Trevor's Story

Trevor whipped togther a story today as he realized last minute he had an assignment due tommorrow morning. It is not like Trevor, who is Mr. Responsibile when it comes to school. What impressed me was what he "threw together"! I'm just a little proud...

The Best Time of my Life
By Trevor Crippen

The best time of my life was when I had my baseball tournament. It was the year 2006 I was only 8 years old. I had great skill and I could hit the ball pretty hard when it came to hitting, but none of that would be nearly good enough for what I would face. This is how it all started.

GAME ONE
“Sttttrrriikke… two!” yelled the umpire. I could hear my teammates gathering up their things. The count was now 2-2. It was the middle of the season. It was the 6th inning which is all we have in little league. I was up with two outs on me. There was a runner on 1st and 3rd. We were down by one run. “Okay.” I thought. “I could try to squeeze a bunt, get a single to score from 3rd to tie, or just look for a walk.” I was running out of time. The pitcher went into his windup and released the ball. “Crack” I smacked a hard grounder to the right side of the shortstop. He scooped up the ball and fired it to second base. Luckily, the play was too late and the ball came to first from the second basemen. Would I be safe? “Smack.” Yes my foot had touched the bag before the ball got here. “Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Ouuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttttt!!! I gave the umpire a dirty look and thought, “This is going to be a long season.” I slowly walked back to my dugout packed up my stuff and walked home.

GAME TWO
“T..r.e..v..o.r.. T..r.e..v.o…r wake up.” “Huuhh? Where am I?” You’re at school you fell asleep in class. “What time is it?” I asked. “5:00. Why?” my teacher asked. Oh No I was late for my last game of the season! This was the game that got us to the tournament. “Sorry got to go bye!” I sprinted to my field the game was just starting. My coach quickly spotted me. “You’re late.” he said. I had managed to put my uniform on on the way. I grabbed my glove and hustled onto the field. “Play Ball!”
The first time I came up to bat I got walked in the 2nd inning. During the 3rd inning one of my teammates scored. In the 5th inning I got into a double play to lead us into the 6th inning. We were up by one run. We were so close to winning. With only one out to go, the batter walked up to the batter’s box. On the second pitch he made contact. A line drive to the right side of third. “Foul ball!” The umpire called. I noticed it was the same umpire that called me out. The next pitch was on the outside corner he took a swing and fired a grounder to me! I went into a position and waited for the ball to come. I came up and tried to throw the ball. But I realized I didn’t have it. It had slipped through my legs. I looked behind me and looked at the ball. I grabbed it and went to throw it once again but it was too late. They had scored and tied the game. The other team was cracking up with laughter at me. After another out the game was over and we did not win because of me.
I had let my team down again for the 2nd time in a row. My coach walked up to me and said “Trevor what went wrong out there?”. “I’m not sure” I replied. “I’ve sort of been in a slump lately.” I hung my head “Don’t be so down on yourself Trevor. You can make it up. Our next game Saturday. And always remember, never ever ever give up because nothing is impossible. As long as you believe you can do it, it can be done.” And with that he left.

GAME THREE –TOURNAMENT DAY
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnnnngggggggggggg……it was Saturday the game of my tournament. School had just ended. As I walked out the door, my teacher told me good luck with a wink. “Thanks,” I said. Outside the classroom, I noticed a bunch of kids I had played against at my last game. “Hey butterfingers see you at the game today!” they said and walked away laughing. At home I got ready for my game and walked to the field to get a little practice before the game.
“Play Ball!” The game was starting. During the 1st inning both teams scored. In the 2nd inning, I batted and got a single but nobody scored. Entering the 3rd inning with the score 2-2 both teams were getting tired. The 4th inning nothing happened. In the 5th the other team scored 3 runs making the score 5-2. In the 6th inning my team had given up, nobody wanted to bat. The bases were loaded and there were two outs. My coach walked over to me and said “Trevor I need you to bat.” Everyone on the bench stared at me and the coach. He handed me a bat. I couldn’t say anything. I didn’t know what to say. Me? Why would he want me to bat? I’ve been in a slump the past two games! But I didn’t argue. I walked up to the plate. I slammed my bat to the plate 2 times and pointed my bat to center field as if I was calling my shot. “Don’t mess up butterfingers!” the center fielder yelled. I watched two pitches go by, took a cut at the next one, watched another one, and a swing and a miss for the count to end up at 3-2. In the corner of my eye, I could see my teammates packing up their stuff. My coach yelled, “Remember what I told you Trevor.” The pitch came I watched it all the way until it and my bat connected. “SMACK!”
I had hit a long ball to the outfield. I sprinted to 1st base still amazed how far I had hit it. The ball smacked against the center field wall as I rounded to head to 2nd. The center fielder threw the ball to his cutoff man as I dug to third. The throw to 3rd came as I slid head first. I touched the bag and looked for the call from the umpire. Saaaaaaaaaffffffffffffeeeeeeeeeee!!!
My team looked up in shock and I winked at them. The crowd went wild. The score was now tied at 5-5. I thought to myself, if I really want to stand out and win the game I will have to take a risk. I took a couple steps off the bag. The pitcher was furious I had hit that hard off him. He glared at me before going into his wind up and releasing the ball. It was a ball. The next pitch was a ball. As the pitcher went into his windup I took off trying to steal home plate. The pitcher panicked and threw the ball wild. The catcher jumped up to catch the ball and fell back. He got up quickly ready to tag me. I charged in sliding barley touching home plate with my hand. There was a ton of dust and when it all went away I looked at the umpire. I looked around and noticed the ball by the umpire’s foot.
Saaaaaaaaaaffffffffffeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
And well that’s how it was. After that my team never doubted me again. I got to see many of my teammates the following years playing. But the most important thing to remember about this story is what my coach said. Never ever ever give up because nothing is impossible as long as you believe you can do it, it can be done. And that is the best time of my life.