DON'T DIE ON THIRD-by Ramon Ruste
It was like one of those classic games in sports, right down to the last minutes. I was not just a spectator cheering for my favourite team; I was the team, or at least as a pitcher, I was a part of the softball team on its way to the championship, definitely spelling out a difference in terms of adrenalin’s presence in one’s body.
An aborted home run brought me standing on the third base. The game was down to the last 9th inning with our team doing the last batting. The score was 3-2 in favour of our opponents, The Knights. With two outs, our team’s next player to stand on the batting plate was a right fielder who had a poor batting record of six standing strike outs in a 5-game season. Everybody was thinking the same thing: What were our chances of tying the ball game? And probably winning the Championship with an extended inning?
Our team, The Light Bringers, had a chance if only our teammate could make a good batting, allowing me enough time to run for the home plate and tie the score at 3-3. But there was a fear that he would simply succumb again to a standing strike out and leave me stuck and figuratively dying on the third base. A daunting thought indeed, a worst case scenario. And just as we had initially feared, the unwanted scenario struck. The umpire called two strikes and a thrown ball against our batting player. And being a pitcher myself, I knew that the opposing pitcher would take advantage of his pitch count of one ball and two strikes. He would definitely swing for a wild pitch, hoping to deceive our batter for an extended swing at his bat and eventually striking him out.
Being the assistant team captain, the only thing I could think of while contemplating the critical situation was: Don’t die on third! Glimpses of what we were taught in high school about getting inspiration from great people and leaders entered my mind. In sports, I knew that the late Lou Gehrig, a pitcher and a first baseman with the New York Yankees, was a standout. At this point, I felt that increasing our chances of winning depended on me. I had observed that the catcher of the opposing team, sniffing a win within his grasp, would just quickly throw back the ball to the pitcher, unmindful of my advanced position on the third base (already just a few feet away from the home plate for a vantage run to make a score). With this in mind, I decided to take my chance for a steal base. And right on cue, I made a dash for the home plate, luckily catching the pitcher off-guards as I went sliding down my goal, lifting in the process a mist of hovering dust with the catcher trying desperately to get hold of a ground ball pass from his pitcher to tag me out. The only thing I heard as I reached the home plate was a shout from the umpire declaring me: Safe!
For me it was a risk worth taking, as true to my prediction our batter got his 7th standing strike out. My desperate home plate run gave us a tied ball game that eventually won our team the championship after an extended 10th inning game that saw the final score at 5-3.
The phrase “Don’t die on third” and the softball championship taught me a lot not only in sports but in life’s struggle. They provide me with the right impetus not to give up easily when in pursuit of goals and objectives. ●
An aborted home run brought me standing on the third base. The game was down to the last 9th inning with our team doing the last batting. The score was 3-2 in favour of our opponents, The Knights. With two outs, our team’s next player to stand on the batting plate was a right fielder who had a poor batting record of six standing strike outs in a 5-game season. Everybody was thinking the same thing: What were our chances of tying the ball game? And probably winning the Championship with an extended inning?
Our team, The Light Bringers, had a chance if only our teammate could make a good batting, allowing me enough time to run for the home plate and tie the score at 3-3. But there was a fear that he would simply succumb again to a standing strike out and leave me stuck and figuratively dying on the third base. A daunting thought indeed, a worst case scenario. And just as we had initially feared, the unwanted scenario struck. The umpire called two strikes and a thrown ball against our batting player. And being a pitcher myself, I knew that the opposing pitcher would take advantage of his pitch count of one ball and two strikes. He would definitely swing for a wild pitch, hoping to deceive our batter for an extended swing at his bat and eventually striking him out.
Being the assistant team captain, the only thing I could think of while contemplating the critical situation was: Don’t die on third! Glimpses of what we were taught in high school about getting inspiration from great people and leaders entered my mind. In sports, I knew that the late Lou Gehrig, a pitcher and a first baseman with the New York Yankees, was a standout. At this point, I felt that increasing our chances of winning depended on me. I had observed that the catcher of the opposing team, sniffing a win within his grasp, would just quickly throw back the ball to the pitcher, unmindful of my advanced position on the third base (already just a few feet away from the home plate for a vantage run to make a score). With this in mind, I decided to take my chance for a steal base. And right on cue, I made a dash for the home plate, luckily catching the pitcher off-guards as I went sliding down my goal, lifting in the process a mist of hovering dust with the catcher trying desperately to get hold of a ground ball pass from his pitcher to tag me out. The only thing I heard as I reached the home plate was a shout from the umpire declaring me: Safe!
For me it was a risk worth taking, as true to my prediction our batter got his 7th standing strike out. My desperate home plate run gave us a tied ball game that eventually won our team the championship after an extended 10th inning game that saw the final score at 5-3.
The phrase “Don’t die on third” and the softball championship taught me a lot not only in sports but in life’s struggle. They provide me with the right impetus not to give up easily when in pursuit of goals and objectives. ●
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ramon Ruste, a trained accountant, is from the Philippines. He is currently working as Technical Cost Controller in Abuja. He has lived abroad for a great part of his adult life, working first in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and then coming to Nigeria. He has been in Abuja for the last seven years, actively involving himself in civic and social activities - qualities that got him elected for a one-year term as President of the Filipino community in 2002. As a sports lover, he plays bowling and runs regularly to keep fit. Ramon is an advocate of “eat and burn strategy” to maintain body weight.
Who was Lou Gehrig?
Lou Gehrig was an American baseball player in the 1920s and 1930s. He set several Major League records and was popularly called the "The Iron Horse" for his durability. He was voted the greatest first baseman of all time by the Baseball Writers' Association. A native of New York City, he played for the New York Yankees until his career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now commonly referred to in the United States as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Over a 15-season span between 1925 and 1939, he played in 2,130 consecutive games. The streak ended when Gehrig became disabled with the fatal neuromuscular disease that claimed his life two years later. (Source: Wikipedia)
Who was Lou Gehrig?
Lou Gehrig was an American baseball player in the 1920s and 1930s. He set several Major League records and was popularly called the "The Iron Horse" for his durability. He was voted the greatest first baseman of all time by the Baseball Writers' Association. A native of New York City, he played for the New York Yankees until his career was cut short by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), now commonly referred to in the United States as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Over a 15-season span between 1925 and 1939, he played in 2,130 consecutive games. The streak ended when Gehrig became disabled with the fatal neuromuscular disease that claimed his life two years later. (Source: Wikipedia)
