He'd just served up a dinger, 450 out...upper deck
His third home run that inning, and he figured "what the heck"
He knew the hook was coming, first they had to make the call
Then the pitching coach would come out, before he had to give the ball
To the manager, all stoic, spouting rhetoric and then
He'd turn over the game ball, a kind of baseball zen
He'd come to learn this process,
He'd seen more and more this year
The time was getting closer
He'd have to hang 'em up this year
For five straight games he'd got the hook
Never getting to the third
And there was that team suspension
For flashing fans the bird
Frustration, more than anger made him vent and flash the sign
It was captured on the jumbotron, his finger.....8 foot 9
It made all of the sports reels, his finger in the air
But at 46, he thought, well....I really do not care
He was signed.. a bonus baby, out of Henderson N . V
He came up out of high school in summer sixty three
His fastball, just untouchable...ninety miles per at least
And on opposing batters he would surely have a feast
He knew what he was throwing, was the best in many years
But at eighteen he was still surrounded by lots of big league fears
In high school he set records, went to State, and led the team
He was the best left handed starter, Henderson had ever seen
He won each game he pitched in, hit for numbers, struck out tons
His team outscored opponents by at least three hundred runs
Scouts were out to watch him, every time he took the mound
And he knew this as he walked out, tossed the rosin on the ground
He chose to bypass college, heading to developmental ball
If he did what he was told, he be in Lakewood by the fall
He got the call in August, saying "son, you're on your way"
"You'll be on the train this morning and tomorrow you might play"
So, he made his calls, told those he knew he was heading to N.J.
He was gonna set Lakewood on fire, he was gonna have his day
He sat for weeks when he arrived, erratic was his stuff
"You've got to tame that curve ball kid, it's just not good enough"
His first start in September, he was nervous and concerned
What if I blow this chance and back to Texas, I'm returned
HE started off with two walks, hitting one then fanning three
He was feeling better, just what people came to see
After five innings they pulled him, with ten strike outs to his name
His team was up six nothing, he was gonna win this game
And sure enough the bullpen came on in and shut the door
And before the season ended he was winning three games more
That winter he went home again, and worked on his control
He knew what the coach wanted, he understood his role
Next spring down in Clearwater he showed he had improved
So when the final cuts came down, up to double A he moved
It didn't take them long to find him burning up the mound
In fifteen starts, a hundred K's, no one better could be found.
From here he went to Allentown, to AAA he'd go
Next move that he would make from here should put him in the show
He only threw 3 games down here, two big league starters down
He was called on up to the big time, and was starting....out of town
He only pitched an inning, two thirds to be exact
He got lit up for 6 runs that night, hard to keep it all intact
He finshed out watching more games, than he pitched in but he knew
He'd be in the spring rotation wearing number forty two.
He met with mixed success at times never coming up real big
For as each year passed his fastball slowed and harder he would dig
His bonus money squandered, three wives gone, investmestments too
He bounced around the league a bit, hitting eight teams in succession
It was enough to do a weak man in, at least there's a concession
He was still up there, the show, on top, it didn't matter where he pitched
As long as he stayed healthy, he wasn't getting ditched
But one day he, on three days rest felt a twinge in his left arm
He pulled himself, and iced it, not doing any harm
But his pitching got erratic, speed was gone and no control
It was then he got the phone call...he was going to the hole
They moved him down to rehab some in AA across the state
He knew with no improvement that this would be his fate
Two years down here and then again, a new kid came along
Sorry, but you're going down...that was a lonely song
Two years and then he moved on back out West just to see
He knew he still had some heat...throwing nearly ninety three
But control...no way at that speed, slow it down...they'd hit him hard
Once he dropped it under eighty...all the batters...they went yard
But still he kicked around some, working nights, coaching some
Then he got the call from Joplin, got to see if he was done
He showed up fit, and did his best but still just couldn't toss
He'd get the speed but no control, the plate it wouldn't cross
The team was just a throw back, small market and little park
But inside he had desire, this place lit in him a spark
There never were too many fans, eight hundred at the most
But when he took the mound there, he could feel his younger ghost
On nights he wasn't pitching, he played first and coached third base
On other nights, he sat around and sold programs round the place
He knew that soon the time would come, he knew his bubble'd burst
He didn't throw as fast to home as these kids did to first
But now, with the suspension, and him getting pulled five straight
He knew he'd overstayed his welcome, he'd been here far too late
"The ball...Jim, Jim, the ball....was all he heard coach say
He was already in the dugout and he wasn't gonna stay
He packed up and he left the park, left his rooming house as well
He had nowhere to go to, and maybe just as well
But the next year he was out there slinging just like Jim could do"
He was selling peanuts and some ******* jack at a ball parkin Purdue
The game is in his soul you see, it's part of who he is
Like Gherig, Ruth, Diamaggio, like Peewee and The Dizz
He owes his life to baseball. even though he stayed too late
"If he'd just controlled his curveball"...the kid...coulda been great.
It's a long, baseball themed tome. With a nod of the head to Henderson, Nevada.
