soul of baseball

Chapter 682 Don't Watch Pitching Amnesia
Although there is a follow-up plot related, this player's letter should not have appeared here.

But this is Ankiel!Of course the letter he wrote must not be missed!
The hero is coming back!

***After Pitching Amnesia***
A letter from Rick Ankiel to himself as a child.

I briefly introduced this player before, a young man who was sure to become a super strong pitcher suffered from pitching amnesia and had no choice but to leave the mound and became an outfielder with a laser shoulder.

The three swordsman who has never been seen before or since will return to the major leagues as a pitcher!

It's not easy, people who have pitched since childhood give up and play!It is more difficult than anyone else!

Dear Rick at age 9:

Before you rush to the mound to pitch this Little League game, I want you to do two things for me.

The first thing is very simple, I just need you to take a moment to look at the name on the front of your jersey: Cardinals!

I know this word means nothing to you right now.But please be proud of being a Cardinals player! (Actually, when I saw this, I didn't quite understand it. I didn't have too deep feelings. I only knew that this player worked very hard! Read on.)
Anyway, trust me!When you finish reading this letter from me, everything will suddenly become clear.

The second thing is that I hope you can promise me to enjoy this moment wholeheartedly in the next few hours and finish this game happily.

Whether you're pitching, running, batting, high-fiving your teammates and running around, it's all about having a good time!
At this point, think about nothing but your favorite baseball.

After the nightmare of your mom being abused last night, you deserve a brief escape to the sheer joy of it.

Because I'm also sorry to tell you that things probably won't get any better after you step foot in the door again tonight.

So enjoy the few hours, kid.

Don't think about anything else in your head, play the game wholeheartedly, laugh with your friends, and give baseball a big thank you for occasionally giving you an escape from the harsh reality.

Yet when the game is over, you might be able to sneak home one from the pile of bats leaning against the fence.

Because you might have a chance to use it tonight!
If Dad comes home drunk again tonight, things will get out of hand again.This time is your chance to use this bat!
Even though we all know you wouldn't dare do anything to daddy with this bat.

At the same time, you are also afraid of the series of consequences that will arise after calling the police for help and reporting your father.

If the tragedy happens again tonight, I hope you can look at it from a different angle.

Instead of complaining and feeling guilty about not being able to help your mother, I hope you can work hard to understand that none of these things are actually your fault!
Even if your heart longs to help your mother out of this nightmare, all you can do is comfort her after she is beaten, keep talking about how much you love her, and tell her how much you feel about this. What a pity about everything.Because you are just a child.

Living with guilt will only make your life worse.

I hope you can keep telling yourself that you can survive any ordeal!
Listen, I know you're feeling helpless right now and thinking you're weak and incompetent.

But in fact you are a strong child, far more than your own imagination!
And this power will always be with you from now on.

You and Mom will get through this together.

And soon, you will accomplish a feat with strong determination and strong will!
Because you'll be one of the players in one of the greatest sports of all time!
You'll be wearing a Cardinals jersey for the next few years, ages 9-12!

And when you turn 14 and the coming year!You'll be on board with that iconic Cardinals jersey again!

It's a cool thing!

Because no matter which Cardinals team!Their fans are the best!
Even at the Little League level, this Cardinals team in a beach town on the coast of Florida is the same!

You can hear the parents on the sidelines singing this song all the time: "Ohh, engowa...cardinals got the power!"

It's a song you'll hear whenever you're wearing a Cardinals jersey, and the tune will always keep you motivated!

At that time, you were one size smaller than your peers, even a little short and short. Of course, all this will remain for a while.

So you won't be the best player on the team for a while, but then you'll get better over time.

And when you get to high school, things take a weird turn.

Although you performed well at first, your fastest ball speed was still only 84 mph.

But one day after you wake up, for some reason, you find that you can already throw 94 miles. (Later, training became faster as I got older.)
And with all your hard work, your curveball is at a major league level. (He was in high school at the time! Terrible! So the so-called pitching amnesia only occurs in the big talent pitching, do you have to believe it?)

At this time, you are already the most unreachable existence in the eyes of others in terms of statistics, and the hitter can't touch your ball at all.

In the regular season of your senior year of high school, you didn't lose a single point!
After that, you can't help but think: I may be the best pitcher ever! (real!)

In that season, you threw 74 strikeouts in 162 innings, and with that mark, you really believed in that fact rather than treating it like a pipe dream.

In addition to your own thinking, there are a large group of scouts who think so too!

When you were drafted by the Cardinals in 1997, everything seemed so natural that it was almost unrealistic.

You start your career straight out of 1A, going 17 and 3/1 innings without a hit in your first season. (No hit.)
And this record just broke the record held by your childhood idol Dwight Gooden that no one thought could be broken.

And the following year you won the title of the best pitcher in the minor leagues with an ERA of 2.35.

Then, you're officially called up to the big leagues just sixteen months after entering the pros.

You were young in 2000, but at 20 you'd be at the front of the Cardinals' starting rotation.

You loved your job and you were at the top of your game.

You will spread your wings and fly all the way to the top!
But I'm still going to tell you all about this 'smooth sailing'...

I hope you can listen to my next words well. You can't let baseball be the whole of your life, nor can you let baseball be the only thing that can represent you.

As much as you love the sport, and it's so fascinating, you should still be perfecting the 'human' thing.

The identity of Rick Ankiel should have enough to represent other things besides baseball.

Try to make friends from all walks of life, try to get in touch with different new things, and more!Play good golf! (Golf is really important! At least the feel is maintained.)
You know, these are all preparations for when plans don't keep up with changes.

October 2000rd, 10! (The author still saved this day's video! It's too scary to watch every time!)
It was a beautiful Tuesday!The temperature is 28°C, the breeze is blowing, the sky is blue and the sun is warm.

St. Louis in the early fall has hardly ever had such beautiful weather!
You'll be playing against future Hall of Famer Greg Maddux at Busch Field in Game [-] of the NFC Divisional Series against the Atlanta Braves!

Doesn't it all feel unreal?Right?

Boy, you were about to stand on that big stage at the time, and the entire baseball world was looking forward to what kind of wonderful performance this 21-year-old fireball pitcher could bring to everyone.

then……

Hey……

Listen, this is a very unspeakable thing!

That's going to be a tough day!
(Speaking of this game, the author is really angry! I don’t understand why the catcher had such an attitude at that time! Why didn’t he comfort the pitcher! Why didn’t he do that! Why was the ball tossed in an atmosphere, and why was he in such a posture!)

(Does he realize that his attitude at the time might have been a factor in the situation! Why wouldn't a catcher comfort a pitcher! I really don't understand!)
(Look at Molina, he has a bad temper and often shouts at the pitcher! But when the pitcher behaves wrong, he will always give comfort and encouragement at the first time! I can't stand the catcher's behavior on the field!)
(Whether it's anger or anger! It shouldn't be that kind of action!)
... Back to the letter.

That's going to be a tough day!
After the first sentence, you will continue to shoot with a 6-0 lead, but in the top half of the third inning, when you face Andruw Jones, you throw a Carter to him, even though the ball is slightly Too inside, maybe a little too low, and it's not such an outrageous ball anyway!
But the catcher failed to catch it!A blast was formed. (My thought at the time was that it was a dog!)

Sometimes things are like this, in fact, it is not such a thing at all.

but……

A thought pops up in your mind for no apparent reason—thousands of people watched me throw a big explosion on live TV!

Then you immediately think of your family and friends who have witnessed it all!
You think again how much you want to throw a great game for your hometown St. Lucie!

You also thought of your teammates, a coach who is willing to entrust important tasks to you, a rookie!
You think you may have let everyone down!

In just three seconds, these emotions overflowed and could not be stopped.

And you will be hit hard by these emotions. (The pitcher visibly shrugs his shoulders as he turns sideways in the video.)
Although you don't fully understand it all,
Followed by another blowout, you walk Andruw Jones, and then hit another even more outrageous blowout against the next hitter, Chipper Jones!

From this moment on, everything is like a sudden avalanche!
I will omit the uncomfortable details after that. (I don’t know what Ankiel’s mood is, anyway, I can never insist on watching that video! Every time the catcher throws the ball angrily, I will quit.)
In short, I will throw two more explosive shots. In this inning, I have thrown a total of four walks and lost four points!

Then before the third out of the inning came, I was pulled out early.

And you don't even know what happened to make you like this!
It's like... what the hell is going on? (All kinds of confusion? Completely incomprehensible!)
No matter how many times you start your life again, you will never encounter such a situation.

Since you were drafted by the Cardinals, you have had a smooth climb up the ladder with no difficulties in the process!
You have no idea what frustration is!
Not even for a second!

When you were in the minor leagues, you were killing all sides. In 2A, the catcher Keith Mcdonald even directly told the hitters what balls will be played with you next, in order to help you prepare early to face the big leagues. Possible adversity!

But I have to tell you, even after 18 years, you are still angry about this inexplicable way.

But you also need to understand that at that time you have already grabbed your opponent to have a chance to fight you after getting the help of your teammates.

but you know what?Even with this kind of cheating method, they are still vulnerable!
You never had any setbacks!And you were 1999 when you were drafted into the major leagues in 19!
But at that time, you already believed that you were on the road to the greatest pitcher in history!
First day in the big leagues!You'll be playing pass and catch with a group of teammates whose names you probably haven't even heard.

At the same time, you will find that your game is still sharper than all of them.

Although Darryl kile and Matt Morris among this group of people will have their own legends in the future.

You can tell this thing from here!They understand too!Your ball is faster and stronger than theirs!

On this afternoon at the Busch Stadium (Old Course), you're confident!

But in fact, long before you officially step onto the court, you feel that you can conquer the world!
People will recognize you at the airport.

Even though you haven't pitched a pitch in the majors, people are still trying you out as a future superstar!

They've heard about you since you left, and what you did in the minor leagues!
They will buy you a drink. (Remember to politely refuse)
Or try to introduce you to their daughter. (Same, please keep calm!) (The author Jun hahahaha~ This incident was experienced by several young Cardinals before spring training, and I have the opportunity to tell you about it.)
It's all like someone deliberately playing tricks in front of your eyes!
But everything is true!It's like a dream finally come true!
But the nightmare on October 10rd suddenly fell from the sky and hit you hard.

And after that game, you blame everything on the mechanics of the pitch.

You tell the group of reporters gathered around your locker: "It's just a small thing and it won't happen again!"

But that's all you can say.

But you're not so sure because you're going to have no idea what the fuck is going on against the Warriors!
I can't figure it out!

Then in the second round against the New York Mets, you hit Timo Perez with a big blast over his head!

Five balls in a row were thrown and hit the back shield of the home plate directly!
In the end you get pulled out with only two outs!

Only then did you realize to your horror that you had YIPS!Pitching Amnesia!

And this symptom will occupy you for the next four full years!

To be continued...Because the following content will make people want to cry, so take your time...

(End of this chapter)