Outing #1

The long wait for outing one is finally over. Friday(3/26) I threw my first inning against a team wearing a different color uniform. It was one of those moments I'll always remember..

The bus left Port Charlotte at 11:20 in the morning headed toward Sarasota, Florida. The weather, was overcast with a slight mist, although it was warm. It was quite a different experience for me being on a bus, one of those things I knew I'd been a part of, but not in some time. I mean, its been two and a half years since I last went on a baseball trip, so the experience wasn't unexpected. For those of you who aren't really sure why I was on a bus in spring training, I'll explain. The Baltimore Orioles hold their spring training in Sarasota and we, the Tampa Bay Rays, alternate home and away games with their ball club so each team can get game experience before the season starts. It was our turn to go on the road, so we loaded the bus and headed up I-75.

Our starting pitcher was on a pitch limit of 65 pitches or four innings, whatever came first. He cruised threw the first inning, and ran into a little trouble in his second. In his third inning his pitch count started to get a little high so in preparation for my inning, I began a light stretch. My coach then told me our starter was done after three. I thought uh-oh I better hurry! I had planned on throwing the fifth inning especially after watching our starter cruise through his first five outs, but now I was having to rush a little to get enough throws to loosen my arm properly. Honestly it didn't really matter to me at this moment because today was all about MY one inning. The butterflies really started to get to my stomach once I got the affirmation that I had the fourth inning. I was in the bullpen warming up when I saw the final out in the bottom half of the third inning. The fourth inning was all mine so I put the ball down in the bullpen and jogged toward our dugout. Taking my eight warm up throws really was just a relief to say the least. With all the hours of rehab and time away from the game it was here, I finally got my chance!

I towed the mound like I always had. Right side of the rubber, right foot first, then a deep breath followed by a look at home plate to get the sign from my catcher. My first thought was how close he looked. The distance didn't seem right. I knew the distance was 60ft6in but when your arm feels pretty good, it sometimes feels like the plate is only at 45ft. This is one of the best feelings as a pitcher, it makes you feel dominant. I guess it was all the adrenaline and butterflies that took my mind off my shoulder for once and allowed me to just go out and pitch without worrying about my arm. My first pitch was a fastball low and away, well, at least that was the call. I missed my spot, badly! I missed high and tight in on a left handed batters hands. Bad miss! Although I hadn't done this pitching thing in long time I still do expect a lot out of myself, and missing spots is unacceptable. At this moment, after the catcher tossed the ball back to me, I took more time than normal to take a few breaths and relax. Breathing has always been an important asset to my success on the mound. It always slowed me down and kept me in the moment allowing me to stay within myself and perform. I knew I deserved a few breaths.

1IP, 0H, 0K, 0BB. I threw 16 pitches: 13 fastballs, 2 sliders, and one change-up.
Batter 1: Fly ball to center(out 1)
Batter 2: Ground ball to third + throwing error(runner advanced to second)
Batter 3: Line-out to right(out 2)
Batter 4: Ground out to short(out 3)

It was only one inning. But it was so much more than that to me.