Two Stories
Although I was a better football player, I was a decent baseball player, too, and played all the way through freshman year of college.
In eighth grade my town (Palisades Park, NJ) team was in the Babe Ruth state tournament. We were playing in the semifinals against Ocean Township in Freehold at Nescafe Field. We were down 6 - 2 in the top of the fourth when I hit a towering fly ball to left center with two men on and almost immediately out of the box I broke into my home run trot. Unfortunately, my "homer" bounced off the 330 foot sign on the chain link fence and I had all I could do to hustle my ass to second base for a double. Needless to say the coach was not pleased, but I scored when the guy behind me singled. We still lost 8 - 7 and we were eliminated the next day.
In freshman year of college, the varsity had just come back from their Spring trip down south. We were scrimmaging them and a bunch of the guys were chewing tobacco. Never having chewed before, I figured I'd give it a try. An inning later I was at my first base position when a very good lefty hitter ripped a screaming one-hopper that clipped the edge of the infield grass and took a wicked hop headed for right between my eyes. When I jerked my head to avoid the ball I wound up swallowing the chaw. My teammates said I actually did turn green. Makes for a good laugh at reunions now, but at the time hurling in foul territory was not nearly as humorous!
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