Last week my column cited four different baseball/softball players who experienced singular moments with our teams. The last player expressed every kid’s dream about hitting a grand slam to win the World Series. Our older daughter expressed this dream in a story she wrote as a ten-year old in her fourth-grade class.Unfortunately, perhaps through an error on my part in transmitting the column or a truncation in the setting of the newspaper, key parts of the story (see bold) were omitted. Here is the complete text of her story:
THE WISH
Ever since I was seven years old I’ve wanted to be a baseball player. I have dreams about the year 1999 (my first year in the minors). I am up to bat in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs, the bases are loaded, count is 3 and 2, and the score is 5-2 Jackson. My team, which is Pawtucket, is losing.
The pitch comes in, I close my eyes and POW! A grand slam! The fans cheered and screeched while I ran around the bases. Then I wake up. Now is really the year 1999 and I do the same thing I did in my dreams.
The next year I was on the Boston Red Sox. It is so much harder up here and my average is only .205.
On September 23, I broke my arm and wrist and wasn’t able to play the last few games. Our team came in second place.
At Spring Training the next year I did great! My average was .409. I had 79 hits, 53 rbi’s, 17 home runs, and 57 runs.
The Sox and I don’t have a contract yet because they are only offering $350,000 for my next two years.
Finally they agreed for $900,000. Boy was I relieved!
My years of playing ball with the Sox were great but my last year I got traded for Mike Turner who was on the New York Mets.
That year we won the National League and won three games and lost three in the World Series. I was up to bat in the bottom of the ninth, the bases were loaded, two outs, the count was 3 and 2, and the score was 7-4 Toronto. The pitch comes in, it curves around the backstop, goes to the outfield, past the pitcher, to home plate, I swing and it’s a grand slam! I couldn’t believe it, my last hit of my career was a grand slam.
NOTE: The balls had computers in them, so when the pitch went wild, it just meant that the pitcher typed in what it wanted the ball to do.
May this dream come true for all of the youth baseball players (and for any dreaming parents) in Concord!
