Free Player Season: The Pickup Artist Who Hacked Nike by Brad Stephenson

straight face.
    "Oh yeah? When was the last time you pitched?" coach asked.
    "I threw bullpens this season, but they always needed me to catch so I never pitched in a game," I told him.
    "Ok, go to the bullpen, let's see what you've got," the coach directed.
    The last time I pitched was when I was 12 years old. Regardless of this fact, I threw 20 pitches and amazingly, he seemed impressed.
    I was put in to pinch hit in the top of the ninth inning during our next game. After hitting a single, I wound up on third base a few batters later. The coach approached me, with his hat pulled low and his stirrups stretched up to his knees, and asked a simple question.
    "Brad, how many warm up pitches will it take for you to go in the game?" he inquired.
    "None," I stubbornly told him.
    Most pitchers in this league threw at least 95MPH; I walked up to the mound possessing the ability to throw 90MPH at best. However, I did have a secret weapon; a nasty change-up.
    I threw three of these change-ups to the first batter I faced and struck him out. Not a bad start after 10 years off.
    Pitching is all about throwing what the batter least expects. So after throwing the first batter three change-ups, I threw the second batter three fastballs and struck him out as well. My teammates looked on from the dugout in disbelief.
    The third batter swung at the first change-up I tossed him and beat a ground ball to third base for the third out. Just like that, the inning was over and I opportunely created a new niche to get myself on the field more often.
    A few weeks and another scoreless inning of pitching later, I got a text from Justin.
    "What's up man? I'm coming to Boston this weekend, you still in the cape?" he asked.
    "Yes sir, leave me some tickets," I told him.
    The Diamondbacks were playing the Red Sox in an interleague game, so three teammates of mine hopped in my car and we drove to Fenway Park in Boston. Four tickets awaited our arrival.
    You can decipher the fans that have played baseball from the fans who haven't just by observing how they watch the game. If they are loud, drunk or talkative; they probably haven't played. The four of us sat in complete silence, taking mental notes of what each player in our position was doing on every play. The reality of reaching the major leagues was well within our reach (In fact, one of the teammates there that day, Joe Kelly, is already on the St. Louis Cardinals).
    The game ended and Justin texted me on my way out of the stadium, advising me to stop by his hotel.
    I parked on the sidewalk in front of the Ritz Carlton, a towering building embellished with glass pane windows. My teammates stayed in the car while I walked through an enormous crowd of baseball fans eagerly waiting outside the front door of the hotel, roped off in their own sphere of lunacy. These fans actually travelled miles from the field for the slim chance of obtaining the opposing teams autographs. It's easy to see how some players can lose their grip on reality.
    After a few knocks, the door swung open and Justin greeted me wearing a dark gray suit, white dress shirt and shiny black dress shoes; standard apparel for all players when leaving the field. His teammate, Chris Young, was also in the room and he briefly nodded at me while he was busy ordering room service.
    "Yeah, can I get a side salad with that? Ok, can you send it to Mike Lowery's room," Chris said, giving his hotel alias.
    Every player has a hotel alias to avoid being accosted by a crazed fan, like the ones sitting out front. Mike Lowery was the character Will Smith played in the movie 'Bad Boys', Justin's alias was Jimmy Fly.
    "You gotta come out to the club with us tonight," Justin said, emphatically.
    "I can't, two of my teammates are underage," I told him.
    "Man! Why did you bring them? Tell them to go back!" He insisted.
    "I drove, why don't you come to Cape Cod with us though?" I said.
    "Chris, you want to go party with them in Cape Cod?" Justin asked.
    "Nah I'm