Off Topic
Pitcher Honored
April 4, 2043: Yellow Springs – All right, let’s get the preliminaries out of the way. The Yellow Springs Nine hosted the Madison Wolves in a baseball game at Utopia Field today, losing by a score of 9-3 in a game where the infield defense let them down.
Enough said about that, because the real news here is that the team spend the day regaling one José 'Dogface' Chávez and his family on the road to inducting him in the YS9 Hall of Fame. Events started with a private brunch attended by family, team organizers, and past teammates—a get-together that evolved into an impromptu roast of the guest of honor, who took it with a beaming smile and an entire plate load of laughter. A ticker-tape parade followed, in which Chávez, his wife and kids rode seated in the back of an open convertible and waved to fans.
The destination of the parade, of course, was Nine Hall, a cleanly-designed building at the corner of South College and High Street where the team’s central offices and, of course, it’s Hall of Fame lie. The ceremony was everything such a ceremony should be, with Chávez giving a speech in which he thanked pretty much everyone in the room and told stories of growing up with his brother and dreaming of being able to play in the States. “This city has been a huge part of the story of my life, and I thank everyone who has helped made me what I am.”
Later, at the game, Dogface threw out the first pitch, something that resembled the fabled knuckle-curve that he built his career on. The fans cheered then, and they cheered every half-inning as the new QTIS vision system played his highlight reel.
A good time was had by all, and, in the end, the guy who—at his far too short peak—may well have been the greatest pitcher to ever don a Nine uniform, was fully ensconced in the Nine Hall.
Exactly where he belongs.