The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - 9B
LAMARRE j From page 6B
8:10 p.m., Dugout
Ryan isn't the only one frustrated tonight. After allowing three runs that could have been avoided with
crisper defense, the pitcher Armstrong is pulled from the game. He throws drinks, slams his glove dpwn and
yells before storming out of the dugout after the third inning.
"I've never seen him like that," Wareham's athletic trainer says.
The Gatemen are struggling against Sale but they have managed to put three early runs across, so it's tied
when Armstrong leaves the game - and stays that way through the middle innings. Ryan's third at-bat results
in a hit-by-pitch in the fifth inning, but he's stranded.
The mood in the dugout starts to sour after Armstrong is taken out of the game. At this point, many players
are still hitless and these guys aren't used to that. There's a lot of cursing, helmet throwing and complaining
from both the players and the coaches.
Y-D takes a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning, and a four-run ninth puts the game away for the Red Sox. By the
end of the game, hardly any Wareham players are leaning on the fence. Many of them, Ryan included, are sit-
ting with their heads in their hands on the bench.
Isn't this just a regular season game? N E E D
9:45 p.m., Outfield grass ______ -"
For Wareham, it's just one loss to the hottest team in the league. But for Farris, it's a brutal one. He holds his
team in a postgame meeting for more than 20 minutes.
The entire Y-D team already boarded its bus and left, meaning Ryan didn't get to say hello to his Michigan
teammate.
After the long, grave team huddle, the Gatemen players scatter, gather their equipment and head to the
locker room. ALL INCLUSIVE RAT ASLOW AS
Most of them shower, change into street clothes and check text messages. It's been more than eight hours
at the field for many players. Host parents and team volunteers start spreading the word that the team's post- -
game dinner will be at Lindsey's Family Restaurant, and that there's good seafood there. --
Since 1:15 p.m., Ryan and Scott haven't eaten anything more than energy bars.
10:20 p.m., Lindsey's Family Restaurant
Everyone is starving. Playing baseball in the Cape League puts all the players on weird eating schedules, \
with noon lunches and 11 p.m. dinners more common than not.
So as soon as tables fill with Gatemen, the waitress comes over to take drink and soup orders. There's a buf-
fet with beef tenderloin tips, shrimp alfredo and corn in the next room.
The players attack the buffet, and they also notice the entire Y-D team eating in the next room over. Teams
will sometimes do this - host a dinner for an opponent, and then the other team will return the favor.
Ryan makes a beeline for Burgoon, the Michigan reliever, and they talk for a few minutes.
The players return to the table and inhale their meals. Some go up for seconds, and others wait to pounce on f.
the dessert trays of cookies and brownies.
By 11 p.m., everyone's pretty much full and all the conversations are pretty much exhausted. A couple of the
guys talk about heading to some local girl's house to hangout, but most of the players, like Ryan, are tired from
the long, hot day. Ryan and Scott just plan on heading home to their air mattress and futon, which suddenly
seem more appealing after the long day.
September 7,2009:12:00 p.m., Bruegger's
ANN ARBOR - More than a month later and 789 miles from the Cape, Ryan sits at a table in the local
coffee shop, eating a breakfast sandwich a day before classes start.
Looking back, it's kind of funny that July 28,a typical day on the Cape for Ryan, was anythingbut typical
on the field.
Ryan went O-for-3, and Wareham lost that day.
But over the course of the season, Ryan stood out offensively, compiling a .236 batting average - 25
* points above the team average - with 14 RBI and eight extra-base hits. The Gatemen were a playoff-caliber
team, finishing with a 19-19-6 record.
But the rest of the tale is pretty accurate, and the daily grind was Ryan's favorite part of the experience.
"Grind" is definitely the best word to describe it - practice, practice, practice, game. Ryan played through
bruised kidneys, general soreness and the classic New England fog.
It's a different experience from the college season, where players have multiple-day breaks in between THE
games and see the opponent's top pitchers on Friday nights only.
Adjusting to a new coaching style, complete with lots of hitting advice and technique analysis, can also . C O U R T YA R D S
be confusing.
And most of all, the sky-high level of competition guarantees that not everyone finds success - and $ DT A E N TS
there's value in that. I
"I think I learned to fail out there," Ryan said. "I knew if I struck out the first two times, I'd still get
another two at-bats.... That's going to help me in the long run. It wasn't like I had a job on the line or any- / 3 4
thing. In pro ball, if you get frustrated, you might lose your job."
After all, baseball is the sport where failing two out of every three times at the plate means success. And 1
on the Cape, Ryan learned that it's worth it to move across the country, live out of a suitcase and spend nine +
hours a day at the field to have that chance.
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