I was impressed” she said rather shyly not knowing fully how to act around him, but she simply felt admiration for him that she couldn’t help but speak to him and want to get closer to him.

“How did you do it?” she asked as he adjusted the shoulder strap of his pack containing his gear and uniform. “Oh, it was all thanks to my dad, he helped me practice and well I learned more about myself in the process” he said softly as he chided himself mentally for sounding like a hallmark movie his mother loved to watch.

“That sounds amazing, maybe you could show me a thing or two about baseball sometime” she asked wanting to spend time with him and he looked toward his parents who gave him a look of encouragement and so he looked at her and said yes.

She hugged him, catching him off guard before running off leaving him stunned by happiness and then turned in the other direction and ran to his parents who had watched the whole thing.

“So, what’s her name?” asked Sam. “Lillian.”

“Lillian? That is such a lovely name,” said his mother. “You should invite her over for dinner” Flynn just ducked his head down feeling embarrassed now. “Mom” he said not wanting to talk about it but at least everything he was feeling now was the opposite of what he felt weeks ago. And now things were looking up for him and he knew if kept up with it, he could go on to become the best player in his school and that gave him a sense of drive and purpose. From then on, his life would be completely different and for the better, and his parents would be with him every step of the way.