Off Topic
41-Year Old’s Next Step: Hall of Fame
OR IS IT?
November 3, 2060: Marshall Islands – “Pick up a bat,” manager Richard Lawson said. It was September 21st, bottom of the seventh. The Bikini Krill trailed Sacramento by a score of three to two. Runners on 1st and 2nd. Aaron Haney, after spending an entire season at AAA, Was going to hit.
“I always wanted him on one of my teams,” general manager Ron Collins would say later on. “Haney is just one of those guys you hated to see on the other side of the dugout.” To fulfill that dream Collins had signed the one time superstar to a minor league deal, something haney agreed to in hopes of showing up in the bigs one more time.
Now, after something more than 13,000 plate appearances Aaron Haney once more grabbed a bat and once more strode toward home plate as a crowd of appreciative fans on the atoll stood to give him an ovation. He did not move like he had moved when he was younger. The stretches he took in the on deck circle seemed to bring grimaces to the veteran's face rather than smiles. And yet as he did stride to the plate the smile came. Then the determination. The classic determination that he'd put into his gaze came across his face, as he stared toward the mound where Mad Pope pitcher Jeff Locke stood.
The crowd did not stand down during that first pitch, which meant that they were standing and cheering as the ball flew toward home plate and as Aaron Haney swung his big bat one last time and cracked a resounding line drive of a grounder up the middle and into center field.
Alas, they were dampened a moment later as Michael Buckley, yes that Michael Buckley, he of the five rated speed, and the 8 rated base running made the turn around third base and headed for home only to be gunned down at the plate. The threat was over. Sure there was one more hitter, but every fan in the stadium had seen this one before. They knew what the final result would be. And yet they did have something to cheer as they watched Haney standing now at second base, receive the baseball And push it gently into his back pocket. No one knew for sure, of course. But that night the fans felt the essence of what was occurring, and they stood longer giving Haney a true sendoff, just in case.
And in the end it was his last at that and his last hit.
Of course that assumes that at 41 years old he considers his career to be over. One hopes, as a careful observer, that perhaps he does choose that path. One would like to remember him standing there at second base, waving to the crowd as he shoves his trophy baseball into his back pocket and accepts their accolades. And yet, also, one cannot help but observe the boyish smile that comes to his face at age 41 standing out there, and one cannot help but imagine how even at 41 a player like Aaron Haney—with his 733 home runs, his 2,084 RBI, and his 596 stolen bases—could hope for one more pass, for one more dip into the world of magic that only baseball can bring.
OR IS IT?
November 3, 2060: Marshall Islands – “Pick up a bat,” manager Richard Lawson said. It was September 21st, bottom of the seventh. The Bikini Krill trailed Sacramento by a score of three to two. Runners on 1st and 2nd. Aaron Haney, after spending an entire season at AAA, Was going to hit.
“I always wanted him on one of my teams,” general manager Ron Collins would say later on. “Haney is just one of those guys you hated to see on the other side of the dugout.” To fulfill that dream Collins had signed the one time superstar to a minor league deal, something haney agreed to in hopes of showing up in the bigs one more time.
Now, after something more than 13,000 plate appearances Aaron Haney once more grabbed a bat and once more strode toward home plate as a crowd of appreciative fans on the atoll stood to give him an ovation. He did not move like he had moved when he was younger. The stretches he took in the on deck circle seemed to bring grimaces to the veteran's face rather than smiles. And yet as he did stride to the plate the smile came. Then the determination. The classic determination that he'd put into his gaze came across his face, as he stared toward the mound where Mad Pope pitcher Jeff Locke stood.
The crowd did not stand down during that first pitch, which meant that they were standing and cheering as the ball flew toward home plate and as Aaron Haney swung his big bat one last time and cracked a resounding line drive of a grounder up the middle and into center field.
Alas, they were dampened a moment later as Michael Buckley, yes that Michael Buckley, he of the five rated speed, and the 8 rated base running made the turn around third base and headed for home only to be gunned down at the plate. The threat was over. Sure there was one more hitter, but every fan in the stadium had seen this one before. They knew what the final result would be. And yet they did have something to cheer as they watched Haney standing now at second base, receive the baseball And push it gently into his back pocket. No one knew for sure, of course. But that night the fans felt the essence of what was occurring, and they stood longer giving Haney a true sendoff, just in case.
And in the end it was his last at that and his last hit.
Of course that assumes that at 41 years old he considers his career to be over. One hopes, as a careful observer, that perhaps he does choose that path. One would like to remember him standing there at second base, waving to the crowd as he shoves his trophy baseball into his back pocket and accepts their accolades. And yet, also, one cannot help but observe the boyish smile that comes to his face at age 41 standing out there, and one cannot help but imagine how even at 41 a player like Aaron Haney—with his 733 home runs, his 2,084 RBI, and his 596 stolen bases—could hope for one more pass, for one more dip into the world of magic that only baseball can bring.