RTTS got me thinking, Has anyone on the forum ever gotten close in real life to playing in the Major Leagues? If so, what was it like?
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Re: The real show
Don't like to brag, but I was MVP of my 12-year-old little league team.
"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes." -
Re: The real show
a hitting coach i worked with made it to AA, but had to quit because of an injury.
i worked at a university here in toronto as a hitting coach, as well as with many AA teams.
he has connections with a lot of major league umpires, former and current players and coaches...
its pretty interesting to hear some of his stories :P
anyways, back on topic, the closest I have made so far is high school baseballLast edited by nmycon; 02-18-2010, 10:09 PM.Comment
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Re: The real show
No. But I almost made it as an extra in the movie "Major League". Close enough?Comment
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Re: The real show
When I was in High School I got a hit off a future major league pitcher! I went to Crystal Lake Central and got to face Scott Olsen who went to Crystal Lake South a few times. He was actually born only 6 days after me (Jan 6, 1984 vs Jan 12, 1984). That's as close as I ever got and as close as I ever will get!
Gamertag and PSN ID: PattinoComment
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Re: The real show
Never once had the ability to even begin dreaming of playing in The Show, but having bounced around as a sportswriter, I've covered major league baseball when schedule and circumstance permits.
Then again, some would argue that the level the Pirates play at would not be "major league."Comment
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Re: The real show
Do 3 at-bats on my high school JV team count? At least I'll forever have a .333 average...Note to self: BUY MADDEN 12*
*there are considerable franchise upgrades
One More Time - A New York Yankees DynastyComment
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Re: The real show
I went to Cary-Grove.When I was in High School I got a hit off a future major league pitcher! I went to Crystal Lake Central and got to face Scott Olsen who went to Crystal Lake South a few times. He was actually born only 6 days after me (Jan 6, 1984 vs Jan 12, 1984). That's as close as I ever got and as close as I ever will get!Comment
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Re: The real show
My HS head coach likes to think he could coach in the majors...
Sorry, tough day at practice
Anyway,
I have a friend who's dad pitched in the big leagues. Also, used to have a hitting coach who played AAA ball."Life is like baseball, it's the number of times you arrive home safely that counts"Comment
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Re: The real show
My coach made it too AAA for San Francisco as a catcher but had shoulder surgery, he knows a guy that plays for the Yankees( never thought to ask). Our Infielding coach has buddy that was the bullpen catcher for the Rays and went Oppo Taco against Dice-K. Thats my distant claim to famePSN: FLOWdj15Comment
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Re: The real show
I stopped with college ball. My Grandpa played in the minors for the Cardinals.
I can't shave with my eyes closed, meaning each day I have to look at myself in the mirror and respect who I see.
I miss the old days of Operation Sports :(
Louisville Cardinals/St.Louis CardinalsComment
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Re: The real show
I have a teacher/coach at my high school. He played high school ball in maryland and had the opportunity to play at UNC but he went to a D3 school (St.Vincent college) instead so he could play all 4 years which he did and ended up breaking the schools record for most career hits. In high school he hit a near HR off of Gavin Floyd (Chi Wht Sox Pitcher), it was a foul ball and on the next pitch Floyd hit him right in the back. He played on the same team as late Nick Adenhart. He also played against Mark Texiera in his state playoffs. But after all that he was offered a contract by the Yankees, Marlins, and Rays. . .he turned them down to be a computer teacher and JV baseball coach at a AA school in pennsylvania. We all say he is the dumbest man alive but he for some reason takes pride in what he does. . .teaching a bunch of speds who just dick around the whole class.
One of my other coaches was 4 days away from getting called up to the big leagues. He was in the rays system. He got a shoulder injury (career ending) now he is an AD at a JuCo, which has one of the best baseball programs on the East Coast. So i guess ive been around some pretty big former players and they have taught me some pretty useful stuff and they say i have potential to be a good pitcher
maybe even D1. . .so who knows i could be some day.
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Re: The real show
Baseball was the only sport as a kid that I was actually pretty good at. (Probably part of the reason why I love the game. That, in addition to the fact that when I was young my dad was in the Navy and constantly out to sea, so we never spent much time together aside from watching Yankees games. The man had a lot of patience with all the questions I asked about the game in an attempt to learn it).
I played little league for a few years while in elementary school. I was very short and not growing at the rate that my peers were. So whenever I'd come up to bat, they would always bring the outfield in. Still, I managed to put together a very good batting average and was constantly batting third in the lineup. One year, I think I hit something like .490 but can't tell for sure since our coaches never told us our batting averages as they wanted us to focus on the game and not our own stats. But I recall sneaking a peak at their stats book and seeing my name and .490 next to it in the batting average column. 
Little league is also where I learned to never slide into home head first. I wasn't good at sliding feet first (as I would always end up just going straight down and not really sliding forward) and on a ball hit up the middle (I was on 2nd base) I took off and ran towards home. Amazingly, the centerfielder actually fielded the ball and threw a strike to homeplate. I foolishly dove headfirst into the catcher's shinguards knocking him back a few feet and making me very lightheaded and woozy for the rest of the game. Still, I managed to work my hand in and touch homeplate before he got the glove down. Shockingly the home plate umpire, who was the catcher's father, saw my hand touch the plate and called me safe. It ended up being the winning run. 
Later on that same season, it was the last game of the year and we were tied for first place with the team we were playing against. They had their "star pitcher" throwing for them (the brother of the "coolest kid" at our school) who was in the same level as I was even though he was a good three years younger. He threw very fast, but VERY straight. The first time up there, I drilled one for a triple to right center field. Next time up, I drilled another one over the centerfield fence. (My first homerun). Finally, the third time up, the catcher stood up and said "Guys, back up. This kid's good!" I was gleaming. Of course, I swung out of my shoes and whiffed on three pitches. lol. Still, it was a great feeling. The team ended up losing the game, which sucked, but I felt good.
I played again the next year, but our team sucked and at that time, the pitchers were starting to throw in weak breaking balls. (I know that little leaguers shouldn't be throwing breaking balls, but they weren't doing the wrist/elbow twisting ones. Just releasing the ball and doing some weird things that made the ball move slightly as it came to the plate). I couldn't hit those. Finally, when high school came around I tried out for the baseball team there (after a few years of not playing) and during tryouts I was still able to hit the fastball, but every time a curveball came my way, whether it was a good one or not, I missed badly. I just can not hit a curveball if my life depended on it. My baseball days where now overwith.
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