Put Me In, Coach!

June 28, 2008

I’m ready to play!

[Photoset] (Many thanks to SBF for pulling double duty with the cameras today while I played! Photos I’m not in were taken by me with the exception of the signs) No, that is not a tub of Skoals in my pocket. It’s a polarized camera lens filter just in case. Heh! I had a bit of a snafu in that I couldn’t find the charger for my good camera, so ended up toting my old one. Luckily, I found it after I got home, so it’ll be charged and ready for tonight’s hot hot hot game!

Today was the 2nd annual Baesball 101 Clinic for Women hosted by the Washington Nationals and coached by the team’s real live coaches. I was really surprised there weren’t more women than last year. I mean taking the field in the new ballpark, checking out the sleek new batting cage, great reviews from last year — what more could you ask for? We were split into five groups with about 8 to 10 women in a group. My “suns” (I’m so sunny!) group went with third base coach Tim Tolaman for base-running drills first after a whole-group warmup (ow! My bike-accident left my left rotator cuff sore and those funky chicken moves hurt! I was trying not to be a wimp and at least it wasn’t my throwing shoulder!). Our group was awesome and included many familiar faces, including SBF’s wife, the African Queen. The base-running drills were very much like last year, but still fun for a refresher on the signs. We suggested Tolman let us know in the stands what the secret body part is so we could hold up cue cards for the batter with 1 (bunt), 2 (hit and run), or 3 (steal) in case they, you know, weren’t looking or didn’t get it!

Next we sat on the bench in the dugout (woo! I shared fanny space!) with Pat Corrales – a very funny man who held nothing back. He explained what his job as a bench coach entails, some behind-the-scenes info on game preparation like how they review video of pitchers they’ll face, how batters have been pitched to in the past, how the batters have responded, etc. I’m fascinated by this video system and have been for quite some time.

Next was the batting cage with hitting coach Lenny Harris. After I took my turn, he asked if I was eligible to be signed. In my head I was thinking, “I’m 36 and too old for this crap!” (ala Paul Lo Duca), “not to mention female,” but heck yeah!! Put me in, coach! (Very flattered, but he probably tells that to all the girls ;-) ) I smacked that ball! He evaluated my first swing, gave me personalized pointers and instruction, then watched my next two. Very cool to get one-on-one instruction from a major league hitting coach, who also talked about his time coaching minor leaguers and the transition to the big leagues. He even danced with some in our group to demonstrate how to rotate the hips during a swing. Maybe he should try doing that with the Nationals players. If anything, they’ll hit better so he doesn’t dance with them again!

The outfield explanation by first base coach Jerry Morales (who I’ll love forever for giving me a foul ball once) reiterated what we learned last year about the center fielder having priority. We also discussed losing balls in the background and the lights, how the route Lastings Milledge takes depends on how quickly he gets good reads and jumps on balls. Good stuff like that. I thought this was where we’d take grounders, but they didn’t do that this year. Bummer! That was the part I enjoyed the most last year.

Our last station took place in the home bullpen with bullpen coach Rick Aponte. No girlie halfway stuff for me this time! I asked if he would back all the way up to behind the ‘plate’ so I could try to pitch the full distance this time. He started me off slowly, initially having me pitch to him halfway, then with each successive pitch moving back until he was behind the spray painted plate. My first ball was “juuuuuust a little inside” (as in, it would have gone behind the right-handed batter – but hey, I’ve seen big league pitchers do that on occasion!). My next two were much closer to the mark, if incredibly slow!

All wrapped up on the field, we headed up to a party suite for a luncheon Q&A with Felipe Lopez and his wife, Jen. MASN sideline reporter Debbi Taylor moderated and started off with a few questions of her own. Tatiana Tchamouroff (on right), the massage therapist who found Dmitri Young’s sweet spot that enabled him to come off the disabled list, also talked about her position with the team, strength of her hands, and what her job entails. I almost asked Felipe about his favorite foods since the luggage I won at an auction that was filled with his “favorites” contained a box of Twinkies, Goya seasoning and other Hispanic staples. Jen Lopez was asked if he was like other husbands, leaving socks lying around or whatnot. She replied that he leaves Twinkie wrappers around! So I guess the Twinkies really were a player favorite! I wanted to dispel the elephant in the room and ask about the Orioles trade rumors (I was just glad he wasn’t traded before the lunch!), but chickened out. Instead I asked his wife if she watches every game. She said she does watch every game he plays in. They joked around and laughed a bit with Felipe poking fun that she likes to shop. If my husband made what he makes, I would too! I also wanted to ask about her posing for the cover of FHM and how it feels (to both of them) to have her photo plastered all over the internet. But again, balk balk balk (does the funky chicken exercise again – ow!) I’m not very good at this journalist thing. That’s why I like to stick to photography ;-)

The luncheon was complete with peanuts and crackerjacks on each table. After the Q&A, we wrapped up and headed out. But we’ll be back for the game tonight as two tickets were included in the package! At least I found the charger for my camera. I’m looking forward to them someday holding a Baseball 201! I’d love to try to pitch from the mound, shag fly balls in the outfield, and hit soft-tossed balls or with the pitching machine! Oooh and sliding! I want to try sliding!

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