The Farm League All-Star Game

OK, I'll be honest - I watched a few innings of the Little League World Series. Totally by choice. Why? Because I was at the gym on a stationary bike, there was a TV on the bike, and nothing else was on.

I feel like a lot of these very short stories will seem a lot like dreams - I can't remember how I arrived at the particular locale where the memory takes place, and the characteristics I DO remember seem odd and painfully usual. This story is no different.

Somehow or another, I "qualified" (probably meaning that my father spoke to the right people) for the Burlington Farm League All-Star game. I was likely between the ages of 7 and 10. I remember nothing from that day except for my sole at-bat. I was apprehensive in-the-hole and nervous on-deck, but it wasn't until I walked towards the plate that I could've floated away because of the amount of butterflies in my stomach (zing!). I don't remember what I was wearing, save for the oversized helmet. I stepped into the batter's box, and waited for the first pitch.

The ball came right at me. I instinctively jumped, but the ball hit my cleats. It didn't really hurt that much. I took first base. I don't remember advancing on the basepaths, hitting again, or playing the field, though, for some reason, I'm sure I did. The image that first comes to mind when this memory comes up is a view of myself (in the third person) jumping over the ball inside. Strange.