knew what the radar gun would illustrate.
81.
His normal fastball was in the mid-nineties.
Rafael blinked at the radar with surprise. “Let me give you another one.”
Once again the radar gun flashed his speed in the low-eighties.
Disappointment spread across his face. He removed his baseball cap and ruffled his hair.
“Well then.”
I rose and removed my catcher’s gear. “I’m glad you’re not experiencing any pain or discomfort. But the gun doesn’t lie. I don’t think you’re going to be pitching any time soon.”
He stared down at the dirt. “Alright.”
Gallaraga and one of the bullpen catchers arrived. I tossed the glove to the latter and said, “Rafa has been cleared to throw a medical bullpen. Loosen himself up and feel how things go. Catch about thirty pitches from him while I chat with Gallaraga.”
“You got it, Coach.”
I patted Rafael on the shoulder as I walked over to the other pitcher.
*
Since we were leading the series three games to one, we had all the momentum and the pressure was on the Indians. They had to win tonight or else their season would be over. On the other side of things, we were one win away from going to the World Series.
The momentum showed. We got a big lead for Gallaraga early, and led the game 5-0 in the second inning. That knocked their ace out of the game, and rather than use one of their relievers the Indians sent out their number-two starter. It was a desperate, emergency move.
But it worked. Their number-two starter shined on the mound and didn’t allow the Rangers to score any runs. Meanwhile, the Indians chipped away at our lead. A run in the fourth, another in the sixth, two in the seventh. Going into the ninth inning we had a slim 5-4 lead.
The crowd cheered as Cortez came out of the bullpen and made the long jog to the mound. He was as capable a closer as we ever could have hoped for. He had done a fantastic job in the last two months of the season.
But I couldn’t help but wish it was Joel on the mound.
The Rangers crowd knew what was at stake. They could smell how close we were to the World Series, and they took to their feet and cheered loudly. The crowd noise was a constant background din, like the sound of the ocean at the beach. Omnipresent. Cortez made his warm-up pitches and the Indians batter stepped up to the plate.
Cortez induced a weak ground ball for the first out. The next batter struck out on three straight pitches without swinging the bat. The noise grew louder.
“One out away,” I whispered. “We’re so close…”
The first pitch to the next batter was a curveball, something Cortez rarely threw. The batter slapped it into right field for a single.
Everyone in the stadium exhaled.
Cortez looked cool and calm as he walked around the mound. The Indians substituted the man on first for a pinch-runner. On the first pitch, the runner took off for second base and slid head-first, barely beating out the throw from the catcher.
There was a nervous buzz among the fans in the stadium. The tying run was now in scoring position. All they needed was a hit…
Cortez threw another curveball for the first pitch. He was trying to get ahead of the batter by stealing a strike, but the left-handed batter was ready for it.
The bat cracked, and he pulled a line drive to the right side of the infield.
It soared over Darryl’s head. He leaped into the air, glove flashing high above him like he was trying to touch the sky. For a split second I held my breath along with everyone else in the stadium.
Darryl landed on both feet. He looked down into his glove. Then he raised both hands above his head.
“YES!” I screamed, but it was drowned out by forty thousand other voices.
The other Rangers players fled the dugout like someone had dropped a grenade. Everyone tackled Darryl over by first base and fell into a big dog pile. The outfielders came sprinting in to join the party, jumping and pumping their fists. The fireworks went off high above us, and the stadium lights flickered and strobed.
Back in the dugout, the coaches and managers all shook hands and hugged. “We did it!” the manager told me. “We won the pennant!”
Winning at home was a much better experience than defeating the Yankees on the road. The stadium trembled as the fans jumped up and down and beer sprayed in the