We left the dorms about two hours later to consume yet another meal at the Regensburg Gausthaus near the field. A delicious spaghetti bolognese plate with salad and bread was served to us at 11:00 a.m. Needless to say I was still full from dinner the night before, as well as breakfast. Yet I could not help but eat as much as I could because it was delicious. After about 2/3rds of the way through I was struggling with my gluttony. We did not play until 2p.m. and batting practice was not for another hour or so, but I felt like I would not be able to move the rest of the day. I sat in my chair at the large dinning table and watched as the rest of the guys either gave up on trying to finish their food, or gladly excuse themselves from the table and leave. I didn't give up that easy and I wanted to finish. However, it was not going to happen and I was the last person to throw in the towel.
As I approached the field for the first time in daylight I was pleasantly surprised at what a professional feel the grounds had to it. We walked through the right field side gate and around the plate to the third base dugout to find a big-league sized bench, complete with a tunnel to the brand new shower rooms and bathroom area. It was very impressive. On a side note, this part of the facility was completed for the World Cup last season and was still gleaming alongside that "new car smell."
As we started BP, first in the cages and then to the field, I noticed that the ball was jumping off our bats and carrying much further than we were used to in the north. Our field in Paderborn may as well be death valley because the wind blows in, and there is a force that just simply knocks balls straight down. In my batting round alone I made the adjustment to pull the ball hard, and I hit two or three out of the yard, an accomplishment I had not yet done in Germany, even in BP. I was not alone though. We all mentioned how much the ball carried, and we were excited to have a chance to hit in the game.
Once batting practice ended word had spread through our group of players that Heidenheim was starting their best pitcher, and a former Major Leaguer. I had heard tales of Heidenheim having a former big league pitcher or two, but I had never heard a name or even garnered conformation that it was true. The thought of facing someone who had pitched at that level lead me to think one thing, I want to get a hit off the big leaguer.
As I looked down the other foul line from where I was warming up I noticed a tall southpaw warming up. "That's the guy," our American addition said. I watched intrigued for a few minutes and I must say that seeing a big left handed pitcher who had major league experience put a little spark under me, as well as a little intimidation. I was not expecting to show up and face a former big leaguer who happened to be left handed. I quickly erased any negative thoughts that I had about not being able to compete against him and told myself to gear up and get ready for good competition.
Heidenheim was the reigning German Champions from 2009, and according to our players were loaded with guys up and down the order who could really hit. Some played professionally, some were German national team players, and some were good foreigners. From the way everybody talked up this team I thought to myself, "Geez, they have a former big leaguer on the mound and apparently their lineup is stacked, I wonder if our team thinks we can win?Especially after losing two last week."
After all the advice and different approaches I was told to take in calling the game, or facing certain hitters, I told the team right before we took the field, "Who gives a shit about anyone on that team, if we play together, pick eachother up and put runs on the board we are going to come out on top, let's play great D for Augie today and the rest will take care of itself. Last week is history, let's start fresh today and have fun."
I should have taken a little of my own advice, which is sometimes the case. As I took the field I was nervous for some reason. I got caught up in all the hype that ensued with this team and even the trip itself and I was extremely uncomfortable behind the plate for the first time all season. The ground was very strange, a mixture of clay and red dirt made an almost putty like surface, and it made my feet feel very weird. I felt like I had not foundation. As the game started the leadoff hitter walked and within a few pitches to the 2 hitter he was off to the races. As I gathered myself on the pitch and set my feet to throw I still felt I had no base. Regardless, I should have gunned the runner and I threw a ball that tailed off away from our second baseman and was charged with an error. "Ah man, that throw sucked," I said to myself. After moving the runner to third on a groundball and a sac fly, Heidenheim took an early 1-0 lead. However, that was all they were going to get the rest of the day. Augie had four pitches working for him all day and needless to say I had a GREAT time calling the game. It was so much fun. He stranded runners every inning and never shook a pitch I called. What a great performance. Augie is simply unheard of. He goes out every week after working hard labor from dawn till dusk, 6 days a week, and throws a gem. He competes like nobody I have ever met.
We scored on a few timely hits throughout the day and our defense was superb! Our American addition, Dennis Kelly hit a Homerun in later innings making it a 3-1 lead. I added an RBI with a push bunt (Red called for it) with runner on 1st and 3rd. The great thing about Germany is that if you move runners up on a bunt, or even on a RBI, they count the bunt as a sacrifice, which is not normally the case in the States. Although I did not get a hit off the former Big Leaguer, I was happy with my approach.
My third at-bat against him changed my season. Up until this tournament I had not felt exactly comfortable at the plate. I have had some great at-bats, but the timing and stroke itself was missing something. On a 1-1 count the lefty threw me a fastball up and in that I crushed! The ball was hit right down the line and as I watched it go foul by a matter of inches I thought to myself, "that was the best contact and swing I have had in four years!" Although I struck out on the next pitch swinging at a perfectly located fastball down and away I came back to the dugout thinking about the hard contact from the foul ball. I later told Danny that I thought I had a quality at-bat on the stirkeout and he laughed at me. "Dude, you struck out, how could you say it was a quality at-bat!?!" I explained to him that the foul ball changed my season because I felt the "good swing" come back. He laughed again and said, "I see where you are coming from, you crushed that ball." Plus, I added the fact that he struck me out on a great pitch because he didn't want to come back inside. I got a hit in my last at-bat off a different lefty and finished the day 1-3. We won the first game of the tournament and it was a big relief for us all.
Our post game discussion was interesting as well. Red told us he did not want to see any of us back at the dorms before midnight. FC Bayern-Munich was playing a very important soccer game that night and he wanted us to all go drink beer and cheer for Bayern-Munich after we watched the Hamburg vs. Regensburg game. Only in Germany!
I later found out that Heidenheim Heideköpfe starter was none other that former Carson High School standout Dusty Bergman. I had grown up watching him play against my older brother Steve, who is the same age. They both graduated from rival high schools in 1995. My brother and I both attended Reno High School, and the baseball rivalry between Reno High School and Carson High School runs very deep. It is funny to think that in this baseball tournament 5,000 miles away from Northern Nevada that two former rivals (although I was seven years behind) faced off at the tail end of our playing days. Although, I must say that his carrer was much more lavish than mine. He had pitched two innings in the big leagues for the Anaheim Angels in 2004 and spent over three years at the Triple A level, including stints with the Giants, Angels, and Yankees.
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