The other day when I was coaching a winter league game for 11 and 12 year old players, we were down 4-2 and we were not really threatening the other team as we went on to get beat 8-4. However, we had a inning with a runner on first and he got picked off due to some poor base running which was probably my fault for not covering this particular situation with the boys at practice. So between innings we had an extremely brief class on what to do and what not to do for when each of these boys might be put in that situation again. So after thinking about that it got me thinking of the first and only time I was picked off. Coach Skip Hudgins will probably remember.
Western Albemarle high school had a very strong baseball program, in a very strong district, with some of the best players in central Virginia. Also, if memory serves we had a relatively small roster of only like 15 or 16 players. Well it seemed small compared to some of the HS rosters now with 20 -21 guys on the squad So what I am getting at is that being a freshman or sophomore at Western and playing Varsity was kind of uncommon back on the old days, haha. Well anyway, we were playing at Turner Ashby and we were getting shutout through 2 or 3 innings. I don't remember the final score but I do remember I think I got our teams first hit. Two outs man on first. Before the pitcher through his next pitch...you guessed it "Wham-O" he picked me off. Now, was it the worst thing in the world. No! But I remember Coach Hudgins was sore. I mean super sore. If this had happened today I would have probably needed therapy from just the way Coach looked at me.
Well the game concluded and I was still alive. Barely. I remember on the bus ride from home the Coaches were discussing the game and getting picked off must have come up. I heard Coach Hudgins say very loudly that he didn't understand how anyone could get picked off when there wasn't even any kind of play in place. "Whoa - Coach is still upset at me" is all I could think during that bus ride home to Crozet. I don't remember if we even scored in that game but I am sure we lost. I know that winning and losing can't be contributed to one play but I sure felt like getting picked off gave Coach a place to put the blame.
I don't know how many games I played in after that one but I can assure you that through two and a half high school seasons, three or four more years of summer ball and my entire college career I never was picked off again. Was it because of the way that I felt for letting Coach Hudgins down. You bet it was. No way did I want to feel the way I felt when I saw the frustration and disgust on Coach Hudgins face that day in 1985. It was kind of like getting your hand burned on a hot stove...do it once and that is probably the only time it will ever happen. Of course my mom says that it took two times for me. But that is a different story for a different day.
The moral of this story is - it is really hard to get on base, so when you do don't get picked off!
Coach Bale
