We start at 11:03 p.m., like it’s June in Alaska and we can play under the midnight sun. Jake Burger taps the freshly painted plate, a half-hour after receiving the player of the year award. He walks. Illinois State is…
Category: Missouri State
A frat boy chews on sunflower seeds, spitting the shells on the concrete floor as he watches an Indiana State batter jog back to the dugout, head down, after grounding out to second. I’m still thinking of Justin Paulsen. I…
He cracks the ball and races down the basepath, lunging to avoid the Missouri pitcher’s tag. And he falls to the ground. I don’t know him, Aaron Meyer, but I can imagine that as a child he wrapped rubber bands around his…
A baserunner The batter twists when the ball bruises his back. He jogs toward first base and stands up straight. He does not reach over his shoulder to hold the aching muscle. Instead he ignores it, speaking to the first base…
I hopped down the steps toward the Missouri State dugout in the fourth inning. Earlier that night I’d waited in line with sorority girls and golf players so we could offer two dollars and a glimpse of our photo ID in…
The catcher knelt in the dirt holding his face in his hands as if he’d lost something dear to him. In fact he lost the ball with two strikes as it bounced in the dirt and bounded to the right…
Sean holds his aluminum bat level as the fastball reaches him and the ball dribbles down the chalk line the third baseman charges the plate until I can see triangles made of eye black dripping down his jaws. “Let it…
I wipe dust off a green chair and sit down and expect someone to tell me to move where my ticket says I should go Someone might ask me if I’m scouting that hitter whose hands sting when he stands…