Lit eZine Vol 8 | p-20 | FICTION | Ballpark Estimate

SHORT STORY

BALLPARK ESTIMATE
by Peter Wallace

“So, this is baseball.”
Bill thought perhaps it was a mistake to bring his new girlfriend to the Milwaukee
Brewers baseball game that evening. She said she didn’t care about baseball, and he hoped to
change her mind. She seemed non-plussed.
“Yes, Ellen, this is baseball. Isn’t the field beautiful?”
“I guess. That grass is mowed with a design in it.”
She was very analytical about everything.
“In fact, it’s just like a park, except it is reserved for eighteen grown men instead of
children.”
It was a criticism. “I guess that’s true, but there are thousands of people of all ages
here to enjoy watching them play.”
“Hmm.”
Bill and Ellen seemed to be in love, but it was hard to tell with Ellen. She wasn’t very
romantic, but in the right situation she was very passionate. She was never unkind to Bill, but
she didn’t often act with kindness either. She was a different sort of person. Her blue eyes
and blond hair gave away her Scandinavian heritage, as did her matter-of-factness.
Her lack of interest in baseball was something that bothered Bill. She said she’d seen
a few minutes of a game on television but had never attended one or played the game. She
never specifically said she didn’t like baseball. She didn’t have an opinion about it. She just
wasn’t interested.
Bill, on the other hand, lived and breathed baseball from the time he was eight years
old. Now, in his early twenties, going to the ballpark was one of his favorite activities.
“Okay, Ellen, I don’t mean to patronize you, or ‘mansplain,’ so to speak, but the guys
standing out on the field are on defense. The guys coming up to that five-sided white thing on
the ground up there… they are on offense. The object of the offense is to hit the ball either
over the fence, which is called a ‘home run’ or to someplace on the field where the defense
can’t catch it.”
“Thanks. Let me watch for a bit and I’m sure I’ll catch on.”
Bill explained balls and strikes and the purpose of the three bases and what a double
play was. He did not bring up the infield fly rule, in which a pop fly ball to the infield can be
called an out before it is caught when one or more runners are on base. The rule prevents an
infielder from intentionally dropping the ball in order to get a double or triple play. Ellen
wouldn’t need to know that at the moment.
Ellen sat and watched intently. She stirred a little when the ball was hit, or when one
of the defenders caught a high fly ball. Bill thought that Ellen’s brain was wired a little
differently than most people’s, and it was interesting to watch as she compiled the data from
the on-going game.
After three innings she had a few observations to make. “Bill, it seems like the players
spend about as much time warming up each inning as they spend playing. Why is that?”
“First, I have to say that you are not wrong. Second, I think part of the reason is that
the stress to the muscles that throwing a ball 100 miles per hour causes can only be tolerated
if the muscles are stretched out. When the pitchers are waiting for their turn to throw the ball
again their muscles contract again. Also, radio and TV broadcasters need time to run
commercials.”
“Thank you. You said you have played a lot of baseball games?”
“Yes, I have.”
“I’m wondering how it feels to be a batter, knowing that the pitcher is going to try to
trick you, or overpower you, or maybe even hit you.”
Bill hadn’t ever really thought of batting in that way, but once again, she wasn’t
wrong about the battle between pitcher and batter.
“Mostly, when I go up to bat, I’m very nervous. I want to get a hit, or even a home
run. But I do NOT want to strike out. Every time the pitcher throws the ball, I have a tiny bit
of time to decide if I should swing or not. It’s hard. The best batters are successful only 30%
of the time.”
“But you say it is fun.”
“Yes! To get a hit and go to first base is really exciting.”
Ellen had an epiphany. “So that is where the term ‘getting to first base’ comes from.”
The romantic metaphor pleased her.
“Have you ever been a pitcher?”
“Yes. Many times.”
“Tell me about how that feels.”
“The whole team watches the pitcher and wants him to keep the batter from hitting
the ball. They also don’t want the pitcher to walk the batter. And they really don’t want the
batter to get a home run. So, they do what is called ‘chatter,’ where they say encouraging
things to the pitcher.”
“Does that help?”
“Not at all. But it keeps them involved. Sometimes a game is mostly just the pitcher
throwing the ball to the catcher over and over again with a batter hitting the ball now and
then. Some of the people on defense might play a whole game and never touch the ball.”
“Huh!”
“But every time the ball is pitched, they have to be ready.”
“I bet the fielders get exhausted from having to stay alert for every pitch.”
“I guess so.”
From their seats in the outfield, they could see the entire field well, which Bill thought
would be good for her baseball education. Bill had to explain what was going on when a
relief pitcher came in. She was really catching on to the game, and by the seventh inning she
was practically doing play-by-play.
“Okay, so there are two men on base and one out. The count on the batter is two and
two. The batter has a batting average over 300 so the pitcher needs to be cautious.”
Then, the next pitch was walloped into left-center field, which is where Bill and Ellen
were sitting. Bill followed the arc of the ball from the bat up into the sky and down into…
Ellen’s right hand. The crowd erupted from the homerun and the fantastic bare-handed catch.
“That hurt.”
“Wow! Great catch, Ellen! All the people are cheering for you. Look on the big
screen up there.”
Sure enough, a slow-motion replay appeared of Ellen casually reaching out and
catching the homerun ball. She smiled at the replay.
Later, after the game ended (the Brewers won) Bill and Ellen lingered for a while
looking at the field where the game had been.
“You know, Bill, I do like baseball after all. It’s interesting. Each team has nine
players at a time. They count on each other, but it seems like they are each very alone. The
pitcher needs to throw the ball in a certain way at a certain speed. The batter needs to totally
focus on the pitch and make a split-second decision to swing or not. The fielders never know
if the ball will come to them or not, and if it does, they have to be prepared to catch it and
throw it to the right teammate. In a way it’s like every player is playing his own game within
the bigger game the two teams are playing.”
Bill stopped and turned towards Ellen. “That is the most insightful analysis of the
game of baseball I’ve ever heard.”
“Oh. Well, thank you. In a way it’s like lovemaking. Each person is focused on what
they are doing, but they are also working to make the team a success.”
Bill looked at her, smiled, and slowly shook his head. “I think it’s time we go back to
my place so we can discuss your ideas further.”
Ellen winked.