B4
THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022
Coach: Long-lasting friendships formed
Continued from Page B1
Bridlemile school. The fi eld there
was level, surrounded by undu-
lating terrain. It promised a chal-
lenge to condition training.
We scheduled two practices
per week for the next three weeks
before league games started. The
practice sessions were split into
20- to 30-minute segments. The
fi rst 20 minutes the boys spent
running around the perimeter of
Hamilton Park. It was a grueling
workout for all of them. The site
at that time was a rolling sidehill.
Tom was not in physical condi-
tion to even run part of a lap with
the boys. I ran about a quarter lap
to set a pace and push for accel-
eration when they slowed down.
In 2016 one of the original
team, now in his 50s, stopped me
in the Multnomah Athletic Club
lobby to say hello and reminded
me of the dictatorial and tyranni-
cal workouts at Bridlemile.
The second segment cov-
ered fi elding. Throwing the ball
between partners with gradually
increasing separation resulted in
an amazing increase in accuracy
and distance.
In the third segment of practice
the team played a simulated game
after separating the boys into a
fi elding team and a batting team.
Not all the boys were suffi -
ciently interested to participate
even mentally. One, Brad, stood
out in his apathy, low skills and
disinterest. Tom and I were frus-
trated. We decided that regardless
of skills each team member was
going to play at least three innings
per game . Tom’s and my objec-
tives were not about winning but
to develop team spirit and skills in
a sport. We decided that Brad and
one or two others were going to
be playing in the outfi eld.
The season started. It was a
nine-game schedule, one game
per week. We went into the ninth
game with an eight-game loss
WE DID NOT WIN
A SINGLE GAME
THAT YEAR. IT
DID NOT MATTER.
THE FRIENDSHIPS
AND BONDS HAD
BEEN FORMED.
BRAD’S CATCH
MADE HIM A HERO
AND THE GLUE.
AND SOME OF THE
FRIENDSHIPS HAVE
LASTED THE NEXT
50 YEARS.
record. Our pitching and infi eld
game was acceptable and com-
petitive. But any ball hit by
the opposing team beyond the
four infi elders might as well be
counted as a run. The skill level of
our out fi elders was very low. Nor
did they pay attention to the fl ow
of the game. While they did not
fully fall asleep standing up, their
attention was not on the game.
Players of the team not in the
game had adopted the routine of
calling loudly the individual out-
fi elder’s name in whose direction
a hit by any opponent was fl ying.
That at least woke up the player.
He still had to fi nd the ball and
get it to the infi eld. A diffi cult task
for the outfi elders.
The boys on the sidelines
enjoyed soft drinks and snacks
during games. They were happy.
No complaints from the parents.
Tom and I were the spirit leaders
for the team, leading them with
cheers.
The physical condition of
the boys improved faster than
their playing skills. We lost the
fi rst eight games by spectacular
margins.
Our fi nal game of the sea-
son, our ninth , started out bet-
ter than the previous eight. We
were ahead by one run when the
opponents started the bottom half
of the ninth inning. Our pitcher
threw out one batter, allowed one
almost base hit, with the runner
being thrown out at second base.
We might get a win if we could
get one more out. I am sure that
this thought entered everybody’s
mind. Our pitcher had to perform.
We hoped.
Our pitcher threw a strike with
the fi rst pitch. The second pitch
was in the center of the plate.
The batter hit it sweetly and long
toward the right outfi eld, Brad’s
position. Tom and I knew the
game was over. Home r un. Nine
losses.
The sideline team shouted in
fullest voice “Brad, Brad!” That
woke up Brad. His name had been
called. In a refl ex reaction he
stuck up his gloved left arm. The
long fl y ball found its way home
into Brad’s glove. It stuck. It must
have felt comfortable there. It did
not fall out.
We could not believe it. The
team cheered. A win! Happiness.
Tom and I cheered with the boys.
Then we looked at one another
and laughed. The boys jumped in
excitement. They felt the “win-
ning season.” They now were a
team. Of friends. Brad was their
hero.
The next year everybody,
including Brad, signed up for
the team. We did not win a sin-
gle game that year. It did not mat-
ter. The friendships and bonds
had been formed. Brad’s catch
made him a hero and the glue.
And some of the friendships have
lasted the next 50 years.
This essay was produced
through a class taught by Tom
Hallman Jr., a Pulitzer Prize win-
ning reporter at The Oregonian.
Ballgame: Trips are
a time to catch up
Continued from Page B1
best Italian food we’d had in years.
While waiting, outside, a sudden
torrential downpour started, and I
ran into a nearby store and bought
a gigantic umbrella that I still have.
After dinner we crossed the street
to partake in a cannoli at Mike’s.
In Chicago we went to Oak
Park to tour the Frank Lloyd
Wright homes and had the ice
cream trolley come to our hotel
room. That’s also the trip I was
introduced to Garrett popcorn.
In Pittsburgh we had sandwiches
from Primanti’s with fries tucked
inside and became loyal fans of the
burnt almond cake from Prantl’s.
We also had brats and pierogies.
And while in Wisconsin, we ate
plenty of cheese, including deep
fried curds and cheddar beer soup.
Our last trip was to Milwau-
kee to see the Brewers play. Some
might say that’s an odd choice par-
ticularly since we haven’t been to
see a home game for the Dodgers,
Yankees or Phillies (yet). It was
more of a sentimental trip. Our
grandfather was born in Monroe,
Wisconsin, and neither Peter or I
had ever been to the state.
It was far more charming than
we thought it would be, partic-
ularly Monroe. The town, espe-
cially the older part, was almost
untouched. We were able to envi-
sion our grandfather walking the
same streets between 1893 and
1912 when he lived there.
The house our grandfather
lived in is still standing. We talked
briefl y to the man who lives in the
house today. He was non plussed
by us and had no interest in the
history of the house, including the
sign in the front lawn with its des-
ignation as the Twining House.
Peter and I couldn’t imagine hav-
ing no interest in fi nding out more
about the person that the house
was named after. A family name
that adorned local parks, amphi-
theaters and schools among other
things. Our great uncles were
mucky mucks in the military and
this small town had run with it.
There is a lot of information that
is easily found online, and his-
tory, military and even alien buff s
would be interested.
We broke tradition once, but it
didn’t count as one of the baseball
trips. At least in our books. Our
father, at 91, had never been to a
major league game, so we planned
a trip to see the Mariners. We
invited our oldest brother, partners,
children. Six of us ended up going.
Our dad’s review of the game? “It
wasn’t very peppy.” This, after he
had gotten a ball fouled off to his
seat. At his very fi rst game. He
didn’t understand that this was a
cool thing and didn’t come around
until he got back home, and his
friends started telling him what
a special thing that was to have
happened.
Peter and I are looking forward
to resuming our trips once we feel
it’s safer to travel and be in large
crowds again. We’ve contem-
plated inviting others on our for-
ays, but we honestly don’t want to
do so. We know that it wouldn’t be
the same, that a diff erent dynamic
would ensue. And once you open
that Pandora’s box, it simply can’t
be closed. There’s an ease and a
shorthand that’s involved when it’s
the two of us. There’s no jealousy
or hurt feelings or someone insist-
ing upon having alone time. These
trips are a time for us to catch up,
relax, explore and eat to our heart’s
content.
This essay was produced
through a class taught by Tom
Hallman Jr., a Pulitzer Prize win-
ning reporter at The Oregonian.
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