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My record in Charleston was now 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA. I had pitched 23.1 innings in three starts, averaging almost 8 innings a start. I had given up 25 hits. More than a hit per inning. I had walked just 7 while striking out 18.
I was also allowing just over 1 home run per nine innings!
Coach Les said that he thought I might be trying too hard to always throw strikes. That my horrible walk to strikeout ratio in my first year in Reno could be affecting me mentally.
Our starting rotation had Grady Hall and Chris Hammond looking great and the rest of us with an ERA over 5.0. Hall's ERA was below 3.0 and Hammond was at 3.03.
We continued on the road with three games in Sumter against the Braves.
The Braves had a 17 year old phenom at short stop named Gary Sheffield. Sheffield had hit 21 home runs in just 98 games.
At age 17!
He probably already could have been at the AAA level.
Sumter won the first game 6-3 as our ace, Grady Hall, didn't even make it out of the third inning.
The next night was an exciting affair with Sheffield hitting a walkoff two run homer off Mike Henneman in the bottom of the tenth and we fell 7-6.
The next night, Paul McLellan left the game in pain after just eight pitches. The bullpen did a bang up job, pitching 6.2 scoreless innings. Alas, they pitched 7.2 innings total. And, in the seventh, the Braves tagged us for four runs and won 4-1.
The topper was in the top of the ninth, with bases loaded and one out, we sent up back-to-back pinch hitters and they both struck out.
That dropped our record to 2-10 in August and 36-66 overall.
Between all the changing of teams and the losing I had been through in less than two years, I could sense a change in my attitude about professional baseball.
Winning became less and less important.
As did the team I played for.
I began to just focus on playing and not the team or how well we did.
I was becoming numb to all the defeats and uncertainties.
At this point, whatever happened happened.
In baseball and in life.
And that included Beth.
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