First Practice

Timor and I left the the church and the subway took us to about a mile away from the field. We walked with our bags the rest of the distance, while I contemplated how bad this team might be, and how good the Gain-o-Max Recovery drink I was chugging tasted. We were late, so when we arrived to the field the team was already warming up. And by team, I mean 5 people.

As Timor and I walked into the park, I was trying to figure out if there was more grass or dandelions in the outfield. The infield looked alright and the field itself was huge, probably 380 to the polls, and 430 to dead center. There was more likely to be an inside the park homer than anything else. As I changed from from my Sunday best to my practice clothes, I was introduced to a member of the team named Jozef. Apparently everyone calls him ''Useless,'' because he never shows up. Next I met Alex, our 39 year-old Cuban shortstop. Alex has lived in Sweden for 13 years and is in extraordinary shape for his age. He's quicker than me, which isn't saying much, but he can definitely compete. Joaquin is also Cuban, the center fielder, and the player coach of the team. Sergio is Venezuelan, Nikki is from Norway, and Mattias is Swedish. Timor is originally from Kazakhstan, and still liked most of Borat. So far on my trip to Sweden, I've officially met one Swedish person.

First, we stretched. For 40 minutes. Then we took infield and I took balls at third. I took one off the thumb that bent my nail back a bit, but other than that horrific injury, after Day 1 I'm still healthy. Speaking of staying healthy, apparently American players are only allowed to pitch 9 innings a week and 6 innings a game, so those of you that were worried about me being overthrown can sleep well at night. Next we took outfield, which was so much fun. I'm not allowed to do anything on the Pomona team anymore, except pitch. Some might say it's because I'm injury prone, others would say it's because I'm so valuable to the team that it's just not worth the risk. By others, I mean me. After the defensive work, I don't know how to put this, but I was wondering how many high school teams could beat the Alby Stars.

Next we did some hitting. Batting practice consisted of throwing about 65 mph from the rubber, which is my type of velocity. Joaquin definitely had the most power, but the two players who hit the best were Alex, and then me. That's right, me, the guy who has barely touched a bat in 2 and a half years. Next fall boys, I'm claiming that outfield/DH spot! Seriously though, these aren't exactly what I was expecting. And I'd feel better if they weren't already 5 games into a 35 game season. We should win a few games though. It does seem promising for the other teams. The others should be good enough where I'll get to work on my change-up, which is the main thing I want to do.