Zach Lager

THE PITCH

The smell of freshly cut grass,

The birds chirping,

The fans in lawn chairs,

The dirt blowing in the warm breeze,

The sweat glowing on players’ faces,

The taste of sunflower seeds,

The hotdogs,

The spitting,

The ballpark,

The dugout,

The players,

The gloves,

The bats,

The teams,

The beautiful round sphere with red stitched seams,

THE PITCH

Though the game doesn’t start for another two hours, I start my preparation way ahead of time. I think about how I will approach different situations, how I will pitch to certain players, how I hope to be successful, and what I will have to do to be able to accomplish all of this. I slowly start to put on my uniform thinking about my mechanics and those things my coach has often told me I had to do: “Keep your head level, whip your torque and bring your glove hand into your body for more power, don’t overthrow, and alternate the location of your pitches.” Dressed and ready, I head to the game.

                  I arrive about a half hour early and walk around the field, feeling the warm spring breeze, the sun shining on my back, the smell of the freshly cut grass, and the diamond of dirt with the mound in the center of it all. Walking to the pitching mound, I envision myself pitching in the game, throwing strikes, getting outs—winning the game. I walk over to the bench, sit down and lace up my cleats. Other players slowly arrive, and talk of the game buzzes through the air. The team jogs around the field, and we then situate ourselves in the outfield where we stretch and warm-up. About this time, the opposing team arrives, and there’s the reason we all play the game, TO WIN!

                  The team goes through its pre-game warm-ups. Everyone can hear the chatter from the players:

                  “Nice play kid.”

                  “What da’ya say John”

                  “Nice catch!”

                  The whole team is focused on the game ahead; everyone knows his job and what he has to do. Each player knows that the minute you zone out, the minute you lose track of the number of outs, the minute you don’t know who is on base and where, that is the minute that the ball is hit to you and you make a mistake, costing your team and your cause. While my teammates are taking their warm-ups in the field, I am in the bullpen warming up for the game. I mix in curve balls, fastballs, and change-ups on both the inside and outside corners, all the while preparing both physically and mentally for the game. I believe that most of pitching is concentration, competitiveness, and confidence. With these three factors the mental part of pitching is taken care of. The pitcher always has to believe he can “do it”; the pitcher always has to concentrate solely on the present and never on the past; and the pitcher always has to compete to be the best, to strike out the best, to outsmart the best.

                  It is finally time! The game is about to begin. I have my pre-game jitters, as I always do, but I know that the second I set foot on the mound these nerves will all melt away and nothing will matter except me, the batter, and the ball. Our team huddles, yells “Win!” and the starting lineup runs out to their positions.

                  “Play Ball!” the ump signals me, telling me it is time. I walk up to the mound, dig my feet into the soft, gushy dirt, and peer at my catcher’s signals. He holds up one finger, telling me to throw a fastball. I nod my head, telling him that I agree. I place the ball in my hand, moving it around until I can feel that perfect grip. Those bumpy red seams feel like extensions of my fingers. I come to my set with ball in hand and hand in glove, while focusing on the catcher’s glove. Throughout my motion, I never look at my opponent, only at the glove. This keeps me focused and does not allow me to be intimidated by the batter. I cock my arm back, kick my leg up, push off, and release the ball—the pitch. It streams toward the inside corner of the plate. “STRIKE.”

                  This is what pitching is all about—that one second when you beat your opponent, that one second that you know you have outsmarted your opponent, that one second that you know you have just thrown the perfect pitch!