Junior Year Box Set

Coach grabbed me by the back of the neck and pushed me in before him.

What followed was an interesting meeting. Coach Kingwood had been picked to lead the team in international play. The original plan had been for the manager in charge of Stripes to be the coach. It was a little controversial to make a change this late. But they’d decided that since Coach Kingwood had only lost once in field play and then head-to-head, his was the hot hand.

With the change, he was able to bring his coaching staff with him. This meeting was to discuss player personnel and how best to utilize them. I was more than a little surprised they wanted my input as a player.

“David, you’ve earned it. Without your leadership, we would never have jelled so quickly in the beginning. I’ve tried to eliminate all the bad apples so we can focus on what matters: winning. I’ve talked to all the coaches here and those from your high school. And I even had an interesting conversation with Lucas Kite, the Cubs scout. He told me how you could point out the strengths and weaknesses of almost every player you’d ever worked with on the field. If you’re going to lead these young men, we want your input on who you think fits together.”

We spent the next hour creating a starting lineup. There was a big discussion about where to bat me, at either the top of the order or in the cleanup spot. I finally weighed in to help decide the matter.

“The role of the leadoff man seems to have evolved in the last ten years. It’s no longer where you put your small, quick player with a good eye. You should expect more pop out of your leadoff hitter’s bat. Personally, I think I can do you more good from there than at the four spot, for the simple reason we have players who are closer to my power talents.

“With me being the first at bat, it’s easier for me to set the tone for the game. Plus, that’s where I played all season, so I’m used to it. With me kicking off the order, we can put up six batters in a row who could legitimately be number fours on this team without a problem. I would bet that doing it this way, we can win most games in the first inning,” I predicted.

With that settled, the rest of the lineup came together quickly.

(Batting Order) Name – Position

(1) David Dawson – Center Field

(2) Mitch Underwood – Shortstop

(3) Nick Golden – First Base

(4) Shane Bays – Designated Hitter

(5) Royce Greene – Third Base

(6) Jared Cornish – Right Field

(7) Tristan Pratt – Left Field

(8) Patrick Welch – Catcher

(9) Logan Greene – Second Base

Allard Hensley – Pitcher (left)

Daz Whitman – Pitcher (left/middle relief)

Austin Moran – Pitcher (right)

Luke Cash – Pitcher (right)

Hagen Holmes – Pitcher / Closer (right)

Shane Bays – Pitcher (left)

Coach Kingwood and his staff would put the others in the lineup depending on circumstances. He’d said that it felt like a luxury to have a roster of 20, after having had only 13 during the first round in North Carolina.

Paul knocked on the door to remind me we had to go to the airport or miss our flight. I told the coaches goodbye and was looking forward to competing on an international level. Coach Kingwood walked out with me so I could grab my duffle bag.

“Were you serious about finding us a batboy?” he asked.

“How many do you need?”

“Two or three would be nice, but one would be a big help.”

“Let me see. I expect my younger brother might be interested. Maybe I can talk a friend or two of his into helping out,” I offered.

“You would have to get them to Houston. From there, we would provide them with travel, room, and board for the duration. They wouldn’t make any money, so they would have to have spending money for any extras they might need,” Coach Kingwood explained.

“I’ll handle it. Let me find out if they can do it or not,” I said.

“Just let me know if I need to make other arrangements.”

We shook hands, and Paul grabbed my duffle bag.

◊◊◊

Dad picked me up in the Demon. Paul must have been wanting a raise because he let me drive home. I hate the Chicago highways; it seemed every idiot decided they needed to either stop or slow down to see a car being towed. I was glad that the Demon went from 60 to 0 in less than 100 feet.

On the ride home, Dad had news.

“Hennessey Performance called. They’re working on a package to increase the performance of your Demon. They say they can give your car’s 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 a power bump to 1,500 horsepower. Their plans are to add upgraded headers, beef up the engine, and rework the supercharger,” Dad said as I started to get excited. “But your mom says ‘no.’”

I just slumped. Paul looked confused.

“You’re going to let that stop you?” he asked.

I heard Dad chuckle from the back seat.

“Believe me, David knows he’s lucky she lets him have the car at all. He isn’t about to give her a reason to not let him drive it, no matter how cool the upgrades would make it.”

I nodded sadly. I admit I wasn’t sure what almost double the horsepower would really do for me, other than get me killed.