Friday morning as i woke, promptly at 11 am, the plans for Memmingen were still up in the air. departure times and modes of transportation were still theories with nothing set in stone, other than having a whole mess of beers once we got there. but as noon rolled around the ball had been picked up and we were to leave in one hour. after seeing this email i decided that it was time to start packing, since i had not done it the previous night bacause we had been drinking. so i threw some stuff in a bag and grabbed a sleeping bag and pad and a quick bite to eat before walking to the sporthouse.
Hassi, Tony, and i were the first ones there waiting for Laser and Johst. there were other trains leaving the station at 3 and 5 but we were the first wagon heading south. as we waited i began going over my checklist: beer money, glove, shoes, pants, jersey, belt, socks, boxers, shorts, "I'm the Boss" suspenders, camping chair...chair, i need a chair. So Hassi tossed me the keys and told me to hop in the car. this was my first time behind the wheel of a car in 3 months and the first time driving a stick in at least 2 years. but its like riding a bike, i was off and moving and not one time did it sputter or did i come close to killing it. the clutch was quite stiff and the Armstrong steering was a bit of a pain but all in all it was a good first time behind the wheel of a german car.
but it was not my first of the day. the 6 hour drive to Steinheim was an easy one right down the A7. Tony and i split up the drive down there while Johst and Laser were to split the drive back home on Sunday. Since Tony was smart enough to call the first leg of the trip, i had to stay sober the whole time while he joined drinking with the other two at the halfway mark.
when we finally got to Steinheim it was getting dark and the other teams were already asleep or just casually sipping on a beer around the campfire. and it was no surprise that we were the last team still awake at 1AM pounding beers around the fire. Me and Sasha were the last ones up at 3.
the next morning we had a game at 10, so we all rolled out of bed by 8 or so and began drinking beer to loosen up. the beer was 2.20 for a .5 liter mug- a damn good deal that we took full advantage of all weekend. so by the time we were to play at 10, we had all had a few beers and had beers in hand as we entered the dugout. throwing while drinking is a lot easier than sober. the first throw is enough to loosen the arm up for the game, but catching the ball is a different story. I was having a bit of trouble getting the ball in the glove and staying there, but that didnt stop Johst from putting me in at SS and batting 3rd.
we got out of the 1st inning with no harm done as Tony cruised past the first 4 batters of their lineup. one guy reached on an error. and we scored a few runs in our half of the inning to take an early lead. I walked on 5 pitches in my first plate appearance. Tony struck out 3 in the top of the 2nd and got us back into the dugout to score some more runs. coming up with the bases loaded in my next AB, i was thinking, "man it would be nice to hit this one over the fence so i dont have to run hard; i dont want to run hard." so on the 2nd pitch of the AB, i put a good swing on a fastball on the inner half and watched as it sailed high and far over the left field wall for a Grand Slam. there was some debate about whether or not it would count since it was in a tournament and not in a regular season game but after some discussion, it was granted and i am now the GUY from America! it was a long journey from being a homosexual hailing from Espana to the guy from America but i finally feel like myself again.
we batted around that inning and again i came up with runners on 1st...2nd...and 3rd. and i was wondering how many times other than Fernando Tatis this had happened in baseball history. as i was getting ready to step into the box, i heard Tony yell from the dugout, "Let's go Fernando." (for those of you that dont know, Tatis is the only man in MLB history to hit 2 Grand Slams in the same inning.) but the pitcher wasnt throwing me anything i could pull, only fastballs and curves away, so i had to settle on blasting a double to right center. we easily won the game 16-1.
not too much exciting happened in the 2nd game but we won 7-whatever they had. and after that game we were done for the day and the real drinking began. there was a party at a local bar that night so we al headed over there around 9 for more drinks and dancing. i left the bar around 12 but others stayed until the sun came up. this made for a rough Sunday morning game, one which i couldnt participate in because i was still drunk. that was the closest game we had at a 4 run difference, but i didnt see them with beers in the dugout like us or at the bar the night before. so it was a big win all things considered. that win put us in the #1 seed for the championship game.
we came up against a team with 4-5 spanish speaking black guys in the final but we had already beat them once this morning so we were pretty confident that we would sweep through this tourny and get the big trophy. and we were right. we dominated those guys and walked off the field winners of the Steinheim tournament.
in celebration we did the victory pyramid...or tried to do it. we got 4 rows high before the right side gave out and everyone came tumbling down. there were still 2 people left on the ground that had yet to climb on top.
I ended the tournament 4-7 with a GS, double, 7 RBI, 4 SB. but i dont htink i would have gotten MVP because Choco Mendoza of our team was 6-7 with a 7 RBI, 5 SB. Choco didnt get out until his last AB of the tournament.
SO we won all aspects on the weekend; baseball, beer drinking, and fun. it really wasnt even a contest in any category.
Johst brought to our attention last weekend on our trip to ACDC that whenever he is in a car on a long trip, he always ends up sitting in the sun. i paid attention the whole way there and back and he was right, no matter if we were coming or going, he was always in the sun. and this weekend, on our way to Steinheim, it was no different, he still sat in the sun, on the way there and on the way back. I will be sure to never sit behind or in front of him on a long road trip again. and i will never get in his line at a fast food joint either. we are usually done with our food before he even gets his. i dont know what it is but hes got the worst luck when it comes to that kind of stuff.
Yesterday was a holiday and everyone was off work and school. a group of 9 of us went swimming at the local pool paid for by Max Schmeling, the great boxer from back in the day. we stayed for about 2 hours but had to get back home because we were having a BBQ for Julia that night with family friends of the Hassenpflugs. the sun is hot here in germany and even though we werent out there for too long, i still got a bit burnt.
Today was a holiday from school so me, Tony and Bifi took the train to Hamburg to walk around and look for some shoes. I only brought 1 pair of shoes with me and after playing ball, painting, and walking around in them for 3 months, they are looking pretty shitty. after the 1st store it became apparent that shoes here are A LOT more expensive than in America. a pair of Nikes goes for anywhere from 70- 150 euro with most being 99-150. that is a bit out of my price range at the moment and none of the other shoes were much better so i didnt buy anything. I was looking pretty hard at a throwback HSV (hamburg soccer) keeper jersey but all they had were 3XL. in my younger days i would have jumped all over it, but since i've grown up and learned that clothes that big are not flattering to my figure, i reluctantly passed. maybe next time.
A-Ron
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