Scott was born with a baseball mitt on his hand. Well maybe not, but he has loved baseball all his life. I wish that I had kept track of the hours spent playing catch in the back yard, at baseball practices and at games from little league through high school. This season alone he played in about 90 hours of games and if practice hours and travel time is added on it comes to about 260 hours, nearly 20 hours each week of the season.
Like many boys, Scott has dreamed of being a baseball star. If dreams could come true, he’d be headed for a collegiate career and then possibly moving into the minor leagues. I think he figured out a couple of years ago that he wasn’t going to have that dream come true, but it didn’t diminish his love for the game or his work ethic. Running is part of the conditioning of the baseball team. As a freshman, Scott decided that he would come in first in EVERY running workout, and he has. Sometimes they run sprints on the track, other times it’s repeated 800’s or miles and even though it is not a race, Scott by choice, has always come in first. If work ethic alone was the only determining factor in making a great baseball athlete, Scott would be drafted to the Majors this year.
In June of 2009, our family sat along the third base line at a San Francisco Giants game. That night we witnessed what has been called baseball’s most exciting play. Omar Vizquel stole home. In a Sports Illustrated article entitled, “Stealing Home”, Bruce Schoenfeld says, “the straight steal of home – not the back end of a double steal, not the steal off a botched suicide squeeze, but a premeditated dash down the third base line in a quixotic effort to beat a pitch to the plate – IS the most electrifying act in sports. It combines the drama of a penalty shot, the intrigue of a flea-flicker and the rousing effect of a backboard-shattering dunk.” We are among the elite because even many major league players have never seen in person, a player steal home. It happened so fast and was so unexpected to me, that I sat there dumbfounded and had to ask what happened. The fans were cheering, laughing and questioning what we had just witnessed.
Scott was spellbound by the play. The boys talked about it for days and right then Scott decided to try to steal home. Stealing home, however, is not something you go about doing haphazardly. There are many considerations and Scott, not wanting to ruin his chances of accomplishing this feat by doing it wrong, began studying the process. He realized that if he carelessly made a wild attempt and got caught he might never have the chance again. Scott began reading everything he could find about baseball techniques and he began thinking about how to better play the game. When the season rolled around this year, he confided in Matt and I... and only one other person about his plan to steal home, third base coach, Scott Hague. The way he saw it was that if he could make it to third base with a left-handed pitcher on the mound, and ideally 2 outs in the inning, he would make a try. He questioned whether or not to let the batter know his intentions. If the batter knew he was coming for home, he might change his stance, his swing, or even look at the runner and give it away to the pitcher or catcher that he was trying to steal. If the batter didn’t know, there is a good chance that he would be in mid-swing as Scott slid in and the collision between bat and head could be disastrous. He didn’t tell the head coach or any of the other coaches. Schoenfeld says, “Other than the home run, the steal of home is the only play in baseball in which one player single-handedly changes the score." Most likely his head coach wouldn’t have allowed the attempt, knowing that Scott had a better chance of scoring by waiting at third for a passed ball by the catcher or a base hit by the batter.
This year Scott wanted so deeply to win every game and make it to the section play-offs. As a sophomore he was “called up” to the Varsity team as they headed into play-offs and it was thrilling for him. While there are many good players this year, they never came together as a team. Scott would come home frustrated from practice and games because only he and few others really wanted to work hard and win. Many of the boys were on the team as off-season athletes. In other words, basketball or soccer is their main sport and baseball, while interesting and fun, is not their passion.
But, Scott never gives up. He continued to remain positive with his team, to work hard and to try to motivate others.
Watching your child play is emotionally exhausting. I think about it during the day, I sit in the stands yearning for him to have success. In fact, I’ve had a pit in my stomach since January. The outcome of the game or the season is of minor concern to me, I really just want my child to be happy. I wonder how many prayers have been uttered that plead with God to “just let him catch this ball”, “please let him get a hit", "don't let him make the third out", “please let him score the winning run”. We sit together as parents, with empathy for the family whose boy plays a poor game, and with glee for the boy who makes a great play.
I am proud of Scott because he became the inspiration for the team. In a game against Pitman High School, the first three innings started of terrifically, but then the pitcher started to have problems and Pitman began to score; Scott's team gave up and lost miserably. After the game, Coach Hague talked to the players about having their whole heart in the game. Scott took every word into his soul. The next week he, with the help of Matt, had team t-shirts made.
As you can see they are a reminder to each player about how to mentally play the game. At one of the next games, as they were loading the bus, Scott began passing out t-shirts. No one knew he had done this, not even the coaches, but they all loved it. By the time they got to the game, each boy and coach was wearing their shirt and they continued to wear them during warm-ups before each game.
I think his enthusiasm influenced even the coaches. Shortly after the t-shirt day, the boys showed up at practice to find the coaches cooking and serving a BBQ meal to them. Just having a day off and having fun together, helped build some team spirit.
Here they are in our backyard enjoying more food and fun.
Then on Thursday, April 21st, the coaches were at it again. While the boys were out on the field warming up for a game against Atwater, the coaches gathered all the boys' jerseys and included their own. When the boys came to the dugout, they randomly passed out a jersey to each boy. No one received his own number. Scott wore #8 for the game and Coach Hague wore Scott’s #6. He teased Scott, saying that just wearing his #6 jersey not only made him feel buff (it was a pretty tight fit) but also spiritually sound.
It was the perfect day. Sunshine, no wind.
Scott played centerfield for the game and in the bottom of the second inning, he hit what should have been a double but the outfielder bobbled the ball and Scott turned it into a triple.
Standing on 3rd base, few realized the day-blind stars were aligned.
After the first pitch to the next batter, Coach Hague whispered to Scott, “You can take this guy.” On the next pitch Scott jumped off third base and tested the pitchers' attentiveness. I sat there watching and realized what Scott was going to do. I began praying with all my heart. Again Coach Hague repeated his prompting, Scott says it was like a still, small voice. On the third pitch Scott ran full out for home. He says he doesn’t remember anything until the headfirst slide. Meanwhile, as Scott began to run, I began to cheer and others yelled as well. The pitcher was slow in his wind up and Scott was way ahead of the ball. The batter, confused by the cheering stepped out of the box as Scott slid across the plate and came up smiling.
Teammates were stunned, coaches were smiling, the crowd was cheering and I started crying. I haven’t stopped. I’m sure others thought I was incredibly dramatic but they have no idea how much went into this single play. Scott gave Matt the game ball.
Last week Scott had his final game of the season and his final game of baseball. Matt, Scott and I all cried. It too, was a perfect day for a baseball game. Scott played well. I was moved as I looked around the stands and saw so many of his friends that had come to see his final game. I realized that the “ballet girls” were there with many of their moms. After Karin left the dance studio, Scott and I continued to attend every Nutcracker and spring performance of the ballet company. Most of the girls have been classmates of his and we grew to love them during the years that Karin taught and danced with them and Scott went to school with them. I have never seen another high school boy attend the performances, but Scott always takes flowers and shows his appreciation for these friends. So when they showed up with their moms and even a “ballet grandpa”, again I was crying in the stands. It means a lot to see that your child has been a good friend to others.
After the game, Coach Hague said to me, "there are some players you never forget, I have never seen someone study and think about baseball as much as Scott, and I will never forget the 'steal home'.”
Neither will I.
Scott has received a scholarship from a local baseball memorial foundation.
