Power Pros Forum

I always meant to start one of these but never got around to it. I've found time and I've decided to write one based on the life and times of fictional pitcher Chris Mathewson. It's going to be different from others I've seen written here in that it will be in 1st preson and give more detail than normal. I hope you enjoy it!

PS. Comments in Bold are written by me and not part of the story itself!!

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Draft Day

I sat stiffly on my living room couch waiting for either one of two things to happen; the phone to ring or the announcer on TV to call my name. Seeing the draft televised was odd, but I didn't mind as I saw the great high school and collegiate players chosen before me. I wanted their huge signing bonuses and immediate luxary, but I knew I'd have to earn it. It was the 4th round now as I began to get up for a drink of water to ease my nerves. Then my phone rang. I frantically rushed to pick it up when I noticed, much to my dismay, the caller ID saying "Mom" and not the name of a team or general manager. I picked it up and answered. "Sorry we couldn't be there with you for your big moment!" ,she practically yelled as I sighed and said something along the lines of "yeah, I know." I said goodbye quickly and thanked her as she wished me luck. My parents couldn't join me but I knew they were watching the draft attentively. Then the Cubs were on the clock...My phone rang again and I picked it up. I don't remember the conversation but I remember the words coming out of my mouth as I smiled. I'm a Marlin. (I picked randomly

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I was being flown to Florida for the upcoming Spring Training and to "officialy" sign my contract. I had already agreed to minimum wage (Still a lot in baseball!) but I needed to sign the dotted line. I was nervous to say the least.

I'm Chris Mathewson. Twenty-one year old pitcher coming out of college to pitch in pro baseball. The name Mathewson should ring a bell in any baseball fan's mind. Christy Mathewson, the great pitcher of the dead ball era was my great-great grandfather. I obviously never met him, but I had read about him and his 350+ wins. He was great, apparently, and I wished I could've talked to him to hear what he could teach me. I guess I inherited some of his genes, though! But I am nowhere as good as him, though I aim to be. I've played baseball since I was young, honing my skills in hopes of having my name caled out during the June Draft, and I had fulfilled those dreams. But I still desired more: A World Series. Maybe the Marlins aren't the ideal place to achieve these dreams, but I know I'll be here for years to come.

The airplane ride took sooo long. Flying from Philadelphia took a toll on me and even if it was only a 3 hour ride, I felt tired coming out. A rental car had been set up for me outide the airport and after picking up my baggage, I set out for the Marlins Spring Training facility down in Jupiter, Florida. As I arrived at Roger Dean Stadium I noticed how big it was. Itwas a spring training stadium, but it dwarfed anything I played in college. I walked in and introduced myself. A short, stout secretary with balding hair led me to a midle aged man with blond hair. He'd been expecting me. "Hi, kid, my name's Matthew and I'll be representing you as a rookie this season."

I had arrived. As I signed the dotted line without much thought, I stared blankly into space realizing I had now become a part of a major league franchise.

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And that's the end of my first entry! So what do you think? I appreciate feedback and comments. I'll try to update a few times every week and I look to continue young Chris's career. His stats and abilities will be introduced along with his arrival at workouts in the next chapter. As you can see I try to focus on storytelling more than gameplay, but the games will be interesting, too! His spring training debut will also be in the next chapter.

(You so stole what I did) Im just joking

Very good though I like how you do more then just monthly updates. I will be reading!

good so far. i couldn't do the flight thingey for my guy. He got drafted by the team in his backyard.

Thanks for the feedback! As promised, here's the next chaper of the story...

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"Come on kid, work the outside corner!"

I heard this far too often this week. It was mid February and pitchers and catchers had already reported to Spring Training. I was nervous and with every pitch I threw there was the anxiety that I could be pitching in the Majors come Opening Day. It was a bit of a far fetched possibilty because I knew I would have to impress the coaching staff a lot to have any real hope of being with the Marlins in April. I'm definately trying, though, because I want that call to the Bigs.

It was break time when I met my manager for the first time. I had just thrwon a few pitches and had walked over to the dugout for a sip of Gatorade when he stepped up to me. He reached out his hand and I grabbed it and shook. "I'm Fredi Gonzalez and I'll be your manager this season." I stuttered a bit, unsure of what to say. Fredi was an ex minor leaguer, orginally drafted by the Yankees but never getting past AA ball. But the past is unimportant, because he's going to be my manager! I sort of nodded my head slowly and smiled as I proceeded to step back on the field and resume my warmups.

As I was pitching a fellow player walked up to me and introduced himself. As he interrupted me in the middle of my windup, I sent the next pitch sailing over the backstop, which gave me time to introduce myself. Oakley, he said his name was.

"Hey I'm Oakely, just rolled in out of high school and I'm gonna be the next ace of the Marlins! Maybe find a girl...or two...along the way and hit it big as a major leaguer! Who are you?"

I introduced myself and I guess you could say we were either immediate friends or immediate rivals. He's also a pitcher, but we had a lot in common as we talked. We made a friendly wager, saying whever makes the majors first buys the other person dinner and I agreed.After seeing his weak fastball, I figured I'm going to win this bet pretty easily.

I sat there, my head held up high, my glove in hand, and my nerves unable to calm themselves as I prepared to take the hill in my professional debut. We were retired 1-2-3 in the top of the 7th and then I heard the PR guy call my name. "Now pitching for the Florida Marlins, number 86, Chris Mathewson. Number 86." I walked slowly to the mound from the bullpen, not lifting my head as I jogged lightly as I got closer, and fiddled with the rosin bag before leaning in for a few warm up tosses. The Dodgers are a good team and I recalled what Coach Gonzalez said before the game. "Don't give up a run and you'll be sure to see yourself on Opening Day in the Majors." I was so close yet so far. I don't remember who the batter was, but before I knew it, I had given up a lead off single. I cursed myself silently, knowing anything could happen now. Oh how I had wanted to get that first batter out of the way. The next batter, ripped a hard shot to third. Expecting the worst, I turned my head in the direction of the bag, only to see my third baseman leap up in the air and knock it down. Only the ball didn't fall straight to the ground, it rolled back to me. I hustled off the mound, barehanded it, and tossed it to the first for my first out recored in my career. Even if these stats would never show up on anything, I wanted that first out badly.

Then Juan Pierre stepped up to the plate with a runner on first. I leaned in, checking the runner on second in the process, and fired. A weak chopper to second...and NO! Dan Uggla couldn't make the play. He bobbled it and all of a sudden it was 1st and 3rd with one out for Rafeal Furcal. He hit a soft grounder to second and Uggla, still a bit rattled from the error, was unable to turn two and a run scored. James Loney ripped an RBI single off of me and that was it. I finished the inning but the damage had been done. 1 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 0 earned a ticket to AAA. I didn't even need to be called in the manager's office that night, but I knew it was going to happen. I won't blame Dan for this as much as I wanted to, but at least now there's nowhere left to go but up...

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Another chapter done. I didn't introduce his abilities yet, but they should come in the next chapter. Again, feedback is appreciated and I look forward to continuing Chris's career! In the next chapter, he adapts to life in AAA in order to work towards the Majors. Until then, hope you enjoy this chapter.

So sad...
I'm following though.
The Name rocks.