Triple Play - Cassie Cole Page 0,101

spent the first few minutes talking about Rafael’s gutsy performance, but the topic quickly changed to me and my career. Jimmy asked all the stereotypical questions about being a female coach—the difficulties involved, earning respect of the players, and then lighter topics like if I was allowed to see them in the locker room or pat them on the ass. Rafael made a rehearsed joke about me having bigger balls than anyone else on the team, and I playfully smacked him on the arm while Jimmy and the audience laughed.

A few days after that came the World Series parade. It started in downtown Dallas and moved west toward Arlington. There were over a dozen floats in the parade filled with members of the Rangers team and staff. I was on the float with Rafael, Gallaraga, and Domingo. The crowds were five people deep as the floats moved through the city, with streamers thrown and signs held up by the fans. Most of the signs mentioned players by name, but suddenly Rafael put a hand on my neck and twisted me around to look at one sign on my left. It was held by a little girl who was sitting on her father’s shoulders above the crowd:

COACH BETTS

I WANT TO BE

A COACH WHEN

I GROW UP TOO!

“You’re a role model,” Rafael said.

I waved at the little girl and pointed at her sign, and gave her a thumbs-up. She squealed with excitement and accidentally dropped the sign in her rush to wave back at me.

The parade was a giant party, too. Fans tossed cans of beer up to the floats for the players to chug. Everyone was happy and giddy. The entire city seemed ecstatic to have its first World Series win. It was the first championship in any sport since the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Finals in 2011.

Even though Joel wasn’t part of the parade, he was waiting for us in the crowd outside Globe Life Field when the parade ended in Arlington. He wasn’t bitter or unhappy about having to watch us celebrate in the aftermath of the World Series. That meant a lot to me, since I still wondered if he held a grudge against me. Now it was clear that he did not.

Free agency began the first week of November. Darryl received a bunch of huge offers from the biggest franchises. The Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets all offered him long contracts.

Much to the frustration of his agent, Darryl turned them all down and took a slightly smaller offer from the Rangers. A hometown discount, they called it. I was in the clubhouse meeting with the rest of the coaches when the news broke.

“Yes!” I shouted when Theo entered the conference room and told us. “How much?”

“Six years, twenty-five million per.”

I was shocked for two different reasons. Firstly, that offer was much lower than what the bigger teams had offered him. And secondly, I didn’t expect Jeff Delorian to actually spend the money.

“It seems winning the World Series has expanded our revenue streams,” Theo explained. “We are in a better place, financially, than before.” He sat at the table. “Let’s discuss the other moves we need to make. Our rotation is solid behind the one-two punch of Rivera and Gallaraga. But our reliever corp could use some bolstering. Cortez is fine as a closer, but we project that his strikeout numbers are not sustainable. There are better free-agent options available.”

“Like Joel Rogers?” I asked.

Theo smiled curtly and lowered his voice. “I would love nothing more than to bring Rogers back to Texas. But Delorian will not approve it. He holds grudges, and he holds them for a long time.”

“Why are you whispering?” I asked.

“The owner is in the office today,” the hitting coach mentioned.

I rose from the desk. “I’ll be right back.”

“Natalie…” Theo warned.

I walked down the hall and around the corner to Jeff Delorian’s office. I knocked once and opened the door without waiting for an answer. He was seated behind a wide oak desk, and another white-haired man sat across from him next to the door.

“We need to talk,” I said.

Delorian nodded to the other gentleman, who rose and made his exit. I closed the door behind him.

“That was the director of Fox Sports Southwest,” Delorian said in that soft voice of his. “We are negotiating a new television deal worth eight hundred million over ten years. Please, sit.”

I remained standing. “I suppose that television deal explains why we’re finally signing Darryl Bryant to a long-term