Page 3 of Rain Delay

I glanced over my shoulder to see Liam approaching me with a cup of water in one hand, his glove tucked underneath the other arm.

I sighed. “What thing?”

“That brooding thing.”

“I’m not brooding.”

“You’re staring off into the distance like you’re trying to think of something motivational to say or something to write in your little notebook.”

I snorted, shaking my head.

Liam’s been my best friend since we both came to Milwaukee five years ago. We both were acquired via trade; he was coming from New York, and I was coming from Philadelphia.

Even though we’re complete opposites, that man is a machine when he’s on the field.

Behind the plate? Good luck trying to get past him – his eyes were always on the money. Stealing a bag? Fat chance. Liam was going to make sure he beat you there with the ball.

If I were a rookie, I’d be intimidated by him; his tall, broad frame is one that I wouldn’t want to come face-to-face with. One swift punch from that man, and you’re being knocked into the next century. And when Liam got mad? Stay as far away from him as possible. He wasn’t going down without a fight.

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” I ask.

“Already did, bud. You’re too busy daydreaming; you didn’t even see it.” He claps my shoulder.

“And done with your batting practice already?”

He nods. “Yup. You sound like my mother making sure I brushed my damn teeth before I left the house.”

I let out a chuckle. For a moment, we watched as our team started to filter onto the field. The true calm before the storm.

The last quiet moments we had before Game 1 of 162 kicked off our lives again.

If you’re lucky, you finish your season in October with the World Series. Then, you have a couple of months off before you’re off to Spring Training.

You spend eight months living with the same group of guys. You’re on the road spending time with them, often more than you’re home with your own family. It’s rare to have a day where I can spend time with my family. In some way, baseball has always been a part of my schedule.

Yet, I loved every second of it.

Not only were we heading back home to get the season started, but the entire weekend was dedicated to us winning last season. We would be receiving our rings, and I was getting my awards for winning both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger for the second straight year.

I missed out on the Platinum Glove by just a couple of votes; however, getting another Gold Glove was enough for me.

“Think we can do it again?” Liam asks me.

I look over at him, confidently nodding. “Yeah. We did it once, what’s stopping us from doing it again?”

Liam shrugs. “New guys. New roster.”

“Not totally. We got three…? New guys? Everyone else won with us last year.”

“Fair point.”

I look back toward the field. Confidence has never been an issue for me. I always know to trust the process, and things will work out in the end. If you did your job, you’ll like the results.

I understood the stakes I was up against going into this season, and I understood the pressure that sat on my shoulders. I had to be at my best at all times. The second I wasn’t, everyone would notice. Everyone would talk, and it would be hard to earn that trust back.

Every team in the league was looking at us differently now. Some dread playing a series against us. They were circling our name on the schedule. We were no longer the hunters; we were the hunted.

I liked being on a team that everyone wanted to beat. It fueled something in me that I never realized until the feeling actually hit me. Clearly, we’re doing something right.