So when I arrived in regina at 8pm on a wednesday I was anxious to play ball. To say the least my blood was boiling, as we rode to weyburn my GM talked about all the rain the city had gotten over the past few weeks. I was shocked, I always thought the prairies were moderately dry. As we pulled into my billets apartment the first person I met was pitching coach who then shared a beer with me and we just relaxed. My billet is a great lady and I mean hey when someone will cook for a 20 year old college kid who just works out and plays ball, theyre a really cool person ( considering I eat about every 2 hours, I am surprised I havent eaten her out of house and home yet ).
The very next day I was greeted at the park by my head coach and a fellow pitcher, I was nervous but we had a good day working on the diamond. As lunch rolled around we went to a buffet, a small place in town which was unreal, so much food, thank god after lunch we had limited work to do.
As my third day rolled around so did the players I met guys from west virginia , louisiana, BC, Manitoba, New Mexico and arizona. That day was our first day of 'work' helping to set up this big oil and gas show held in weyburn every 2 years. I mean I do work in the summers but 10 hours of labor , it got out of hand. We legit put up 50 tents some as big as 180 by 60 , which was a huge task. My legs were sore and my mind was going nuts just waiting to hit the field. We did this for 4 days, then had to do security at the gates of the show. Yes we got paid but it was under minimum wage and the hours were longer then I could have imagined. This was also a very good way to get to know the guys we all worked together shared college stories, talked about what schools we thought were most legit and who we had played against.
After a few days of work we hit the field as a team finally. Pitchers of course ran sprints, did core work, and had a long toss day. I was content, it felt great throwing and working like a real big league pitcher. When the day was over I stayed behind and threw a pen to get my stuff down, change-up, curve-ball, and spotting my fastball. I then was given a 3 day program for relievers that I have followed exactly and will continue to follow because it makes me feel like a big leaguer. Showing up to the park 2 hours before BP, getting my running done, getting my toss in, then relaxing in the clubhouse jamming out to the tunes blasting on the ipod.
Game day came around friday June 3rd, we hit the road. 17 players 1 goal, win a ball game. The 2 hour drive that proceeded was a great time, everyone with ipods in. Some guys munching on some pre-game candy or downing a pre-game drink. Then we arrived, with an hour to spare. As we watched The Millionaires take BP we just kind of joked threw in lippers and got ready for game 1 of 43. With our ace on the hill we were in good shape he got 3 innings out of the way quick, then we were up to hit in the 4th and all of a sudden the lights turned off leaving the field in a slight darkness. Of course the game stopped, we came to realize the power went out in the town , so our game would be delayed for the time being. After the upside down man, games of flip and 2 ball, and countless dips the game was to be rescheduled to a later date for a double header.
So there ya go , week one in gods country playing the game I love, more to come even my first appearance in our very first official game.
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