Out of My League

Behind the plate, Howard had settled in his crouch, his big mitt up for the target. Concentrating on it, barely aware then of Ashburn, I toed the rubber with my spikes and with an almost physical jolt of will, I swung into a slow windup. Under the pressure of the moment, I half expected to exhibit a pitching form as spastic as the cartwheeling fall of a man from a high tree … and I was surprised at the ease with which I got the pitch off. I was not prepared, however, for what then happened: that, rather than speeding for the bulk of the Howard’s mitt, the ball, flung with abandon and propelled by a violent mixture of panic and pent-up anxiety let loose, headed straight for Ashburn’s head. Down he went, flat on his back, the bat flung away, and an explosion of sound – a sharp gasp from the crowd – sailed out of the stands as I hurried off the mound calling, “Sorry! Sorry!”

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