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Shit

I could only iht now A first-pitch fast-ball at only ninetyso do, I stole a look tohere the players’ wives sit and locked eyes with irl, and I could see the outline of her save h this Then I reha deep breath, I squinted toward the catcher He flashed two fingers before tapping the inside of his thigh I prayed my curve ball was still dirty as I fu I liftedbatter, ung and hit it right pastball, thehit in the hand still fresh in my mind

I kicked the dirt, and cursed in uy couldn’t have hitChevy Now he hit it like I served it up on a platter for hi perfect and s I pitched were ot round out But I was frustrated I battled with ary that I couldn’t throw faster I tried and pushed myself as hard as I could, but I never threw over ninety-one

When Coach pulled me, he patted me on the back and told me not to worry about it But I worried In this sport, you alorry Nothing was set in stone; you could always be replaced

After the gah the familiar doors and into the hallhere Cassie waited forokay I could win any battle with her by ot to come home to her

She leaned up on her toes and planted a wet kiss on reat How do you feel?"

"Thanks, Kitten I feel okay I know I can do better"

"It’s your first ga"

"Every outing? Aw, you sound like a ball player already," I teased, throwing my arm around her back

"But really, I ht off the bat"

I knew she only tried to help, but I questioned her words My coach, the teaer, they did all expect that Whether they said it to my face or not, they expected it, and they talked about it behind closed doors

"Feed e the subject, and kissed the side of her head as we headed out of Shea

The next month was more of the saaain any speed or velocity inabout all the tith back, but I could see the disappointh my teammates never admitted it toto theh If the situation were reversed, I’d be feeling the same way Thankful it wasn’t ht of baseball as a siht that any athlete whoa sport should never have any cause for coot paid a ton of ame every day?

But life was rarely as siined it was Baseball was so ly sos to a player hen the business side of baseball caame

All of us ball players just wanted to play the game None of us wanted to be involved in the business side of it, that e had agents and ers We were desperate for them to handle all of that so we could siame

But that wasn’t how baseball worked You played on their ter pinball that could be hit, buood for soutter when the flippers couldn’t reach you But you were still just a tiny ball on their playing field

"Jimmy wants to see you," Coach told ood if our teaaotten back I wasn’t a hundred percent yet and they knew that I needed ruff voice demanded

My stomach in knots, I closed the door and stood in front of it

He waved me forward "Come sit"

I shook ive " I reached for ers back

Jiht in the eye, his voice all business, no e you Two tea for you and I wanted to ask your preference" He sat back and watchedfor a response

Did he just say they were trading ht, but this wasn’t the kind of thing you fight It didn’t work like that Being traded wasn’t a negotiation with your agent or your family or anyone It was purely a team-to-team deal and you were usually left out of it There was no contract to write up, since whatever teaot your current contract Usually players had no say in the matter It was the rare case that they asked your opinion at all

Like this one

I wanted to fight, but I was too shocked to respond at first The word "traded" kept banging around inside my head

"But I love New York And this tea so much like a child I immediately wanted to kick myself as soon as the words were out

"We know you do, kid But your pitches have lost so and it’s in the team’s best interest to make a trade"

The team’s best interest

Baseball is a business

Baseball is a business

Baseball is a business

No matter how many ti