07/13/2020
Well it’s been nearly 24 hours since the Batesville Red Sox played their final game and man what a game it was. I’ve seen tons of great pictures and really nice post, all of which are a testament to how great a family this team is. I still haven’t really figured out exactly how to sum up in one post or picture the last 8 years but I’ve put it off long enough.
Over the years players and coaches have come and gone, and we rarely managed to carry more than 10 on our roster for any extended period of time. Only a few have been with us the entire journey. Some stayed a while and others only briefly. For every player that has come and gone over the years, we truly hated to see them go and still miss them. They will forever be a part of the Red Sox memories we look back on and smile. I suppose it all worked out since those that left just gave us the opportunity to get to know those that came to fill their spot.
I’m not going to talk about wins and losses, and especially not about ties (because no baseball game should ever be allowed to end in a tie). The most impressive thing to me over the 8 years we’ve been doing this is that in all that time, no matter what 10 guys were on the roster, they have always been in it together. They won as a team, and they lost as a team. They never blamed a teammate for a loss or rode them for making an error.
When it comes to this “last ride” I really don’t know what to say. In light of recent events, we thought for a moment this season would never happen. While it has been short, it’s been one of the best. If you wanted to know what a real teammate looks like you should have been there to see these young men in this photo play their last game. It started out rough, as a few too many of our games over the years did. We gave up 5 runs in the first inning after scoring 0. Too many hits and a few errors. However, after one of his famous pep talks from the head coach, they must have decided 2nd place was not going to be good enough for them in their last outing. They didn’t give up a single run the rest up the game. They scratched one run in the fourth and then put up 6 in the top of the last inning to take a 7-5 lead(1 homerun, 4 doubles, and 1 single). Then they capped if off with 3 solid defensive plays in support of their pitcher to get the first three batter out and secure the win. None of them played perfect, but every single one of them contributed in some way to finish what they started. They never gave up or folded. It was an awesome close to a chapter.
Good luck boys in your next chapter. Thanks for letting a group of “wanna-be” coaches be a part of this one. We will still be cheering you on; it just won’t be from the dugout. Go Red Sox !!!!
~Z
