“No. We already discussed this. If I remember correctly, someone advised me not to make a commitment until spring of my senior year,” I said, using his advice against him.
“I told you that before I had the perfect place for college lined up for you,” he replied, and then got serious. “Wanna know a secret? I think we might have to start Wes Hunt as a true freshman.”
That got my interest. Wes might win them some games, but if the pressure was on, I was betting he would fold at the wrong time. I could walk onto campus as their savior. The only problem with my logic was that if Wes had a year’s experience with actual playing time, it would be hard to unseat him. I could end up on the bench for the first three years.
Then again, I knew that every time we’d gone head-to-head, I’d beaten him.
What shocked me was that Coach Wilson might actually consider starting a freshman. Quarterback was, without a doubt, the hardest position to just walk on and play. Coach Wilson must have some real problems if Wes Hunt would need to start. I didn’t say that to take anything away from Wes; he was the best quarterback in the senior class. I could name fifty teams that would beg to have him on campus starting for them. It was just that we were talking about Alabama, probably the best-run football program in college.
“I could actually start as soon as I walk onto campus,” I said in astonishment.
“Sometimes I forget that you’re a ‘stupid boy’ and don’t read your own press clippings. I’ve seen both of you play, and I think you’d have a shot at unseating him,” Bo said.
That gave me pause. I pondered what Bo was telling me.
“I really don’t want to deal with baseball recruiting right now. The Ohio State visit was something my parents set up so they would be familiar with the process,” I admitted.
“Good. I would have had to pull some strings to get Coach Gat there tonight, but I would have if you wanted me to.”
“Thanks.”
“How was it?” Bo asked.
I launched into a five-minute spiel on the virtues of The Ohio State Buckeyes.
“Did you know that it snows there?” Bo threw out.
This time I had to laugh. If he wanted to play the weather card, I might have to tell him what it was like at USC. At least in southern California, it didn’t feel like there was 90% humidity when it got hot. We talked for a little longer, and then I had to get up and go run.
◊◊◊
Tonight, at baseball practice, it was just Moose working with the outfielders. He wanted to work in detail on balls where we had to contend with the wall or fence to catch.
“If a ball looks like it’ll be a home run, I don’t want you to do what David did earlier in the year,” Moose said. “Don’t try to use the wall to boost yourself up to catch it. I say that with one exception: if we’re in the playoffs, and it’s the State Championship in the bottom of the seventh inning, do whatever it takes.” Moose grinned as he said that.
“Why shouldn’t we try to make that catch?” Dan asked.
“Two reasons. The first is that the chance of injury makes it not worth it. The second is that the odds of you making that play are slim. When I played baseball, I think I made five of those plays. On the last one, I tore a ligament in my ankle. I had to have it reattached and was in a cast for six weeks. It still bothers me when the weather changes, almost forty years later.”
“If we do need to do it, what’s the right way?” Milo asked.
Moose trotted over to the fence to demonstrate.
“Even a chain-link fence like this can hurt if you run into it. Hit a pole, and forget about it. I’ve seen players get knocked out, broken arms, bruised ribs, and the like. I’m telling you little dumbasses this so you understand that it’ll mess you up if you aren’t listening for your help,” Moose said. Then he looked each of us in the eye.
“If you don’t call out a warning for your teammate, you’ll be sitting next to me in the dugout. Is that understood?” Moose asked.
“Yes, sir,” we all said in unison.
“The trick to doing it right is to use your non-glove hand to grasp the top of the fence. This is to keep your ribs from smacking into the wall,” he said with a half-smile as he demonstrated what would happen. “Then put your toe against the wall and push yourself up.”
It looked perfectly safe to me.
◊◊◊
After my dojo workout, I drove to Shiggy’s house. Brook and Cassidy were curious about my Japanese lessons, so Shiggy agreed to let them come to dinner. He assured me that Hana had enough to feed everyone. I think Brook wanted to see if she needed to worry about Hana.
We were all hungry, so Shiggy had Hana serve dinner first. Cassidy got excited as she clapped her hands.
“Oh, goody, tonkatsu.”
“You’ve had this before?” Hana asked.
“When I lived in Japan. It was one of my favorite things to eat,” Cassidy said.
Both Brook and I turned and stared at our friend. She waved us off.
“Daddy was posted in Nishiki, Japan, when I was in second grade.”
“The Iwakuni base?” Hana asked.
