An Unlikely Slugger: The story of Cole Bassitt

Chapter 4: The Grind

We began the second inning.

"Catcher, number 2, Jae Grayden." Jae took the pitcher to a full count, rode a couple fouls, then cheesed one over the second baseman's head. Classic Texas-league singles were the cheapest hits in baseball.

 "Designated hitter, number 15, Cole Bassitt. Fans, this is tonight's Strikeout Batter, brought to you by The Rookie's Bar And Grill! If this batter strikes out, everyone in section E gets a free coupon for a meal at Rookie's!"

I hope Rookie's is open late. Shoving my helmet on top of my shaggy blonde hair, I chewed my gum nervously and began my routine. I dug into the box with my front foot, before stepping in with my back. I did a little shimmy with my back knee, and swung my bat once, twice in a circle. The pitcher rocked and dealt, and I swung and missed. Strike one. What was apparently Section E yelled. The pitcher dealt me two more that I watched. With a 2-1 count, I settled back into the box. The pitcher threw me a changeup, and I locked up. The bat broke as I took the pitcher yard. Or so I thought. The left fielder jogged and nabbed the ball instantly. I trotted back to the dugout and sat down as Xander stepped up to the plate. 

 "First baseman, number 26, Xander Dumas." Xander fought off a high heater with two strikes, but was caught watching for the backwards K. Cadmon came up.

 "Right fielder, number 21, Cadmon Sipe." Cadmon eagerly swung at his first pitch. It dribbled towards the third baseman, who scooped it up and slung it to the shortstop to put Jae out. Cadmon, nevertheless excited to be in the starting lineup, gave his helmet and gloves to the batboy, and trotted out to right with his hat and gloves. I sat in the dugout before the coach approached me. 

"Hey, Bassitt. Could you warm Birching up? He's the best at holding and I don't want Hampton to work too hard."

"Sure." I replied as I strapped my gear on and trotted to the bullpen where Ty Birching was tossing a baseball. Ty was a young man, younger than me, with cropped brown hair and a docile tan face. I stood behind the plate, and Ty threw me a ball, as Kade King, Eden Greer, and Danny Calliope sat on the bench behind him, chatting. Kade was a rookie pitcher, drafted along with Ty, Cadmon, and Ira Short, another reliever.  In case you didn't notice, we stocked up on young arms this year. I crouched down, and Ty threw me a few balls. Then, the coach rang up the bullpen phone. Danny answered. 

"Hey, Ty. Sit back down. Coach wants to keep Reece in." Ty sat back down in disappointment. I trotted to the dugout, where my rookie training partner, Tate Short waved euphorically. Tate, at 19, was the youngest player on the team by a few minutes. His twin brother Ira was also on the team.

"Heya, Cole!" Tate cooed. He's a good kid. I ruffled his hair, he grinned, and we slapped fists. Jaxton Coe, a more rough-cut player, plopped down next to me and whipped out a hastily thrown together bacon sandwich. As he dug into his sandwich, Tate cheered Reece after striking out the first batter.

 "Mmm. Real tasty. Reminds me of prison." Jaxton huffed with content. I had no clue why he was over here instead of in the bullpen. I guess he knew he wouldn't be needed after seeing Ty, our number 2 reliever, get sat down. The next batter came up, and after working to full count, he slugged a high fly ball to left. Kellen began sprinting back. He dove for the ball, crashed to the ground and appeared to have gloved it neatly! The crowd booed, our team cheered, and the bench clapped as he jogged back to his spot. The third batter popped up to Cordell, who sprinted back to the warning track to nab it. The next couple of innings were uneventful, with the only highlights being Rattley's bomb of a homer in the fifth and Kai's lucky triple in the seventh. Eventually the game came grinding to a halt in the 7th inning. After a hearty 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game', we came back into the game.