Certainly it was a minor coincidence that his jersey sported the number 10. On the cosmic, harmonic convergence level of things, the assignment was dead on to what it should have been. As he waited patiently on deck for his turn to bat for what would be the last time, he reflected on his time in the game.
The spring of 2001 was his rookie season on the baseball diamond. During those hot days, he would pound hard line drives off of the tee right to, and subsequently past the shortstop into left field. The first time he ever belted one out there, it wasn’t clear in his head that he had to drop his bat and run his 6 year old body 60 feet away to first base. Unsolicited coaching from the grandstand corrected the confusion immediately.
The next two seasons were relatively uneventful as he gradually acclimated to kid-pitch baseball. During that time, there were no line drive shots or any base hits.
In the last game of that second kid pitch season he hit an infield fly when the infield fly rule scenario was in effect. The umpire missed it and the boy managed to squeeze off a batting percentage that year.
By the following year, his family had moved and found themselves within the boundaries of a more competitive league. In his time there, his abilities improved. He became a better hitter and a better fielder.
For the next eight years he played during both the fall and spring seasons. In that time he played every position between the foul lines and catcher too. He racked up plenty of singles and doubles, a good handful or two of triples, and a home run on errors. In addition, he landed on four different All Star teams.
By the time he was finishing up his spring season as a 16 year old, he had made the decision after 10 years of play to pack up his infielder’s glove, his outfielder’s glove, and his drop 3 bat in order to focus on other interests. He would be a senior in high school that following fall, and he wanted to focus on his preparation for college. In the world of baseball, the first 10 years is purely foundational for those who aspire to go all the way to the show. That 10 years would be a complete career for him, as he understood his talents were stronger in other fields.
His last game on the All-Star team wasn’t as memorable as that of Ted Williams, however it ended on a positive note. While playing 3rd base, he threw a batter out at 1st on a hard grounder, and another at home on a sly pick-off move from the catcher.
He also batted 2 for 2 during his final game. Of course, both hits which got him on base that night were hit past the shortstop and into left field.