We were down 1 - 0 with the league's best pitcher on the hill. There was a runner on 1B who was a steal threat. I figured he would try to start me off with a fastball in the strike zone. I belted it for an HR and flew around the bases. Nursing the slim 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 9th, our opponents loaded the bases with 2 out !
Playing 2nd base, I readied for anything - grounder up the middle ? grounder in the hole ? line drive ? would I chase a pop behind 1B ? I was ready !
The sturdy batsman ripped a grounder up the middle. It had winning base hit written all over it ! I raced to my right, gloved the ball as it eyed going into center field, twirled and fired a strike to the first baseman. End of game !
As we shook hands with the other team, their star pitcher said to me, "You had a great game today." Who was this pitcher ? Bert Blyleven pitching for Santiago High School.