CHAPTER 1
{A CAST OF CHARACTERS}
"It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered."
–Aeschylus, Greek playwright
The team character and attitude we displayed in 1996 was largely responsible for our success. I'm sure many teams we defeated would come to envy that quality, and it was due in large part to the coaches.
I don't recall what year Stacy Hester arrived at New Hope, but it was at least a year or two prior to my freshman year. I remember being in junior high school on an early spring afternoon and peering out of the window during algebra class. As I watched the team running sprints, I couldn't wait to become part of it. I could see the commitment and dedication required by Hester of his players. I loved the game of baseball, but even more, I loved the thought of being devoted to becoming successful.
It wasn't until the 1995 season that Hester would receive some top shelf help. That was the year that Tim Dowdy would arrive. He made a name for himself the first year there, and we were happy to have him back in the spring of 1996.
It wasn't until recently that I found out that he almost didn't return that spring. Coming off quite a successful season in 1995, Coach Dowdy received a phone call prior to the start of the school year in the fall of 1995.
An athletic director (A.D.) from another high school in North Mississippi informed him that their coach was not returning for the upcoming school year. The school was known to have a good program, and the A.D. asked Dowdy if he'd be interested in being the new head coach.
I'm sure this call must have been quite an exciting one for Dowdy. He was being given the opportunity to run his own program as a relatively young coach. Due to the fairly urgent situation the school was in, Dowdy needed to provide them with an answer quickly. It only took him thirty seconds to reply, "I appreciate the offer, but I think I need to stay where I am. We have a chance to be pretty good this year." Little did he know that his response would become a slight understatement.
Two other coaches also contributed to our success that year—Kent Farris and Shane Oglesby. Coach Farris was a knowledgeable baseball man and was primarily in charge of the freshmen team. He also assisted in throwing batting practice and hitting ground balls to the infielders and fly balls to the outfielders. Shane was not much older than I was. He wanted to help, and he did whatever was requested of him, often hitting balls and throwing batting practice as well.
As a team, it's always been an interesting thing to me how a group of twenty-five or so individuals can have a team character or attitude. Even more interesting is how the addition or subtraction of just a few individuals can dramatically alter the team chemistry.
Most teams I played on at New Hope had similar characteristics. We had a talented group that enjoyed the game of baseball. There were a number of more serious guys and a few "cut-ups" on each team. Generally, the upperclassmen's attitude took precedence over that of the younger players. It seemed that the more seniority my group got the more serious our team became about winning.
Our roster would be a little different than the year before. Gone were a number of graduating seniors from the 1995 team who had contributed to most of our wins. We had many role players from that year who would be required step into leading roles in the spring of 1996, and all of them were happy to fill their respective new roles.
Of the seniors in 1996, all five of them had seen a fair amount of playing time as juniors, with Buddy Wyers, Leslie West, and Matt Price starting almost all of the games. Buddy was a highly recruited shortstop and pitcher. He had been awarded a spot on a junior national team the previous summer to play in Australia. Buddy was not only a tremendous player but an outstanding guy. He was always the most popular guy, and a more loyal friend you couldn't find.
Leslie, a speedy outfielder, was also a hard-throwing pitcher. He was always one of the more talented guys on the field regardless of whom we played.
Matt, one of the class clowns, had become an incredible catcher. In addition to being a great hitter, he became very skilled at calling pitches during the game.
Carey Edwards and I had also seen significant amounts of playing time in 1995 and would be starting every game in 1996.
Carey was a graceful centerfielder, able to get to almost everything hit in the outfield, and was a good hitter who rarely struck out.
Although Buddy was the team leader, I was given the team captain title, presumably because my teammates recognized that I worked hard and loved to play.
Alan Leonard was the team manager. While he didn't play, he took care of everyone on the team and made sure everything was in order. From taking care of the field, manning the press box, or keeping pitching charts, you could count on Alan to take care of it. He was treated like a brother and teammate even though he never played an inning.
One thing the seniors had in common that year—we were damn tough competitors. As a group, we were more skilled and talented than many opponents, but that wasn't our greatest attribute. Focused and determined, winning wasn't the top priority. It was the only one.
The junior class that year was absolutely loaded with talent and numbers (thirteen of them). Even with the large number of them, they were the most tight-knit bunch on the team.
Robert Shelton was on everyone's radar as a junior. He was a good fielding third baseman and left-handed hitter with one of the sweetest swings you could imagine. He was quick witted with the put-downs, the kind of guy you liked on your team but didn't necessarily like had he been on the opposing team. He had been a starter the year before as a sophomore, something virtually unheard of at New Hope.
Scott Atwood would be our first baseman that year. A relatively new guy to town, Scott had fallen in with a fun-loving group and couldn't have been a better fit. Tall and lanky, he was incredibly skilled defensively and possessed a lot of power at the plate.
The outfield that year would see significant contributions by juniors as well. Rob McKay appeared to win the battle for the everyday starter in right field. Rob was a contact hitter, able to hit the ball in the gaps as well as run the bases aggressively. He was also a great outfielder who took a lot of pride in playing strong defense. He was a very accomplished cross-country runner as well, something that would prove itself to be important later in the season.
Rob and I had played on several teams together growing up. I recall being roommates one summer with Rob when we were playing in an all-star tournament. The hotel room had a small microwave located near the vanity. We had a Little Debbie cupcake package and decided we'd see how long we could leave it in the microwave. We left it in the plastic wrapper, and after a short period of time, the cupcakes puffed up and exploded. The microwave door flew open, plastering pieces of the red cupcake all over the mirror. We laughed hysterically and left the mess on the mirror (poor hotel maids). I don't know why I remember that, but it's just one of those memories that you seem to hang onto.
Lance White, Justin Kreutzer, and Aaron Williamson would all see plenty of playing time in the outfield as well, especially when Leslie was brought in from left field to pitch. Tam Gray also saw some playing time in the outfield.
Lance and Justin were both left-handed hitters, each with decent speed.
Justin was about five foot ten and rail thin. He was quite an interesting guy. He was the only guy on the team who would push Coach Hester's buttons and get away with it. Hester was a disciplinarian, and Justin didn't really like that. He was the only guy on the team who had an earring (although he didn't wear it around the baseball field), and he also had longer hair. Hester would make Justin run as punishment, but Justin just seemed to enjoy it.
Justin was also a dare devil. One summer we had developed a hobby of going downtown and jumping off the railroad trestles into the river. The tracks were about forty-feet high, so it was quite a jump. (I don't think it was legal to be up there, but it was fun.) There was also a rope swing. Kreutzer was the first to take the swing from forty feet, unfazed by the height. After several swings, he got the rope caught under his arm and received quite the rope burn. That ended our trestle jumps.
Aaron, a stocky right-handed hitter, was also a threat to steal bases. He was always good with a quick-witted comment or impromptu dance. I think he had a new little dance to start every inning when he was in the field.
Drew McBrayer also played in the outfield but was primarily utilized as a courtesy and/or pinch runner. Base-running isn't as easy as it may seem, and Drew was not only quick but smart running the bases.
Jeff Hunter emerged as our number-one starter in 1996. An affable and laid-back guy, he made it look easy.
Scott Kappler contributed on the mound and as a shortstop when Buddy pitched.
Brandon Smith played some at second base and pitched a little and was one of the most supportive teammates.
Brad Lofton and Blake Koenigsberger were junior catchers, and each received playing time in relief of Matt Price. Brad was a talented catcher behind the plate and a good hitter as well.
Blake seemed to be the guy everyone picked on, but only because they liked him and he was an easy target. He was a good baseball player but was most skilled as a kicker and punter on the football team. He would go on to punt at Delta State and play on a national championship team there.
There were a number of talented sophomores on the team as well. Several of them were significant contributors.
Brad Montgomery started almost every game as a designated hitter. As likeable as any guy could be, Brad was always good for a laugh. One thing he took very seriously—hitting.
Shane Bazzell was one of those guys blessed with an extraordinary amount of talent. Seemingly without working at it, he had a blazing fastball and a split-finger pitch. Although he was wild as he could be on the mound, he was effective. I recall Shane once telling us that he could throw a ball over the left-field fence from home plate. We didn't believe him and challenged him to prove it to us. He stepped up to home plate and hurled the ball over the left-field fence with ease.
Years later I watched the comedy Napoleon Dynamite. One of the characters in the movie, Uncle Rico, told Napoleon that he could throw a football over the mountains. I laughed as I immediately thought of Shane.
Justin Hallmark and Carey Upton would also see small playing time that year and turn into successful players in the years to come.
The older guys didn't insist on taking leadership roles; they just wanted to win. Give credit to some of the juniors who were not in a leadership role and all of the sophomores and freshmen. They took notice of the attitude and joined in the team concept.
I'm sure there were plenty of guys who wanted desperately to play more often. In years past, that may have caused a rift or two. For whatever reason, 1996 was different. When younger players got the chance to play, everyone rooted them on and high-fived them when they played well. In turn, when they didn't get to play, they were the first ones out of the dugout to pick up the older guys.
What may not be known is that they also busted their tails in practice—not only to get better themselves but to help the starters get better and more prepared to play. It was truly a team that wanted each other to succeed—a rarity in team sports these days.
I recall many times that year climbing onto the team bus and making my way to a seat near the back. Although I wasn't as talented a player as I would have liked to have been, I got high fived all the way to my seat. I often returned the favor when someone made even the smallest of contributions. A simple "thanks" for throwing to me in the cage or a high five when someone made a good throw or a sacrifice bunt—it was a close-knit team.
As the years have added up since then, I'm proud of the fact that we are still a close bunch. Some of the guys are still best friends. Others don't see each other very often, but when they do it's as if no time ever passed. The attitude of effort and teamwork still resonates with everyone, and there is a bond that exists between the members of that team that neither time nor distance can separate.
It was truly a cast of characters.
CHAPTER 2
{PRACTICE BEGINS}
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone."
– Bart Giamatti, Major League Baseball Commissioner, 1988-1989
The first official practice was in January or early February, I believe, and I say official because no one ever really paid attention to that.
We had an indoor practice facility that was better than the facilities at a lot of small colleges, so we could essentially go hit anytime we wanted to. So, the first "official" practice began in late January or early February of 1996.
It was a typical day for that time of year—gray sky, cold and damp day. There isn't a lot you can do on that type of day as far as baseball practice is concerned, so we did what New Hope players were accustomed to doing—hitting inside for an hour or so before proceeding outside to a cold, wet atmosphere to run. And run. And run. I've since grown to enjoy running, but I hated it then. Absolutely hated it.
After an endless number of sprints and foul poles, which are basically long distance sprints between the outfield foul pole markers, we began to wind it down. I believe Coach Hester got amusement out of seeing his players near exhaustion. Had I not known differently, I would have thought he had been a drill sergeant in another life.
As Hester ordered one last sprint, I busted my tail just like I had on all the others and was glad to be finished. I thought it was a good beginning. I was tired and felt like I'd given a hard effort.
Coach Tim Dowdy then called for the upperclassmen to meet with him briefly. At that point, I feared for one of those "rah rah" speeches about how it was the upperclassmen who needed to lead by example. Quite frankly, I felt that we were dedicated and knowledgeable about our responsibilities. I think my fellow teammates felt the same way. For some strange reason, we all seemed to have a businesslike attitude about baseball—do the work, get better, play hard, and win.
Coach Dowdy, mind you, was a relatively new coach at the time, to us anyway. He had come from Grenada the year before. He had a "newer" approach to coaching, one with a little more positive influence. Of course, he was the assistant coach, so he didn't have to be the lead disciplinarian. He also had a hitting background, something I was excited about. Coach Hester was a good technical coach, but he had always seemed to be more focused on pitching.
When Coach Dowdy arrived, he incorporated more hitting drills and fundamental teaching of hitting. One thing he introduced to us was a unique hitting drill. He made a number of us grab a bat and stand in a circle. He told us to take our stance and close our eyes. What the hell is this all about? He asked us to envision the pitcher, what type pitch he was throwing, etc. It felt odd, and I think we were all very uncomfortable doing it. I don't recall doing it again until the last game of 1996.
Although Coach Hester was the chief disciplinarian, Coach Dowdy wasn't too shabby himself. In his first year at New Hope, I remember his making us polish our shoes before games. Not only were we going to play well, we were going to look good doing it. Quite honestly, I shined the hell out of my shoes, but I think the principle lesson wasn't the shoes. It was to do little things right, all the time. The legendary basketball coach John Wooden used to make all his players learn to tie their shoes the first practice. Vince Lombardi said players "play from the ground up." Coach Dowdy started us from the ground up, and I'm grateful. If there's one thing I've learned from the game of baseball, it's that the little things make all the difference.
