Throwing Strikes

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Lee stood on the pitcher's mound and rolled his shoulder to relax. He had been in a similar position four years ago, except then he had been a senior in high school playing for the state championship. Now he was a senior in college playing in the College World Series.

So many similarities. So many differences.

Sixty feet six inches from the rubber to home plate. Just like in high school. Nine players on each team. Just like in high school. Same size baseballs. Same aluminum bats.

But everything was faster. And harder. And longer. In the seven-inning state championship game in high school, the other team had been terrified of his pitching. In the nine-inning college games, not so much. They respected his pitching, but no one was scared of it. He had managed to put up several no-hitters and three perfect games during his college career leading up to the CWS.

For the first two years of his college ball, his team had pitching but no hitters. For his third year, he was the only decent pitcher, but they finally had some hitters. This year, his senior year, they had it all. Hitters and pitchers and the Longhorns had dominated.

After this game, Lee was finished with baseball at UT. He had been signed by the Texas Rangers baseball club for a contract worth $100,000,000 and they were contractually obligated to work around his medical school at UT Southwestern in Dallas.

Lee was going to take some of his money and buy a couple of acres of land in Ferguson to build and equip a sports medicine clinic after he graduated medical school and completed his residency. He was also going to buy a few acres outside of Ferguson to build a house for Sloan.

Sloan.

If anything, their love had grown stronger. Sloan spent every weekend studying. She never went to parties or took part in any of the typical college activities. She was there to get her degree and that was it. From Sloan's point of view, it was pretty simple: her boyfriend was tall, handsome, kind, and funny. He was destined to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time as well as being a doctor. No one could compete with Lee. Why would she put her future at risk for the sake of having a fling with a frat boy? It would make no sense at all. If nothing else, the experience of Carol Larkin served as a stark reminder of how badly a marriage can go off the rails for the flimsiest of reasons. Not for her. Never for her.

No, Sloan was in a good place. She would wait for Lee.

As the batter stepped into the batter's box, Lee focused his mind on the task at hand. Lee went into his windup and released the ball, a splitter for a called strike one.

The batter turned to face Lee and raised his hand in a loose fist with his fingers toward his chest. He moved his fist up and down in what Lee would term a dismissive wanking gesture. Lee's catcher made a fist and extended his middle finger pointing downward. The sign for "fuck this guy."

Lee grasped the baseball along the seams and went into his windup. Lee sent the ball exactly where his catcher had placed his mitt; along the inside of the plate, crotch high to the hitter...who jumped back and landed on his ass to the laughter of everyone in the crowd.

Ball one. Oh, well.

Lee threw two more pitches. The last pitch the batter looked at helplessly as it floated over the plate a half second after the batter's swing.

Three up three down. And so it went, all the way towards a championship ring.

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The parade and after-party after winning the CWS dwarfed what Lee had experienced in Ferguson. Maybe because there were so many more people. Maybe because the students and players were old enough to drink. Whatever the reason, it had been an over-the-top celebration that Lee, Sloan, and Ted had looked on with sober amusement. As the trio walked across campus, they were unexpectedly met by someone they were not expecting to see.

"Mom!" Lee said in surprise. "I didn't think you were coming."

"I wasn't but I was able to switch days off with someone else and drove in this morning."

"You drove?" Lee asked in surprise. Lee should not have been surprised, he thought. Four years ago, Carol had resigned from her job at BKW Accounting and had accepted a job in the accounting department at Ferguson Memorial Hospital. The job paid much less than her previous job but the shame of her actions with her ex-affair partner made working at BKW untenable, even though Barry had been fired. Shithead Barry as Carol now thought of him.

"Yes. I'm on a budget you know," Carol said with a smile. "Where are you three off to?"

"We have reservations at Truluck's," Lee said.

"Well enjoy yourself. Ted, you're looking well." Carol had tears in her eyes as she looked at her ex-husband. The man she had tossed away like a used Kleenex.

Ted had not spoken to his ex-wife in four years. If they needed to discuss their son, it was done by email or text. He merely nodded at Carol's compliment.

As the trio turned away, Ted leaned over and spoke to Lee who looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure?"

Ted shrugged as he thought about it before nodding his head.

"Hey, mom!" Lee shouted to the back of his departing mother who stopped and turned around; a quizzical look on her face.

"Why don't you join us for dinner?"

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Lee and Sloan were walking hand in hand along a path in Ferguson City Park. It was Thanksgiving and they were taking the fall semester off before beginning the next chapter of their schooling; Lee in medical school and Sloan in graduate school

"Seriously, Sloan...it's unfair for you to be stuck at home every weekend. You're beautiful and fun to be around." Lee paused before adding "And I miss you."

Sloan side-eyed Lee. "Are you asking me to move to move in with you? How would that work?"

Lee shook his head. "You're the only woman I ever want to be with. I trust you. I used to think that if my mother could cheat on my dad, then anyone could cheat on anyone. But I know better now. I've never seen anyone as protective of someone else as you are with me. I want us to move in together."

"There is no one else for me and there never will be, but I am not moving in with you yet. We're going to stick with our plan. You finish medical school and play pro ball. Then we get married and start working on having babies. So, let's not discuss this any further."

Lee's lips quirked up into a smile. "Yes ma'am. I'll shut up."

Lee had told his dad that he would stay over at friends that night, which his father knew meant that Lee and Sloan would be getting a motel room that night but Sloan's period had started so she was not feeling the romance.

Lee entered his dad's apartment and noticed the fire in the fireplace and two glasses of wine. 'Not again,' Lee thought to himself.

Lee had started backing towards the door when a naked blonde walked out of his dad's bedroom carrying a bottle of wine. She screamed and dropped her bottle as she flung her hands across her breast and pubic area.

"Mom!" Lee shouted at the same time as Carol shouted, "Lee!"

At the scream, Lee's dad came out of his bedroom, shirtless, wearing only jeans as Carol ran back into the bedroom.

"I see you two have met," Ted said, dryly.

Lee rubbed his eyes and said dryly, "Do you have any bleach for my eyes? So how long has THIS been going on?"

"You remember when we all went out in Austin after your graduation?" Lee nodded his head. He had been shocked by his father's suggestion that his ex-wife join them for dinner.

"A week or so later, I was home and feeling...horny, I guess you'd call it. It's been over a year since Lisa broke up with me, you know." Lee nodded. His father had dated Lisa, the VP of Human Resources at his job for nearly two years. Ted was on the verge of proposing to the cute blonde when she suddenly and unexpectedly ended their relationship. She had explained that she knew Ted was going to ask her to marry her and she never wanted to marry again after two disastrous marriages. She finally confessed to Ted that both of her prior marriages had ended due to her infidelity and that she could already feel a sense of restlessness in her relationship with Ted and decided to end it before she cheated. Ted had been sad but admired her honesty. He had dated sporadically over the last year but had never dated the same woman more than twice.

"Anyway, I called your mom pretending I had a question for her about you. We talked for a bit and she asked me about Lisa."

When Carol found out from Lee that her ex-husband was in a long-term relationship and that it had grown serious, she was gutted. She knew that she had only herself to blame, but that did not lessen her feelings of devastation. She wished only the best for her ex-husband and hoped that Lisa would be a better partner for him than she had been.

"When I explained that Lisa and I were over and done, your mom asked me if I wanted to come by her place for a couple of hours. I laughed, and told her 'No thanks.' I could tell that hurt her. Anyway, a couple of hours later I was ringing her doorbell." Ted smiled at the recollection.

"Jeez, Dad, I don't know if you meant that as a metaphor, but it's TMI regardless." Lee shook his head in disapproval.

Carol wandered back into the living room, wearing one of Ted's dress shirts. "And he's been ringing my bell a couple of times a week ever since," she said, smiling at her son's discomfort.

"So, you two are what...? Back together? F-buddies? A situationship?" Lee asked, with a slight hint of anger in his voice. He well remembered the misery that his mother had put his father through.

Carol shook her head. "No, your father will never fully trust me again and I can't blame him. I'll take whatever part of him he's willing to give me and be available to him whenever he wants. I haven't been with anyone since our divorce nor will I be with anyone other than your father. Your dad is free to date as often as he wishes. The only thing that I ask of him is that he uses protection with other women."

Lee shook his head in disbelief. "You're in a one-sided open marriage?" This went against everything he believed in.

Ted nodded his head at Lee's question. "We are. But I haven't been out with anyone. Your mother is very focused on...exhausting me," Lee said with a slight chuckle.

"Good Lord," Lee muttered as he waved goodbye to his parents.

+++

Lee had done well on the MCAT but it was not just his MCAT scores that made him a shoo-in for the UT Southwestern Medical School. The fact that he was the most famous rookie professional baseball player in the world and had just helped UT win the College World Series was what made him a shoo-in for admittance. There had been some concerns about playing professional baseball while simultaneously attending medical school however Lee's contract with the Rangers required them to get him home in the most expeditious manner possible, including chartering a jet if needed. The contract also required the team to allow him study time and for a tutor to accompany him on the road. The expenses for the tutor would be covered by Lee, but the team's travel office would make all arrangements just as they would with any Ranger employee who was required to travel with the team.

It was an arrangement that had worked well for Lee and his medical school progress had not been hindered although, Lee was frequently left exhausted.

Sloan was currently enrolled at the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas and working on her MS in Applied Cognitive and Neurosciences with plans to continue pursuing her doctorate and then become a research fellow.

Being near each other had caused Sloan and Lee to alter their plans slightly. Rather than waiting, they married before Lee completed medical school. It was a small ceremony attended by Sloan's family, Lee's parents, and a selection of family and friends. Lee's best man had been his friend and former catcher Gary Neal. Gary's father had expressed some trepidation about attending the ceremony because of his very public outing of Carol Larkin's infidelity. To Carol, it was a non-issue. Yes, she had been exposed in a very public way but it had the effect of snapping her out of whatever had remained of her affair fog. She held no ill will toward Grady Neal and was happy that Ted's best friend would be at Lee's wedding.

After honeymooning in Hawaii, Lee continued medical school and Sloan her graduate school. They would have a few months of school and then the holidays before Lee had to report to Ranger's spring training in Surprise, Arizona. He would take a break from medical school and then re-start in the fall semester. It would take Lee longer to complete his studies but he felt that he could complete his schooling and be ready for his residency by the time his current contract ended. He had no plans to renew or extend his playing past that date.

Spring training had been drills and practice followed by practice and drills. Lee worked with the pitching coach but there was very little the coach could teach him. His mechanics were sound, and his speed had only increased as Lee got older. His fastball was routinely being clocked in the 112-115 MPH range with his fastest pitch recorded at 118.2 MPH.

The Rangers had a strong pitching staff with a deep bench and led by Lee's dominant performance, swept the Astros to win the American League West and then swept the Orioles for the American League championship which meant the Rangers would face the Phillies in the World Series.

The series began on a beautiful Philadelphia night. The weather was mild with no wind and the stands were packed for the much-hyped game. Even casual baseball fans were glued to their televisions that night for one reason: Lee Larkin was going to be the starting pitcher.

In his first season in professional baseball, Lee had pitched four no-hitters of which two of those were perfect games. There were not enough superlatives and adjectives in the English language to convey the uniqueness and magnitude of what Lee had accomplished in his first year.

The first game of the Series was a one-hit shutout which Texas won 4-0. Lee pitched the entire game and had a pitch count of 72.

The second game of the series saw the Rangers win 3-2 in eleven innings. Lee was not present for the game, having flown by charted jet back to Dallas immediately after game one finished. He had classes to attend.

The third game of the series took place three days after the second game allowing the teams to travel to Dallas for the next three games in the best-of-seven contest.

The Rangers lost game three in a lopsided score of 11-1 in which neither the pitching staff nor the hitters could get any traction.

The Rangers went into game four leading the series 2-1 which they extended to 3-1 thanks to their hitting rather than their lackluster pitching. The bench once again, could not get it going.

Game five would be the last game if the Rangers won, otherwise, they would travel back to Philadelphia for the final two games. Lee Larkin was announced as the starting pitcher.

The first six innings saw Lee face a total of 18 batters. The bats for the Rangers had finally come through and the Rangers were leading 3-0. As Lee threw his final warm-up pitch to start the inning, he took a step back off the rubber to take it all in. He knew with absolute certainty that in a short while the Rangers would win the World Series and he would celebrate while he could, but he had class in the morning so he would not be celebrating like the rest of the team.

Lee looked at the section reserved for players' families and saw his dad sitting by himself. Lee tugged on the brim of his baseball cap in silent acknowledgment to his father who responded with two thumbs up. As Lee watched, his father stood and moved into the aisle to allow two women to pass by. The first was a slim auburn-haired beauty clutching an infant to her chest. The second woman was a pretty blonde, considerably older than the auburn-haired woman. She too, clutched an infant to her breast.

It had been a coincidence as well as a shock for Lee to find out that he was going to be a big brother on the same day that he told his parents that they were going to be grandparents. Ted and Carol had not remarried but had maintained a relationship that was much closer than just friends with benefits. They never dated anyone other than each other and were completely monogamous. They each had their own residence and most, but not all, nights would find them sharing a bed. Occasionally, Ted would get triggered and would go into a dark place and would want nothing to do with Carol. It saddened her, but it was a consequence of her previous actions. She knew that although Ted loved her, he did not love her quite as much as he once did nor would she ever receive the blind trust that she once enjoyed.

Having a child was an unplanned accident which had caused Carol to have an anxiety attack. In a panic, she had told Ted that she had not slept with anyone and would take a DNA test or would end the pregnancy if he preferred. Ted did require Carol to have the testing and a noninvasive prenatal paternity blood test revealed that Ted was indeed the father. Carol left the decision to him on whether to have the child or for her to fly out of state to have an abortion. She fervently hoped he chose the former, but would do the latter if he required. Once paternity was established, there was no doubt in Ted's mind that they would have the baby. The only concern was Carol's age of forty-four years negatively impacting the health of the baby. Testing and close monitoring of the baby revealed no health issues and three weeks after Lee Larkin, Jr. was born to Lee and Sloan, Liam Larkin was born to Ted and Carol.

Carol was not amused by the nickname Lee bestowed upon his brother. "Lil Bastard" indeed.

As Lee watched the two women retake their seats, Sloan waved to him and he tapped the area over his heart twice; once for his wife and once for his son.

As his catcher tossed Lee the baseball for his first pitch of the inning, he stepped on the rubber with his right foot and nodded at the signal given to him by his catcher. It didn't matter the pitch, it wouldn't be hit anyway, Lee thought as he began his windup.

Epilogue

Fifteen years later

Dustin's Dustbin

By Dustin Draper

Sports Columnist

Special to the Dallas Herald Observer

Ran into an old friend last night at Esparza's Mexican Restaurant in Grapevine. Doc Larkin and his family were dining out and enjoying the Christmas decorations in downtown Grapevine, a/k/a the Christmas Capital of Texas. Let me tell you, the Doc looked great. He looked like he could still walk out on the mound and pitch a no-hitter. Hard to believe it's been fifteen years since that November night when the Doc pitched a perfect game against the Phillies to win the World Series. Even tougher to believe that it's been nine years since he retired from baseball. How many people would walk away from a five-hundred-million-dollar contract? Well, I know of one.

Doc Larkin's sports medicine clinic in Ferguson has now expanded twice and is considered one of the tops in the country. They perform more Tommy John procedures than any hospital in the world, and thanks to the research by Doc's wife, Dr. Sloan Larkin, the clinic is also on the leading edge in research and treatment for CTE injuries, concussions, and traumatic brain injuries.

Doc was out and about with his wife and three kids plus his mother, father and Doc's younger brother whose name is Liam but for some reason Doc calls "LB." I know there's a story there because each time he called his brother that, Doc's mother rolled her eyes and gives Doc a mean look before smiling at her youngest son.