ROOKIE YEAR!

CASH'S '06 REDSOX TEAM SPONSOR

PHOTO BY: JAMES COOK

'06 SPONSOR OF CASH REYNOLDS AND THE REDSOX

HOLE IN THE WALL BBQ

RESTAURANT AND CATERING

RESTAURANT SERVING LUNCH AND DINNER

TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

3200 W. 11th EUGENE, OR.

505-5285

holeinthewallbbq.com

ROOKIE YEAR

BY: CASH REYNOLDS

I've never really been a Baseball fan but I really enjoy the comedy movie "Major League", so much so that I can't count the number of times that I've seen it over the last few years. One day last August, ('05), as I sat in my living room watching Charlie Sheen's character "Ricky 'Wild Thing' Vaughn" throw 96mph fastballs during spring training, I thought to myself, "hey I should get up off the couch and go see if I can learn how to pitch". I did. After finding a glove on fall clearance at a department store I packed my c.d. walkman, complete with the "Major League" soundtrack, my three new balls and my glove out to a local ball field and started throwing.

Learning all I could from pitching how-to books and instructional videotapes from the public library was a great help to me in getting started. next I borrowed my Mom's video camera & tripod to review the mechanics of my delivery.
I practiced all fall and winter hoping to find a men's amateur hardball league in the area. Sometime during the winter I found the E.M.S.B.L. website. To my delight there was an "Indians" team with uniforms modeled after MLB's "Cleveland Indians" just like in the movie!

As spring approached and I began to feel comfortable with my delivery and accuracy I contacted league Commissioner, "John Jessel", whom I found to be very friendly and encouraging, and asked if I could be placed on or try out for the "Indians". John spoke highly of Indians player/manager Victor Eddens and after I talked with Vic over the phone was invited to practice to see where I might fit in on the team.

Vic put me on the mound first thing and even though I didn't exactly have "Wild Thing" velocity I did hit the strike zone pretty consistently. Vic finally stoped me and said, "I like what i'm seeing". It was hard to believe that after nine months of teaching myself to pitch I made the team. Pitching for the Indians after a spring tryout just like in the movie that had inspired me to take up playing ball in the first place, what are the odds? My "Major League" fantasy was taking shape!

When I learned that we had "RedSox" uniforms on order for the up coming season I took the opportunity to play out my "Major League" movie dream at our first pre-season scrimmage game. After setting up my camcorder I took the mound to pitch to just a single batter that day. With the song "Wild Thing" from the "Major League" soundtrack playing on mini speakers in the dugout I stepped onto the rubber with my red billed "Chief Wahoo" cap & black horn rimmed glasses complete with skull & crossbones on the bridge ready to throw my first real pitch against a live batter. I reared back, fired, & Called strike one!

A few game days into the season I got my first opportunity to pitch in a real game. It was the top of the seventh inning with one out and a count of three "balls". My first pitch was a ball and the batter walked to first. I worked the count a little bit against the next batter and he eventually grounded out. Then with "two" down it was the opposing teams last opportunity to score and with lots of encouragement from the dugout and the field I struck out the next batter ending the game with the bases loaded. What a first outing! I remember that I couldn't get the smile off my face the entire time I was out on the mound that day. It was kind of surreal pitching in a real baseball game just months after having conceived of the idea, and getting batters out no less! Does it get any more fun than this?

MY FIRST APPEARANCE ON THE MOUND WITH MY SPONSORS

BILLBOARD IN THE BACKGROUND BEHIND ME

LOOK AT THAT SMILE, MY FACE HURT BY THE TIME

I LEFT THE MOUND

My next outing several Sundays later started out to be similar to my first. With my outfielders' cry; " Kash King Liquidator!" to bolster my confidence (and make me laugh) I proceeded to strike out the first batter I faced. The second batter popped one up into the infield for another out and after I walked the next three batters I was taken out of the game. "How can these guys lay off pitches that close?"

We lost our first thirteen games of the season. Our fourteenth game we finally had a shot at winning when we went into extra innings in a tie ballgame. In the bottom of the eighth I came up to bat and with some encouragement and batting tips from my teammates I got my second hit of the season. "Tony Little" came in to run for me (as I suffered from too much Ben & Jerry's). Tony eventually made it around to third and then our catcher "Brian" came up to bat and drove Tony in to score the winning run for our first "W" of the season! Our dugout cleared and we all rushed the plate to congratulate Tony and celebrate our first victory! Fun times! After leading the league in striking out at the plate it was an absolute thrill to finally get a hit with my black, wood, "Pedro Cerrano" style bat and contribute to our first win of the season.

Our last double header of the regular season we had the privilege of playing at O.S.U.'s "Goss Stadium", home of the college World Series champs! Talk about fun! It was our team, the "RedSox" vs. the "Padres".

The first game of our double header Vic gave me my first "start" of the season. My job was to get the ball over the plate, get the ball put into play and let my fielders make the outs. That's just what we did. Our outfield made some good catches and our infield made some great plays holding the Padres into the third inning when I ran into a little trouble. Being new to pitching (and Baseball for that matter) I wasn't practiced in pitching from the stretch and the runners began stealing on me, not to mention I kept balking. So our Skip pulled me before runners started scoring on me.

Jerry Smith came in for me and later James Cook finished out the game and thanks to thier pitching combined with great plays in the field and some live bats at the plates we ended up with our third win of the season!

By the second game, our final regular season game, we were "ON". Our bats were on fire, we continued making good plays in the field and "Dan Johnson" pitched a great game. I batted once that game and got my third base hit of the season, my only RBI, and only Run Scored of the season all at the same "at bat", It was a thrill to have contributed in one way or another to three of our four regular season wins. What a way to finish out the regular season!

Everyone was very supportive and ,ade playing ball this year an absolute blast for me. I thank God through Jesus, Messiah for my health and the opportunity to do something so fun, just for myself this year. Thanks to my teammates for thier patientswith me and for thier support, encouragement and for working with me over the season and teaching me the game of Baseball. Thanks to our "Skipper", Victor Eddens for taking me on this season and giving me the opportunity to pitch. I would also like to say "thank you" to John Jessel for hooking me up with Vic and the RedSox and for all the time, effort and work he puts into the league so that we can all enjoy playing Baseball. Special thanks to the RedSox official team "Mom", Lynn Deering for being a great support, making this season possible for me and for coming out to cheer us on! Thanks to my good friend Brice "the Window Man" Basset for his support. Thanks also to Richard Becker and "Hole In The Wall BBQ" (the best BBQ this side of Texas!) for sponsoring me and making it possible for me to play. Thanks to "Troy" the bread delivery man for his financial support also.