Jet-Lag knocks and 20/15 vision

The first morning I woke up I didn't really know where I was. We had to be at the field at 8 a.m. for our team photo shoot and individual pictures so we did not get a chance to sleep a ton. I was going with the flow and I knew we had a game at 1pm as well, although I had no idea where. I was really excited, but extremely tired. After the photo shoot we jumped in the team van and headed southeast down the Autobahn to play the Solingen Alligators, who are a very good team in the German pro league. One of Germany's best players is from Solingen, Kae Gronauer, is a catcher with the Mets double-A team and played there three years ago. As I learned many of my teammates names and a little bit more about Germany, I found myself once again thinking about how excited I was to play! Thousands of miles away from home, I am going to play baseball for the first time in 4 years.
We arrived in Solingen about an hour and a half before game time and to my surprise I was really impressed with the park. I would compare it to a good junior college, as they had a nice field, a covered batting cage area, and guest locker rooms with showers. The stands weren't bad either. The funny thing about the whole day was that I was not nervous about anything. I was so happy to be on a field playing catch, taking batting practice, and getting ready that I didn't even think about not performing well, or not living up to expectations. was the same way. He was very energetic and excited to play. We were both really excited to play in an actual game. One of the best parts of the day came right after warmups when our head coach, Red, pulled both Danny and I aside and told us both that he was really happy to have us and not to worry about today. "I want you guys to know there is no pressure today, I want you to enjoy this and have fun. You are not going to get sent home because you don't do well so just have some fun!" From a coaching standpoint (and now a players standpoint again) it really meant a lot to hear him say that, and although we didn't feel any pressure to begin with, it was nice to know that our skipper has our back and is looking out for our best interest. He is a very good manager with as much passion for baseball as anyone I have ever seen.
As the visiting team we hit first of course, and when I saw the lineup for the first time I was hitting second, while Danny was third in the lineup. Now, I hadn't faced a pitcher since the city league in 2007, and had not faced good pitching since college in May 2006. The only live swings I took had come from batting practice in a cage. As the game began I found myself going through a routine on deck like I had never left the game. I got my timing down, took in the surroundings and started to clear my head and breath. It felt great. The leadoff hitter walked on five pitchers, all fastballs. As soon as I stepped in the box I had one thing in mind.............I wanted to take the BIGGEST hack I could at the first good pitch I saw. Since the pitcher had a hard time throwing strikes to the first hitter, I knew he was going to give me a "get me over fastball." Even after all this time, the mental side of the game never leaves you, and neither does the competitor within! I walked to the plate, swiped my feet back and forth in the batters box like I had done thousands of times before, and pointed the bat out to the pitcher to acknowledge that after all this time away from hitting, I was ready. It was so strange to stare down at a pitcher again, and it felt amazing! The pitcher was a tall guy throwing maybe mid 80's, but to me I might as well have been facing Tim Lincecum again. As the pitcher went into his first windup and came forward with the release of his pitch I felt my motion go back, hands load, front foot land forward, and hips and hands fly to the ball. WACK! I connected with the first pitch. The ball started to sail high and hard to center, and my first reaction was "Damm, fly-out to center." Yet, as I started running down the first base line I noticed the numbers on the back of the center fielders jersey, and he never turned back around to catch the ball. Now, with as much objectivity as I can muster, I will say it was not the best ball I have ever hit, but apparently they were playing me pretty shallow. (This is a photo of my first swing, courtesy of Eisenhuth Photography, notice the ball in the top right corner of the pic.)
As the ball continued to stay in the air I realized the center fielder might not get to it, and sure enough, the ball landed about fifteen feet over his head. (The fence read 420 ft. from the plate but I wasn't that close to it.) All of a sudden I found myself on second base breathing hard, and our runner from first scored. 1-0 Paderborn on the first pitch I saw. Stand-up double. My teammates were applauding from the dugout and like a scene from Mr. Baseball, the Solingen shortstop says "Hey man, nice piece, where are you from?" While still gathering my bearings I said thank you and told him " All over man, that was a trip,I can't even think straight right now, that is the first pitch I have seen in four years and I just got here last night." I continued to chat with him throughout Danny's at-bat as he got hit with an 0-2 pitch in his first at-bat. The Solingen shortstop was an older guy who had played JC and indy ball back in the states, and ended up in Germany this season. He was a cool guy and it was fun chatting with him about our experience while the game was going on. The inning ended with a double play ball and I raced into the dugout to get my gear on and was welcomed by all of my teammates with high fives and fist pounds.
As I got my catching gear on I thought about the fastball I hit, and it occurred to me I had never seen a pitch so clearly! I saw the seams and movement! I didn't even realize how well I could see until this moment. Wow! Back in October I received lasik surgery and my Doctor (Dr. Mills in Reno, Nevada) told me that it was one of the best operations he had performed. I am seeing 20/15 which is better than perfect, and unbelievable to me. I used to wear contacts every game, and even then I struggled with vision because of dust and dirt on the lens. What an incredible feeling to see the ball that well. (That and the pitch was an easy 84 mph....)
Catching was another great experience.
As the first inning started I felt very comfortable and our pitcher had three good pitches working for him. It was a cool experience, and he did a great job. I loved calling the game as well. We finished the day with a 9-0 win, and Red told us after the game he could not remember the last time Paderborn beat Solingen that bad. He was really pleased, especially since his two American's finished the day a combined 5-8, 2 doubles, a triple, 5 RBI's, at the plate, with 3 runs scored. I also caught a complete nine innings and threw a runner out at second on a steal attempt

Danny finished 3-4 with a triple and 4 RBI's, while I went 2-4 with two doubles, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored. We both agreed that this summer should be a lot of fun and we are looking forward to the experience.

Pretty cool day for our first baseball experience in Germany!