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2B Vows Injury Won't Stop Him
October 5, 2061: San Fernando -- Stephen Schmidt drove a groundball into the gap between second base and first in the second game of the San Fernando series, and Napoleon Mellottwho started the play one second basehad only one thought. "I'm going to score," he said. He did that, diving head-first into the plate, beating a close tag but tweaking his back in the process. "Totally worth it," he said afterward, though he came up wincing and was removed from the game after a consultation with the team trainer and manager Kate Fiscus. "I didn't want to leave," he said. "But Kate can be convincing."
Workmanlike 2B Earns
Teammate's TrustWhile some were concerned the second baseman should sit out, he wasn't having anything to do with that. "I'm going to play," he said forcefully when someone suggested he should sit out the first game or two of the Nashville series. "We've come too far to let something like a little tweak keep us from putting it all out there."
Mellott finished the series 6-16 with a homer (which helped win Game 1) and three walks, which was enough to draw praise from his teammates.
"Napoleon is a player," said first baseman Mike McClure. "There's not a guy in the locker room who doesn't totally respect his game. And you can see it in the way he's come to the field this whole series. It would have been easy to sit back and let someone else step in, but that's not how Nap rolls."
"We're not a team of superstars," Mellott said. "And I think I like that. It's me in Game 1, but Fahid in Game three and Michael in Game five. We're just better than our parts. That's been true all season long, and it will take us as far as it takes us in the Silly Postseason Exhibition Tournament. That makes it fun."
Team doctors say that it could still be a few days before Mellott recovers fully from his injury, and that back problems are notorious for getting worse before they get better, but that doesn't phase him at all. "We've worked too hard to back down now. Either we win or we don't. But, either way, no excuses, I'm going to play."
October 5, 2061: San Fernando -- Stephen Schmidt drove a groundball into the gap between second base and first in the second game of the San Fernando series, and Napoleon Mellottwho started the play one second basehad only one thought. "I'm going to score," he said. He did that, diving head-first into the plate, beating a close tag but tweaking his back in the process. "Totally worth it," he said afterward, though he came up wincing and was removed from the game after a consultation with the team trainer and manager Kate Fiscus. "I didn't want to leave," he said. "But Kate can be convincing."
Workmanlike 2B Earns
Teammate's Trust
Mellott finished the series 6-16 with a homer (which helped win Game 1) and three walks, which was enough to draw praise from his teammates.
"Napoleon is a player," said first baseman Mike McClure. "There's not a guy in the locker room who doesn't totally respect his game. And you can see it in the way he's come to the field this whole series. It would have been easy to sit back and let someone else step in, but that's not how Nap rolls."
"We're not a team of superstars," Mellott said. "And I think I like that. It's me in Game 1, but Fahid in Game three and Michael in Game five. We're just better than our parts. That's been true all season long, and it will take us as far as it takes us in the Silly Postseason Exhibition Tournament. That makes it fun."
Team doctors say that it could still be a few days before Mellott recovers fully from his injury, and that back problems are notorious for getting worse before they get better, but that doesn't phase him at all. "We've worked too hard to back down now. Either we win or we don't. But, either way, no excuses, I'm going to play."