I’m not here to complain about umpiring decisions.  I am here to say that it’s a little fishy that two near-perfect games have been pitched in the BTH and in both games, Darnell Turner’s being hit by a pitch was the factor that rendered the games imperfect.

No one on the Power Hour or with ESPN has said anything about the Turner factor.  How could they not know?  Maybe I’m just a little irked because it happened while I was behind the dish.  On my watch as they say.

It is phenomenally difficult to pitch a perfect game and when a pitcher manages to do it, he receives applause and accolades.  Pitchers are applauded and praised for no-hitters, too, but not to the same degree, for obvious reasons.  So the hit on Turner basically converted the perfecto into a no-no.  Still an incredible feat, but not at the same level.

I’m not here to call Turner out.  I just want t say, in front of the whole internet, that I want to hear his side of the story.  It really does seem fishy, but lightning does strike the same place twice and it is possible he’s legit. While the change of being this type of factor in two near-perfect games is small, the chance of these incidents both being blown calls is even smaller.  Of course, he could be leaning in.  He does tend to crowd the plate.

According to the BTH website, he’s been hit by 66 pitches over 8.5 seasons.  That’s 8 pitches a year, more or less.  Already this season he’s been hit 9 times. There’s your answer.

The only question remaining is did he do it out of bad gamesmanship or was he just being his normal plate-crowding self.  I want to give him every benefit of the doubt.  But it just looks bad.

This message is for Darnell Turner.  Go public with your side of the story.  It looks really bad from my side. It’s not about you, it’s about the integrity of the game.

I started playing organized ball at the youngest level possible.  Tee-ball.  In tee-ball, I learned the names of all the positions and where they played.  But tee-ball has always been more about offense than defense and so there was no assigning of players to permanent positions, we were rotated every inning.

The next level up is coach-pitch where the team’s coach pitches to his or her own batters.  This makes the guy standing in the pitcher’s area superfluous.  At the same time it makes the position of catcher seem easy–all you have to do is catch the ball and throw it back to their coach.  The rest of the team is learning about defense.  Catch the ball, and throw out the runner (usually throw to first).   Speed became important as a defensive skill and while my arm and mind are quick, my feet were not.  I played some first base, too, during that time.

As I grew older, my teammates started pitching and we were allowed to try to steal bases.  Which means our opponents were, too.  And I discovered that not only could I throw runners out, I really liked doing it. At the same time, in those years as a pre-teen and teen, I discovered that catching is not just about being a backstop, it’s about communicating with your pitcher and calling a game.  And I really enjoy getting to know and understand my pitchers and get on their wavelength.  When we are in tune and on the same page, wonderful things happen. As the catcher for the Saratoga Springs Bombers, I have been behind the plate for no-hitters, championship games, and other historic games, too.  A couple nights ago, I caught McNulty’s no-hitter. Earlier this month, I called a game for Murphy where he struck out 21 hitters.

When these kinds of thing happen, my pitcher and I are locked in the zone. That feeling is impossible to describe.

I am a catcher for four main reasons.  First, I am in the game.  Second, I get to throw out runners.  Third, I get to be the complement to great pitchers.  And last, and most important, I get to pit my physical self against runners trying to score.  And I can hold onto the ball despite being hit hard. There is no other job in baseball that I would rather do than be the man in the mask calling the game.

I didn’t do it in order–I did homer, single, triple, double.  But I did get them all. I also struck out twice. I guess that’s how you can tell I’m still me.

I have the ball from the double I hit in the ninth, but I didn’t get the game ball. Stannik drove in seven and so he got it.  Since I got my homer in the first, and we were the visitors, the fans threw my ball back onto the field. That happens a lot but I’m wondering if maybe the fan now wishes they didn’t.

I am kind of surprised that I did this.  The speed thing I did to get faster a couple years ago has improved my running to where I can get triples now.   That’s the hard one.  I have hit home runs in the past.  But for anyone to do them all in one game is amazing. It’s even more amazing when it’s me, Zeeq Rios, catcher.

I was asked all kinds of things by the media about this. I guess I also set a conference record with the most AB in a 9-inning game.  If someone hadn’t told me, I’d never know. One of the questions they asked was did I know I was working on a cycle. Actually, I didn’t.  I was more concerned about keeping my defensive concentration because we were blowing Boston out of the water.  It’s easy in a game like that to get too relaxed and start playing sloppy. And then follow it up with sloppy play the next game.

Not that Ebs is a slacker or anything like that. He just waited a long time to get into the game and by that time we were so far ahead there was no way the Blaze could come back. So he wasn’t his usual focused self.  So I was being the focused one for both of us.

That last hit was a solid double and with the lead we had I didn’t see trying to stretch it. So there were no shenanigans, it was a real cycle.  The first time at any level I’d done it.  And it feels wonderful to have that on my resume.

Holy guacamole!  I have had the most intense spring training of my life.   I am not a complete hitter–nor will I ever be.  But we worked intensely on the strike zone and getting better at not K-ing.  I did drills and watched video and did computer-assisted exercises.  Those i can’t tell you about because they were developed for the Bombers by some programmer in Japan.  All I can say it they train you better to recognize balls and strikes.  It has some sort of video integration and so I’ve learned off guys like Jason Chandler, Darth Vader, and even ‘Lito.

Spring training is always fun because you always have fresh faces and new pitchers to learn.  I know Cs who hate that part because it’s work, but i really enjoy understanding how pitchers think. I know that probably classifies me as odd.  I don’t really care.  I really like the quirky pitchers.  They tend to be better than their scouting reports and they’re also fun to work with.

I wonder what it would be like to play a position outside the battery. ‘Lito was a shortstop before he became a pitcher but I never really thought about playing in the middle infield.  Until this morning.  I was asked if i would be willing to learn second base.  Basically, I’m developing offensively and they want to save my legs.  Back when there was MLB, a guy named Biggio did that for the Astros.  So I wouldn’t be breaking any new ground.  I really enjoy working behind the dish and I would miss it.  I would do it under protest and with a new contract that paid for extra training.  I’m not selfish but I do look out for myself.

I am a catcher.   I have an idea of what the perfect catcher is and I would like to become that guy before I quit to “pursue other interests”.  It would be good for our opponents to put my weak glove up the middle.   I’ll probably make more errors than the rest of the team combined.

I don’t want to start any fights by naming any names.  Some of the players are chosen by the fans but pitchers and the bench are picked by the managers who went to the world series.  Not just a couple of schlobs off the street.  These guys got their teams to the championship and so they have demonstrated that they know baseball. And baseball players. If you’re a pitcher or weren’t voted in as a starter by the fans, and you weren’t selected in the pitcher/bench round, well, all I have to say is that you’re not worthy.

I am worthy.  For the third time in my career I can say that with confidence and pride.  And to all of those who didn’t make it, who weren’t worthy, all I have to say is don’t hate on the All-Stars or the voters.

I am worthy. It took me 700 games and 2400 at-bats, but my career average is now above .300.  Hopefully for more than just a few weeks. So, what’s so magic about .300?

The common saying is that it’s okay to make mistakes and to struggle, that “even a good baseball player only hits the ball thirty percent of the time”.  So in the common mind, .300 is “good” and .299 is “not-so-good” or something. Anyway, I want to be thought of as “good”.  Not just behind the plate, but in the batter’s box.  I want people to think of me as a solid player.  Sure, I caught my historic game, but baseball has two sides, offense and defense, and I want to be able to contribute on both sides.

If you have ever seen the old baseball classic “Bull Durham” you know that the difference in batting average between “not-good-enough” and “good” is about a hit a week.  Think about that for a second.  That doesn’t sound so difficult when you say it like that, but statistics are funny things.  A hit a week is about twenty-five hits per year.  That is a little more daunting.

I’m getting my hit a week, my twenty-five hits a year. But I’m getting better numbers in other places, too.  My on-base percentage is about as high as it’s ever been.  For the season I mean.  I also am setting a new mark in triples–I have five.  And it’s only July.  I’ve had four a couple different seasons but this is the first time I’ve had five–and the season is far from over.

It’s good to be me.  To have the numbers and to be worthy of the tag “All-Star”.  I would like to continue to prove my worth for years to come.

I expected to feel different.  Taller maybe.  Smarter. I mean, it felt good to be a part of history and I appreciate that Murphy said my name–several times–in interviews about the game.

I don’t know what I was expecting but this was not it.  I thought that if I could do it–if I could be a part of history–that I would be a better catcher and maybe even a better person for it.

But I don’t feel any different from who I was before the game.

Is it always like that for people who make history?  Are they just at the right place for the right moment when the right things happen?  I guess that makes sense because I think maybe historic people were just going about being themselves when history happened to them. What I think I mean is that I used to think people made history. But I think now history makes itself.  That if you are where the action is, then you are part of history.

Maybe I should capitalize that.  Not history but History.  I mean, I drank a six-pack of Dr Pepper yesterday–that is history too.  But no one cares.  Capital-H History is the stuff other people care about.  Like Murphy’s two no-nos.  That is History.

But even that is not too important.  Another guy on another team got a no-no and now he’s the big news.  Murphy is becoming history with a little H. And that means I am, too.

Neither apparently do my teammates.  We’re working together and achieving.  We have the lead in the Griffey league.   That’s right, we’re in front of the pack, not trying to play catch up.   I guess you could say that coming up short like we did brought into focus our need to work together as a team.

Not all of us are team players. And since I’m not trying to call anyone out, I’m not going to name names. I will say that even those guys have begun to focus more on the Bombers than on themselves.  Or, as the cliché has it, the name on the front rather than the name on the back.

So, we’re playing more like a team and that’s bringing all of us to this new level of achievement. And it also brings us a new level of media recognition. Not all of the recognition is positive, but overall, success is tough to argue with and to find fault in. We get more airtime on “Sportscenter” and on talk shows.  We get more requests for interviews, from both our hometown and international media.

And we get requests for endorsements. People like to touch celebrity, even if they’re not aware of that desire. I can’t talk about the deals I am involved in until they hit the market, but I can talk about the ones I turned down. For me, some of them were lifestyle issues. I don’t drive a fast car so you won’t see me trying to sell you on buying one.

Shampoo is one–I am not too caring about what I use on my hair so telling people to buy a shampoo that I can’t remember if I’ve ever actually used would be totally bogus.

You’ll see in coming weeks some promotions featuring me and some of my teammates.  I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but I don’t put my name on something I don’t agree with or believe in.  Not because I’ve got more integrity than the next guy, but if you choose something because it’s associated with me and you don’t like it, you may take up against me. And the attention I will be getting will be negative. What they used to call “bad press” and it’s not what I want for myself.  Or for my team. And I figure, if I like it and use it, then you will, too.  I guess we’ll see.

Some people think catchers are stupid. And in a way, we are. We put our bodies on the line in ways that the rest of the team does not.

I’m thinking about this because of ‘Lito getting seriously injured. Not just hurt, but taken out of the game and sidelined for a couple of months.  Pitchers work hard.  That’s why they get extra rest.  But catchers work hard too.  And we’re at a higher risk of being injured. I am thankful that his injury was not so bad as what happened to that other Narwhal pitcher, Durbin.  But it was bad enough.

People cannot predict injuries.  If they could, then those injuries could be prevented or at least maybe they wouldn’t be as bad.

Some things can be predicted.  One of them is that I’ll have a ring and the Bombers will have a trophy.  We had a failure last year but this year we’ll be playing Texas and everyone knows we’re better.

Ah, you want to know where Phoenix is in this equation; at home after being stung by the Fire Ants in the first round.  Texas is showing early that they’re legit this season and they should have an easy time of dealing Phoenix out in the playoffs.

And we’ll be giving the same treatment to the Narwhals. Everyone is writing them off, but even with ‘Lito on the DL and Durbin out forever, they are a force to be reckoned with.  And we’ll reckon with them and beat them.  This is just a replay of history.

So I’ll get another ring in 2029.  I don’t want the bling, though, I want the bragging rights. The trophy and the rings are like the jersey with a name on the back and the name on the front.   There are rings for every name on the back and a trophy for the name on the front.  And some players play for the name on the back and the ring, while others play for the name on the front and the trophy.  Most players though are in the middle.  They want to excel on a personal level and they want the team to succeed.   I think here in Saratoga we have more players who play for the name on the front.  I also think that is one of the key factors in our continuing success.

Knowing something and being able to show it off are one thing.  Trying to describe it so that someone else can duplicate it is something else.  Maybe I’m just a born catcher.  Maybe when they call them “instincts” it’s because you can’t really teach them.  Either way, we got a new guy in and I was working with him and it didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped.

It doesn’t help that he’s my senior.  That’s not because he’s a bad student, but it took me awhile to be able to look past the age/seniority (He started when the league did) issue and focus on the fact that I am better defensively and that I owed it to the team to try to share some of that with my backup.

Honestly, I’m a catcher.  My job is the most demanding on the field in a physical sense. I need days off moreso than some of the other guys in the field.  (I’m not including pitchers here.  They’re a special breed and they’re not like the rest of us.)

The Bombers deserve the best backup available and anything I can to do help Molina get better, I want to do.  But it’s tough.  I don’t know how to make better throws with a weaker arm, for example.  I know some guys with weaker arms nail baserunners at a good rate, but my arm is strong (to be fair, so’s Molina’s but not *as* strong) and so I don’t contend with that issue.

I realize that there’s a reason he’s the backup and I’m the starter, but it would be so much better if he could be just a little better than he is. For the team I mean.

Calling games I think I can teach because it’s really the skill of knowing and observing your pitchers.  Know their repertoire and how to tell if they’re having problems with a pitch or if that pitch is solid for them on any given outing. Know, too, how they think and be able to say to yourself, “What does he want to throw?” and “What should he throw?” and usually come up with the same answer.   Of course, he can shake you off or call you out to the mound.  But generally, if you’re good, you lay down the right fingers the first time.

I noticed an improvement in the shake-off ratio for Molina as the spring continued and he got to know our pitchers. There are some things that you do improve over time.  I would like to take some credit for helping him learn our pitchers, but mostly that’s something that he has to develop for himself.  Especially the observation part.

I also learned that it’s harder to improve when you’re already pretty good.  This is reference to hitting. So this was, overall, one of the most demanding spring training sessions I’ve had.  But I feel really good about myself and my team.

Every year it’s different.  Some old faces are no longer around and some new faces are being integrated into the Bombers’ roster.  At all levels.  It’s a time of excitement and renewal.

With basically a week to work on catching and another week to work on “fundamentals” we have to be selective in where we focus our attention.   There are two main schools of thought on how to best get back into it.  One coach describes a sort of “flashlight model” of fundamentals training. Basically if you have a flashlight and a large poster in a dark room, you can either illuminate the whole poster dimly or you can put the flashlight closer and one section will be brightly light while the rest is hardly lit, if at all.

That’s how training works.   You can work on everything and do a small amount of good over a range of your skillset or you can focus on one area or maybe two to the exclusion of the rest and give them a “brighter shine” as they say.

What you do depends on who you are.  Personally, I like to work a little on everything.  There’s a saying that if there’s a weakness in the defense, the batted ball will uncover it.  Well, I totally believe fundamentals work the same way.  It’s the skills you don’t practice that you’re called upon to use. In my mind, I think it’s better to show up at as many different drills as i can manage.  I may never be asked to do a head-first slide, but it could give us a run if I can pull it off when I need to.

There are a lot of skills like that–it isn’t just sliding.  The point I’m trying to get at is that I want to be as all-around ready as I can be.  I want to be a generalist–generally good at all the fundamentals.  Not a specialist, and only good at one or two things.   Some guys, especially bench players, like to specialize. If it works for them, then that’s their decision.  For me, it’s my body and I get to pick how I’m going to develop myself.

Every year, we have the same discussions.  This year, I’m going to really try to work on everything. On both sides of the ball.  Check back in with me this fall to see how I’ve done.