May 16th, 2022
James Lee sits down in the Challengers dugout, feeling dejected. The concussion symptoms, especially fatigue, remained after 5 days, and as the doctor explained to him, "there is no specific cure for a concussion." 27 year-old utility player Yariel Marquez would replace him in center field for the meantime. The skull fracture was confirmed to be only minor, especially thanks to the batting helmet Lee was wearing at the time. That being said, he was also a little bit worried after what has happened with players in the MLB like Clint Frazier who's still trying to get a strong and steady MLB career after a concussion he suffered after colliding with the outfield wall.
Our season without a healthy James Lee felt like it wasn't a season. Maybe he wasn't as talented as other players fresh out of college, but he was good enough to show the talent he had. Now further struggles seemed imminent for the rest of us.
It wasn't like we couldn't win games without him, but Lee was providing us the most run and defensive support with his strong build, athleticism, and knowledge of the game, out of all of us. With little rest, our team hadn't racked up a single win. The game on the 11th? We lost, stranding Bradley on 2nd in the bottom of the ninth. The games on the 13th and 14th? Again, we lost embarrassingly, resulting in another series sweep. It felt strange, considering that we're a bunch of guys who mostly had MLB experience for many seasons, and some of us even had experience and success overseas in our careers by then.
What made the whole situation worse, however, is that James' mother had had better days.
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This game was part of our last home series before we took a long 2-week road trip. We were now facing a top-notch team in the Fayetteville Fighters, who were stationed in Arkansas at the time. At this point, we were at 5-18, while they had a completely reverse record of 18-5, first place in the league's Eastern Division. Bob Dyson was on the bump for us with a 1-1 record on the season heading into his fifth start of the season. Coincidentally he had a bit of control issues to start the year compared to his last two seasons in the CPBL having issued 9 walks in 24 1/3 Innings pitched versus 17 strikeouts. That said, his 4.07 ERA was keeping us in games just long enough for the bullpen to spoil chances at a comeback last time out. It looked like he was finally healthy again as he was averaging 90 MPH on his fastball after topping out at 89 the previous year before having back surgery to deal with a herniated disc.
Again, it is important to note that almost all of us were on little rest. Xander Bird, part of our bullpen, was out before the season even started after a right shoulder dislocation; also, soreness would often be a problem for all of us on our off days. Bradley was set aside for a few games to allow Andres Sinclair to play shortstop, as well as so he could get rest. Sinclair was another bright spot on our team just struggling to get by; he boasted the 2nd-best arm among shortstops in the league, reaching up to 95 mph on his throws to first, while being 33 years old. Jon Jackson really wanted us in the infield to lock down on our defense during this tough stretch, Sinclair was going to lead that move as a former platinum glove winner in MLB and arguably the best shortstop since Ozzie Smith. "We need to be on the pitcher's side. He throws the pitch- we back him up," he said slowly, ensuring all of us in the locker room understood him, "I understand we can't reach every batted ball- hits are part of the game, but it's back to basics from here." I took a few deep breaths, knowing it was going to be alright. No time to overthink the statistics- we had to go out on the field and put all effort in. We definitely had the talent to rival the Fayetteville Fighters- it was just going to take a little good luck and a cohesive formula, with our team continuing to play in sync with one another.
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The 9th inning
The Fighters were up 5-1 in the bottom of the 9th. The only run scored was off an RBI, bases-loaded walk by Andres Sinclair. He also showed some defensive prowess, assisting in two inning-ending double plays, preventing additional runs from scoring.
Yariel Marquez, Lee's replacement, led off and smoked one into the left-center gap for an easy double. Mark Jones walked after a 10-pitch battle, and I came up to do some damage.
"Let's go Ortiz!" is what I heard last before tuning it all out. It seems to have been coming from the dugout, as everyone there was already on their feet before the bottom half had begun. I dug in and took the first pitch up and in, but it was a strike; I was crowding the plate, attempting to get more of an advantage by allowing myself to get hit by a pitch, especially if it was a breaking ball. I could clearly see the righty pitcher on the mound, Nelson Rodriguez, was uncomfortable with this move. He liked to bust batters inside , but he would have to be careful now.
The next pitch? Curveball up and away that just missed the outer edge of the plate. Since he had now thrown two breaking balls in a row, I was sitting on his 4-seam fastball, which averaged at 96 mph- pretty good for a closing pitcher that season. I called timeout and took a walk around, making a quick glance at the dugout; I didn't see James Lee. I figured he had lost some faith in the team and in himself, though the hit-by-pitch wasn't his fault. He was probably sitting, contemplating on the bench, or he had gone down in the clubhouse, waiting to hear the fate of the game.
As it is said, however, it ain't over until it is over.
My anticipation paid off. Rodriguez missed with his fastball down the middle of the plate (I figured he wanted to get it more up and make me miss), and I was ready for it. I drilled it deep into the left-field seats, and the crowd began to erupt again. It had been the first time since Spring Training that the stadium had been that loud. We were now within 1 of the best team in the league.
Sinclair grounded out after me, and then Dan Sogard popped out. It was up to Alex Alcantara, the right fielder. After I had returned to the dugout, I noticed that the 3rd baseman was playing back. I didn't need to say anything, though- Jon Jackson gave the bunt sign to Alcantara, hoping to get him to at least 1st base safely. He stepped in, giving no indication he was actually going to bunt. Rodriguez, having faced a mound visit, was looking to get the save, despite giving up three runs- it suddenly became a save situation as before the lead was four runs. The stadium boomed with how loud the crowd was.
The first pitch was a curveball in the dirt, which Alcantara took for ball one. Next pitch? Fastball, which he laid down for a bunt. It rolled down the 3rd-base line, and because the 3rd baseman was playing back, it took him another second to field the ball. He attempted a barehanded play, but it was too late- Alcantara was too fast. He threw the ball away, however, allowing Alcantara to advance to 2nd on the error. I think I was the loudest out of everyone in the dugout. "YEAH-AH!", and "LET'S GO!" are what I yelled.
And up next came one of the best sluggers: our DH, Rafael Rojas, who had come back from the KBO after a lower back injury that had ended his 2021 season. The year prior, he had contended for the KBO home run title. He'd already gotten us some big doubles and home runs this year, and it would be fitting for a guy looking for a rebound to help us come back with the win potentially. Rafael Rojas was big and strong, listed at 6'0 / 200 lbs in 2021. He made his powerful swing look easy, and James even told me he was inspired by Rojas to perform more strength training throughout college after seeing his excellence in 2020 with the Lotte Giants alongside Dae-Ho Lee.
The first pitch was a fastball downstairs for a strike. He stared at where the ball had crossed the plate before kicking some dirt in the box. It's obvious he felt that was a missed opportunity to swing. The stadium began to let out chants, "Let's go Rojas!" "Rojas! Rojas! Rojas!" He felt the need to take a timeout to reset. He stepped back in, and Rodriguez quickly pitched another fastball strike, this time below his knees, but the umpire gave the call to Rodriguez. This time, Rojas gave him a look. There hadn't been any major missed calls up until now. Jackson gave the ump a piece of his mind, and at the time, I didn't even realize what was going on. "What's going on...?" I looked around, hoping to get an answer, but the dugout was yelling as well. He was tossed from the game before Rojas could step back in, and all he could do was storm off the field to the cheer of the crowd; Jake Bradley would take over the third base coach position for the time being, despite his inexperience.
Rojas could only shake his head and step back in. The next pitch was a changeup Rodriguez had previously dabbled with as a little show-me pitch that made Sogard pop out to short; he figured he would try to get Rojas to chase just below the zone, except it was dead red middle-middle, and Rojas absolutely crushed it out to left field. I was honestly in disbelief as we ran out to celebrate our victory against the best team in the league with Rojas once he crossed home plate. Out of the stadium, the game-winning home run ball landed right through a poor fan's windshield- it was a very expensive souvenir, indeed. Hopefully, I thought, the victory was but a turning point for our season, for we had a long way to go in order to get through the season and hopefully make our way to the playoffs. After all, we had a lot of time left until the end of the season, so we could certainly make up ground.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
