The Smell of Smoke

The Sierra Bears finished their regular 2013 season in the smell of smoke. The fires in Yosemite and other Northern California locations drifted all the way to Grass Valley. It meant that playing conditions were iffy in the last week of baseball. Athletes had to compete in bad air.

Maybe it’s just as well the team didn’t make the playoffs this year.

THE RHYTHM, THE GRACE, THE FEEL, IT

When you’ve had a bad streak and you get it back, you feel like you’re whole again.

It’s like a warm shower after a chilly night game …

Like water in the desert …

Like a knot coming loose in your gut …

Like a sigh that runs down to your toes …

At the plate, in the field, you can see the ball, you can handle the ball, you want the ball.

It’s like a double play with a 1-0 lead …

Bad bounce snatches, full-length dives, bunts that defy imagination …

Baseball is a wonderful world.

LONG, LONG SEASON

Playing poorly. My head’s not in it. I want to stay up late, have a few brews with friends. I want to sleep in. If I’m not totally alert, if I’m mentally tired, the timing isn’t there. I can’t make the plays that are too fast to think about. I want a summer vacation, like any other American. At least a day without a game.

Hiding the Ball

The good ones do it on every pitch. They keep the ball in their gloves until the last instant. They hide it so you can’t glimpse their grip and get an idea of what’s coming.

A good pitcher is part magician. He begins his windup and he’s all elbows and knees. All you can do is watch his moves until the ball pops out like a rabbit from a hat.

It makes it so hard to hit. It’s easier if you can get the pitcher out of his full windup and into the stretch.

OFF DAYS, BAD BOUNCES

Losing is like tripping and falling in the dirt. It hurts. The day is a waste. Sure, losing is part of baseball. That’s why there are so many games. There will always be off days, bad bounces, bad plays. But it still feels like you were cheated when you lose.  It makes you feel like a sad little boy.

SHORT TURNAROUNDS

You’re coming off a long, late ride with no day off. Or you’re playing an afternoon game after last night’s extra-inning loss.

You don’t know whether to scream or yawn. You feel achy, fuzzy, a half-second late. Grounds are growly. Liners are potentially lethal.

Baseball is way better than any other job I can imagine, but it’s not much fun on short turnarounds.

WE HAVE A WINNER!

Congratulations to Jennifer Fong, who is the winners of our Bunt -- A Baseball Story Sweepstakes. Jennifer's name was selected randomly from the people who "liked" our Facebook fanpage.

Jennifer receives a $100 prize!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

Giants Fans Introduced to "Bunt!"

Thousands of Giants fans learned about Bunt! yesterday when Marty Lurie interviewed author Bill Baynes on his Giants pre-game show.

Marty listed all the booksellers carrying Bunt! He talked about the book and encouraged people to read it several times. You can hear the interview at http://www.loveofthegameproductions.com/

Bunt! also came up during Marty’s post-game show. It inspired a call-in chat about baseball books for young people.

Profuse thanks, Marty.

LISTEN TO MARTY LURIE THIS SUNDAY!

We’re scheduled to talk about Bunt! on Marty’s pre-game show this Sunday, June 9, at about 10:15 a.m. on Radio KNBR 680. Be sure to tune in!

A FRIEND AFIELD

The foul line is your friend. Don't avoid it. Get as close as you can. Make it love you more than the third baseman.

NO SHOW

Nobody shows up anybody in baseball.

The batter doesn’t talk back to the ump. The pitcher and the catcher don’t either.

The pitcher doesn’t glare at the batter. He just goes about his business, throwing strikes, getting him out. The batter doesn’t sneer at the pitcher, especially after he gets a hit.

The runner doesn’t pump his fist at the fielder when he completes a successful steal. He doesn’t nyah nyah the catcher. Instead, he humbly looks down. He doesn’t showboat. He shows respect.

Memories are long in this game.

THE SMELL TELL

I can tell by the smell. In there with the popcorn and beer backdrop, the grass and the grit, there’s something different, maybe the pitcher’s sweat. I don’t know, but I know when the curve is coming.

Eyeballs

You’d swear sometimes that baseballs can see. The one that goes so deep into the hole that the shortstop can only pick it and hold it. The blooper between two charging fielders. I’m not talking about twisty hits, the infield spins I can control. I mean the ball that skids low for no reason and goes under an infield glove or the halfway hop that handcuffs a third baseman. The balls seem to know where they’re going.

ANSWER THE BALL

A pitch is a question you answer with your hands. What am I going to do with you? Sometimes you don’t say anything. You don’t swing. Sometimes you shout. That’s a double or a blast. Sometimes you say, “Whassup?” That’s a bunt.

New Baseball Card

What a kick! I always dreamed of having my own card and now I do!

INFIELD AS COMPUTER

To me, the infield is like a living computer.  Think of the players as the hardware.  Their skills are like software.  It’s a machine and it functions with remarkable effectiveness as long as each component plays its part.

On a computer, you hit a key and you get a specific response and it involves many different components. The infield is like that. 

It’s not just “ground ball, throw him out.”  That’s what the fans are watching.  But a ball on the ground to the right of second causes specific reactions from several players.  The first baseman goes to the bag to catch a throw.  The catcher comes up the line to back him up.  The second baseman fields the ball and pegs to first, at the same time the shortstop moves to cover second, in case the play at first goes wrong.

Every action is backed up, protected.  There’s always a second-level reaction that most people don’t see or aren’t aware of.   We call it teamwork.  Computer people talk about redundant systems.  Same thing, really. 

We do this ‘cause baseball is so fast.  On the infield, even if you do everything perfectly, there’s barely enough time to get a fast runner at first.

CROWD SONGS

Sometimes the people in the stands try to hassle you. Then they sound like heavy metal, gangsta. Most times they want to help you. They're singing something popular, good beat, way loud. But you have to find your quiet place in all the noise.

FOUL OUT VOLLEYBALL

Pujols was under the pop-up over by the stands, his big first baseman’s glove held high over his head, when the ball bounced out and went straight into Catcher Chris Iannetta’s glove. An easy out.

The TV announcers were surprised by Iannetta’s catch, but he wasn’t. That’s why he’d run over to help.

Nobody sees it on TV, but every infielder is on the move whenever a ball is in play. Everybody’s going somewhere, doing something, covering a base, backing up a teammate. That’s why it’s so hard to get hits in professional ball.

Grass-Stained Ass

He walked off the mound, his weight back on his heels and his cap pushed up. He looked like he was coming down a mountain, not a 10-inch rise in the middle of the infield. He puffed his cheeks and blew out.

His ass was grass-stained ‘cause he’d slipped and landed hard trying to field my bunt. I watched from first, as the catcher tried to calm the pitcher down.

Watching the Catcher

You can’t look at him when you’re at the plate. That’s considered stealing. So I watch the catcher from the dugout.

Is he relaxed? Smiling? That tells me a lot about how well the pitcher is throwing. Are they in sync or is the pitcher shrugging him off?

What does the catcher do when he’s upset? That could be important when you’re bunting.

The Bay Area's Best Booksellers

Here’s where you can buy copies of Bunt! in the San Francisco Bay Area:

San Francisco: Green Apple Books, Clement Street; Books Inc., Marina; Books Inc., Laurel Village.

East Bay: Books Inc., Berkeley, Orinda Books, A Great Good Place for Books, Oakland; Books Inc., Alameda.

South Bay and the Peninsula: Hicklebee’s Books, San Jose; BookSmart, Morgan Hill; Recycle Books, Campbell; Leigh’s Favorite Books, Sunnyvale; Books Inc., Mountain View; Books Inc., Palo Alto; Books Inc., Burlingame; and Bay Books, Half Moon Bay.

Of course, you can all get is on Amazon (type Bill Baynes, Bunt).

Here But There

It's weird. I'm here with the Sierra Bears. But back in the Bay Area, people are learning a lot about my life because that's where Bunt! is being sold in bookstores. They know more about me than the fans in Grass Valley do.

Of course, the Grass Valley fans have also seen me play. That says quite a bit about who I am. Even Bunt! can’t do that (although it comes pretty close).

Soft Ground

Spring training is almost over. The season starts next week.

It feels so good to be back on the field. We had a two-inch snowfall two days before. I thought, “oh, no!”

But it’s OK. The field’s still muddy, but the soft ground helps you get your hands soft.

Hunter and Ping Pong

Hunter Pence of the SF Giants says he uses ping pong to keep his reflexes sharp. So do I. I also use it to study how different swipes, cuts, slaps and slides will guide the baseball on bunts. That's explained in "Bunt!," the book based on my experiences.