Shaw walks with me to third before he trots off to catch up with the other pitchers heading to the bullpen. Before I take my first grounder, I look back just once to catch her staring. Maybe I should ask an usher to bring her to the lounge after the game, or ask the front office who owns those seats. However, asking the front office either means waiting another day or waiting until I get the nerve up to go in there. I make a mental note to grab an usher during the seventh inning stretch. There’s a good chance she’ll blow me off, but I won’t know until I try.
The first to bat for the Orioles is a lefty. I’m poised and ready for anything that comes my way. He swings, undercutting the ball, which flies up high in foul territory. I take three steps forward and four to the side, waving my hands to let everyone know I’ve got this. The ball lands in the pocket and my right hand comes over automatically, closing my glove. I take the ball out of my glove and instead of throwing it to Jasper Jacobsen, our catcher who is waiting for it I toss it into the stands at the girl who has caught my attention. She yelps in surprise, but snatches it like a pro. I wink and motion to Kidd that we have one out, even though I know he’s aware of that fact.
I’m trying not to pay attention to what’s going on around me, but as soon as I catch a glimpse of a replay of me throwing the ball to the girl on the Jumbo Tron, I stop and watch. When the camera focuses on her face, I find myself trying to memorize her features so that when I see her later tonight, hopefully, I won’t get caught staring. From what I can see, even with her hat pulled down, she’s beautiful, and seeing her getting shy on screen just tells me that I need to know her.
When the inning is over, Kidd runs by me, slapping me on the ass. “You better hope she’s a penis lover,” he says, laughing all the way into the dugout. I don’t have time to mess around with him or listen to the other guys giving me shit about what I did. Besides, it’s not like they’ve never thrown a ball into the stands. So what if I purposely aimed it at a female, who also happens to be cute? In my defense, I didn’t know she was pretty until after I gave her the ball. I did it because she was staring at me and I wanted the reaction. Now, I’ve got it.
Our first and third base coaches head out to the field just as the Orioles pitcher finishes his warm-up. Up first is Kayden Cross, six year starter and first baseman. He’s recently come out of a broken engagement that has hit him fairly hard. He’s a good example of someone who can’t separate his personal life from work. They had met in the front office and after they got serious, she quit. I guess she didn’t like being taken care of because she took a job in California before breaking it off with him. This happened during spring training while we were in Florida. When he came home, she was gone.
Cross goes down swinging, putting me on deck. Up next is Preston Meyers, right fielder and seasoned veteran. His picture flashes on the Jumbo Tron much to the delight of the fans. He’s been a fan favorite for as long as I can remember. He’s been in the league just over ten years and shows no signs of slowing down. I step out onto the track and into the on-deck circle. I adjust and readjust my batting gloves and my helmet before taking my practice swings. Each one is timed with the pitcher.