The Post Mortem

It's 8:28pm, right about the time I should be switching from the subway to the Bathurst streetcar in order to get to the diamond and be ready to play by 9:30. Instead, I'm sitting at home reading a James Bond novel. No, it isn't raining. The other team, not surprisingly, decided to forfeit the late Sunday evening game that meant nothing since we were both eliminated from the playoffs. A season ending forfeit. Great.

It seems a fitting end to what I would probably describe as a disappointing baseball season in general.

I lacked consistency. I made brutal gaffes in the field. The things I pride myself on as a ball player, getting on base and playing rock solid defense in the outfield, they just weren't there all the time.

I spent the season on two teams that I never really felt totally comfortable with. Half the time I didn't feel like I was really ready to play. For the first time probably ever, I often didn't feel quite right on the field.

Maybe it was adjusting to playing ball in the city, where the trip to the ballpark now involves various combinations of driving, subwaying, and streetcaring, a farcry from the 10 minute drive I've been accustomed to while playing in small town Canada. Maybe I was letting myself get too distracted with those pesky off-field things. You know, some people call it life. Working at a job that I like about 80% of the time, but don't really love. Wondering if maybe I should do something about it. Being a single guy in his 30s and trying really hard not to be a single guy in his 30s. Wondering what I did wrong this time or if I did anything wrong at all. I'll admit I spent time in the outfield thinking about those sorts of things instead of the game.


The silver lining is that I've learned a few things:

1. I'm getting old(er). And it sucks.

I figure I've gone about as far as I can strictly on my talent and athleticism. If I'm going to keep playing the way I want to at the level I want to, I've gotta put my work in or else I'm going to slow down. I could feel it this season, at times I was sluggish out there. My reaction time wasn't quite there. Towards the end of the season, my body was feeling it more than it ever has. Even more than last season when I played 57 games.

2. Baseball is a game, and games are supposed to be fun.

Sometimes people ask me if I even have fun playing baseball. And after this season especially I can understand why people might ask me that. Slumps are not fun, especially when they seem to last forever, but that's no reason not to enjoy the game. No one is keeping stats (that I know of). Ten years from now I'm not going to remember how I hit in a particular game. What I'm going to remember are the fun times, whether it was a diving catch in the outfield or our third baseman doing a face plant two steps out of the batter's box after hitting a groundball. If shit happens, it's better just to forget about it because when I look back at my days playing ball, I'm not going to remember that one game where I went 0-for or when that lazy fly ball sailed over my head.

3. Shortstops don't like it when you slide straight into the base on a force play at second.

Yeah, this one kind of surprised me.

4. When t-shirts are on the line, shit gets cray.

It's pretty amazing how wound up some people get over the prospect of getting t-shirts as a prize for winning the league championship.

5. Give yourself an extra 25 minutes on the Bathurst streetcar if you want to make first pitch.

This is just good general knowledge.

6. Cleats are not always necessary.

One of the highlights of the season was when I did my best Ricky Henderson impression and hit an inside the park home run to lead off the game ... without my cleats on.

7. The subway can be fun sometimes.

The looks I got from people while galavanting around on the subway Sunday nights in my full baseball regalia were often hilarious.

8. Dress for success.

The thing I will probably miss the most about this season is no longer wearing my green and white striped stirrups. They were the best socks in the league by a long shot.

See you in the spring.

-matt