Virtually Unheard Of

Virtually Unheard Of



            Juan Fernando Perez loved baseball and he loved to pitch. As a young man in the early 1960’s he fought his way through the farm leagues as a walk on, and pitched his way into the Majors as a Los Angeles Dodger. Fernando was an excellent pitcher and had become an Ace for the Dodgers. He had a strong arm, a good eye to place the ball, and struck out over 65 percent of the batters he faced. Unlike other pitchers Fernando could also hit, and he ran the bases like a race horse. Every time he took the field for a game or just to practice he gave it his all, and had a promising career as a Major League Baseball Player. Then suddenly the unthinkable occurred.           

            One night after a home game Fernando was struck down by a drunk driver while trying to walk across a busy L. A. street. As a result he was paralyzed from the waist down ending his career with the Dodgers, and causing him to live out the rest of his life in a wheelchair. 32 years later and still wheelchair bound, Fernando sat his days away at a neighborhood park near the one bedroom flat where he lived alone. His heart still filled with the exact same spirit he employed to pitch his way into the Majors, he never let himself think or feel for one moment that life had thrown him a foul ball. However he did occasionally wish for someone to talk to, but no one took the time, and no one seemed to care

            It isn’t difficult to imagine the excitement which overcame Fernando when he first set eyes on Hector Garcia; a little boy walking through the park with a baseball bat slung across his shoulder like a rifle at right shoulder arms, and a baseball glove stuck on top of it like a starfish. Wearing an unmarked Dodger blue baseball cap, he marched his way towards Fernando as if to have exploded on the scene from a white cloud of smoke. He stopped the little boy immediately and began a conversation which would change both of their lives forever. Where was the boy going? Where was he coming from? What was his name? Where did he live? Where did he play ball? Was he on a team? What position did he play? Fernando had to know everything. And when he heard Hector say that he wanted to be a pitcher, he shouted with joy and almost jumped out of his wheelchair.

            Fernando began to tell Hector all sorts of stories about baseball, as well as how he used to be a Major League Baseball Player as a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, before being injured in a car accident. Immediately Hector was in awe of Fernando, and the little boy hinged on his every word as he encouraged him to give his all and to do his very best every time he stepped out on the ball field to play a game or just to practice. He promised to teach Hector everything he knew about baseball, and how to be a good pitcher.           

            Subsequently, as the days, weeks, months, and a good number of years went by, Hector and Fernando became quite the pair in the park. They practiced and played baseball together almost everyday from the first moment they met, and during the entire time they knew each other. They talked, and ate baseball with a passion, and were best friends. Fernando was happy to have met Hector, and true to his promise, he taught Hector how to pitch, and taught him well. Sometimes he would laughingly say “You’ve taken to pitching like a duck to the water Hector. You’re going to strike out a lot of good batters.”           

            Fernando also taught Hector a few good things about life as well. Things like always obey his parents, to be polite and respectful, to stay out of trouble, and to never smoke or drink.But the one thing Fernando taught Hector that intrigued him beyond all else was something extra special, and he made Hector promise to never tell anyone about it, at least not while he was trying to learn it. “Even after you get the hang of it and get good at it, you would do well to never say a word about it” added Fernando. It was just that extra special. In fact, what Fernando had taught Hector was extra special enough to keep a secret because it was virtually unheard of.           

            Hectors family eventually moved away and Fernando passed on, but Hector never forgot his best friend, nor the many things he learned from him about life and baseball. He would often recall the tales Fernando told and the good times they shared playing baseball, and he practiced continuously the full array of pitches he learned from him until he had perfected them all. The

fastball, slider, curve, knuckler, and the change ups. When to use them, when not to use them, attitude, composure, style, movement, and the list went on as Fernando left no stone unturned. He taught Hector everything he knew about how to play the game of baseball just as he said he would, and he taught him the art of pitching. In short, Fernando had eloquently groomed Hector for a successful Major League Baseball career.

            As a young man now in college, Hector was a star pitcher for his schools baseball team, and his parents were proud of him. He still never smoked or drank as Fernando had warned him not to, he was also very polite. Every single time he hit the field for a game or just to practice, he gave it his all as he was instructed to do. But the one thing he always kept the closest to his heart was the extra special secret Fernando had given him. He practiced that secret whenever no one was around and mastered it beyond even his own belief. But just as Fernando admonished, he never told a soul.         

            Hector Garcia was drafted out of college by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Fernando’s old team, and he was never more proud than that day to be right up there with Fernando and become a member of what was known as “The Dodger Family”. He looked up Fernando’s career stats and was blown away by his accomplishments, which were many based on the short number of years he had played. He discovered things about Juan Fernando Perez that he never imagined, things that Fernando hadn’t told him. Hector learned that Fernando led the Dodgers in strikeouts for three consecutive seasons, and for one of those seasons he had also led the League.           

            Fernando had pitched several shutouts, a no hitter, and had been a recipient of the coveted Cy Young Award. Hector was saddened to learn that Fernando’s career was cut short by a drunk driver not just a “car accident”. He cried because he missed his best friend and wished he was there to see him become a Dodger. Hector had never been so sad, and he vowed to show his never ending love, appreciation, and gratitude for Fernando by one day winning a game for him in the World Series. Little did he know, that day was on the horizon and would soon come.         

            His first season with the Dodgers Hector posted a 19 - 1 record and won National League Rookie of the Year Honors. He led the Dodgers in strikeouts, and was a candidate for the Cy Young Award. The Dodgers won the Pennant and were headed to the World Series to play the mighty New York Yankees who had rolled over everyone in the American League that year like a juggernaut while amassing the best record in modern day Major League Baseball history. They had the pitching, the defense, and the big bats. New York’s bats were the main reasons they set the new record for most wins in a season and had made it to the “Fall Classic”.         

            The key to those bats were the 7 switch hitters they kept in their line up and how they were used.  All 7 had a batting average of a whopping .350 or better, and 2 of them were batting over .400. It was said that “the Yankees could smoke a pitcher from both sides of the plate”. The strategy they used with their switch hitting was lethal. They would watch and wait until a pitchers arm got tired, or late in the game when the pressure was on and pitchers made more mistakes, and then unleash their power train of switch hitters.  This is how they decimated the competition and slugged their way into the World Series, but the Yankees had never faced Hector before. They didn’t know how great a pitcher he was, what kind of mission he was on, or that he had a secret. But along with the rest of the world they were about to find out.

            The series began in New York with the Yankees winning the first 2 games prompting talk of a sweep. It then went to Los Angeles and the Dodgers won the next 2 games, quelling the broom talk. Now back in Yankee Stadium with the Series all knotted up at 2 games apiece, the Dodgers pushed game 5 into extra innings and squeezed out a victory by one run. Back in L.A. again with a one game lead at 3 to 2, the Dodgers had an outside chance to win the Series at home, and they were going to try and do it with Hector on the mound in front of their own fans. This was Hectors time to shine and he was more than ready because this is what he had trained for. But in Hectors mind, this was far greater than even he imagined. He was not only going to win a game in the World Series for Fernando, he was going to win the Series.

            As a special consideration during the pre game ceremonies, the Dodgers organization honored several players from Dodgers teams of the past and wouldn’t you know it, Hectors all time favorite player and best friend Juan Fernando Perez was one of the honorees. Hector felt like Fernando was at the game watching and cheering him on. The World Series Championship stage was now set on this calm October night in Los Angeles with a Major League Baseball drama. The powerful New York Yankees were a game down facing possible elimination by the upstart Dodgers with a Rookie at the helm. Dodger Stadium was lit up and packed to the rafters with thousands of screaming fans, with the game on national TV, and broadcast around the world for all to see. Electricity filled the air as champagne for celebration was set up in the Dodger’s locker room. Then protocol was observed as the National Anthem was sung, the two teams announced, and the first ball thrown out. No one could have imagined what was going to happen that night, as Hector was about to reveal a well kept secret, a secret given him by his teacher Fernando, who had told him that it was extra special because it was “virtually unheard of”. In all actuality, it was a simple and common thing when you think about it.

            Fernando had merely trained Hector the art of being ambidextrous (with his pitching). That’s what was virtually unheard of. With all the rules, records, and statistics, there was virtually nothing written about a pitcher ever having switched arms in a game, and no rule against it. “Shucks, batters do it all the time.” Fernando said, “Why can’t a pitcher do it?” The idea intrigued Hector and he believed that he could do it, and Fernando encouraged him. Hector did everything with both hands and was even handed through and through. From his handwriting to his pitching, he perfected his dexterity over the years and dreamed of one day switching up in a game, but always held it back. Preparing now to face all those switch hitters of the Yankees, it  seemed to Hector like a fine time to set it free. After all, he could pitch with his left hand better than he could with his right, but was billed as a right handed pitcher.

            Hector went to work, striking out the first 3 batters to retire the side as he eventually struck out the entire batting order of the New York Yankees. They could barely get a piece of wood on the ball let alone a hit. By the 7th inning stretch Hector had 17 K’s, and the Yankees were only able to muster a few fly balls and pop fouls; which were all caught for outs. The Dodgers were leading by a score of 2 to nothing and Hector was on the verge of a no hitter in the World Series. But in the top of the 8th things begin to change. New York was able to get on base with 2 lead off singles as the Yankees begin to switch hit. Now with a man in scoring position and the tying run on 1st, the Yankees had one of their two .400 plus hitters at bat with the other one on deck. New York smelled blood in the water and they were moving in for the kill.

            Immediately the Dodgers Manager was out of the dugout and by the time he got to the mound to talk to Hector, the Pitching Coach and Catcher were already in tow. The Bullpen had been busy all evening so there was a host of good Dodger pitchers warmed up and ready to take the mound, including two of their aces. “Well Hector” he says, “Your no hitter’s gone, but we can still win this one if we’re careful.” Then he asked “How’s your arm holding up?” “It’s kind of tired sir,” Hector replied, “and I’m sorry I let the No-No slip away. But I can still win it if you leave me in.” “But son, you can’t do that with a tired arm.” said the Manager. Hector countered, I’ve got two arms sir, and the other one is still fresh.” “What do you mean by that?” asked the Pitching Coach. Hector then said proudly, “I’m ambidextrous and can pitch with either arm, and quite frankly I’m better with my left than I am with my right.”

            All three of them seemed to look at Hector in disbelief with blank faces, and before either of them could say another word, Hector said “I’m going to switch arms and get us out of this inning, after that you can put someone else in…..If it’s okay, sir.” The Catcher goes “You kidding? Can he do that?” The Pitching Coach says “I sure would like to see it.” The Manager then said “Hector, you’ve never let me down before, and this isn’t a good time to start doing it. Tell you what, I’ll let you have the rest of this inning just because you want it, but the next one’s going to someone else. Do you need to warm it up?” “Hector said yeah, and get me that white glove out of my bag in the dugout.” As the Manager and the Pitching Coach headed to talk to the Umpire, the Catcher ran to the dugout to get the white glove for Hector.

            The Manager says “Good game huh?” The Umpire goes “So far. Are you going to leave the kid in?” The Manager replies “Yup.”, and then added “But he’s going to start pitching left handed so he’ll need to warm up. Is that okay?” The Umpire says “I guess its okay; nothing against it in the Rule Book. But it is virtually unheard of”. As the realization of precisely what was happening begins to set in, the three words “virtually unheard of” began to resonate on the field, all over the stadium, and throughout the entire viewing audience worldwide. The network carrying the game, its producers, directors and all the announcers were in a frenzy to find out everything they could about Hector, as well as when or where he learned to “switch pitch” as they were calling it, and how long had he been doing it among other things. Bottom line was no one had ever done it, and especially not in the World Series.

            Amidst protest from the Yankees, Hector was allowed to warm up. And while doing so, the radar gun clocked his pitches between 98 and 102 mph. It was like he had just come out of the Bullpen after sitting on the bench in the dugout all evening. Hector went back to work and fanned both of New York’s .400 plus hitters back to back, as well as the lesser man behind them. The only two men the Yankees could manage to get on base all evening were left standing there, and the inning was saved as Dodger Stadium, full to the fringes, shook with wild and crazy fans shouting “Hector, Hector, Hector, Hector.” The Dodgers then tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the 8th, and the Dodger’s Manager allowed Hector to face the last 3 batters that the Yankees had to offer up. He struck them out with blinding speed, and each one of them went down swinging as the radar gun clocked Hector’s last 9 pitches at over 100 mph each.

            Dodger Stadium now shook harder than before. The Dodgers had just crushed the mighty New York Yankees by a score of 5 to zip, and were World Series Champions once again. But all Hector thought of as he struck out those last 3 batters was “Fernando my friend, this is for you”.



                                                                                          The End                                               

                                                                                                            By Jamil Goodwin