Baseball DIY

Last night at baseball practice, I hit the first over-the-fence home run (I've hit a couple inside-the-parkers in softball games) of my life. Left-field at the Unions home park is kind of short and is adjacent to a creek, so we were using this spongier ball that is a little cheaper (not to mention less likely to jump off the bat like a hyperactive three-year-old). I smacked the fifth or sixth pitch I saw into the left-center field trees on a low arc. I watched it the whole way, not thinking that it would make it, but then I heard it land in the branches. It sounded soooo good. Naturally, I tried to maim the next pitch and ended up popping it up to the second baseman. Stupid, stupid rat creature. The home run ball was retrieved and, other than its sogginess, showed no signs of the thrashing I had given it.

It's like Bob Gibson said (paraphrasing): anyone can hit in batting practice.