Bois Guillaume 2-0!

It is Monday morning here in Bois-Guillaume and I have yet to find a good way to get onto the internet but I think I have found a solution. I am working on the field today with Jean-Luc and afterwards I am going to ask him to use his Wi-Fi and if that doesn’t work , I am storing all of this information on a flash drive and converting it to a internet café computer. ALRIGHT….Love and miss you guys. I am sorry once again for the lack of phone calls/emails. Trust me…I’m working on it. ALSO, if you want to email me, I can’t get into my Drury email account, so send emails to my other account at TonyLew003@yahoo.com.
I will begin with Saturday’s activities before I talk about our double header sweep on Sunday. I learned that not all of the players live in the Rouen area and that they have to come into town to stay with Jean-Luc on the weekends. So on Saturday I was to meet a few more players and a little more on Sunday. Well, I gotta be honest, I was feeling pretty down on Saturday. I was missing the constant communication with people. But one thing that the Paturel family is doing is making sure I don’t feel homesick. Just when I thought I was going to spend the whole day alone, Charles was at my door. He wanted to go lift with me at the gym. Their word for lifting is Musculation. Sounds exactly the way it is spelled. So we headed up to the gym where we would meet another weekend player. So we got to the gym and I started my 300 workout. I explained what exercises I was going to do and Charles said, “I’ll pass.” After about 30 minutes of lifting the other player we were waiting on came in. His name is Romain (Row-mahn). I didn’t say anything to him at first and just listened to him talk with Charles in French. Charles told me that Romain thought I was shy. He said “Socre Bleu is anything but shy.” Romain is a 19 year old catcher that has loved baseball since he was a little kid. He was wearing a St. Louis Cardinal had with an Atlanta Brave warm-up. He had told me he has read all about me on the Drury website and that he was very excited to meet me.
After we got done lifting, all three of us had to attend the Cadet practice to help coach the little kids. So we got into the gym where practice was going to be and we started off playing the sport that is absolutely loved by Europeans. Charles told me that every practice begins with 20 minutes of playing soccer. There are two goals at each end of the court with lines on the court marking a mini-soccer field. Most of these kids are on the other secondary teams that I have already seen and everyone of them are so nice to me. Charles explained that they really respect me and will listen to what I have to say because whenever Charles tries to tell them something, they really just kinda horse around and not pay attention. But when ever I am yelling instructions at them in English they really try to understand me. Lemme tell you when I get back home, I will be a master at charades. But before the baseball lesson we would begin, we would play a mock soccer game. Two of the kids were captains. One of the captains was a little kid named Paul. So far he is my favorite. A little dark haired boy who loves to mimic what I do as well as my speech, haha…he tries to say my English words to his friends and all of them start laughing. It is understood that he is the leader of the bunch even though he is about 4 years younger than all of them. He reminds me of myself when I was his age and I constantly laugh and joke with him. His first pick was me for his team.
So we played, I scored a goal, we celebrated, had our baseball practice, and we said our goodbyes. It was during the game that Romain and I became really good friends. I heard him yelling in Spanish during the game and I quickly asked him “Hablas en Espanol?”
“Si, vivo con un amigo de Venezuela por tres anos. Aprendo espanol durante este tiempo.”
We speak in spanish to one another and it feels great to have this connection with him.
That night we would have a French dinner at Jean Luc’s house. Let me tell you that is was phenomenal. I can’t remember the word for it but everyone sits around the table and has their own little tray. You place a piece of cheese onto the tray and everyone places it into a grill that sits in the middle of the table. You get mashed potatoes, an abundance of meats, and wait for your cheese to melt. Once it does, you pour the cheese over your plate. Oh, my, god. It was so good. Benedict helped me with everything and everyone at the table started to give me shit. I said “Thanks Momma,” and everyone started laughing. I think she really likes to help me out with everything because she understands what position I am in. I really like Benedict. After our meal, I was so fucking tired from the whole day of running, lifting, soccer, and baseball activities that I just went directly to sleep when I got home to prepare for Sunday’s games. Let me tell you now that I had a great two games.
Sunday, 930am.
We departed for Paris to play at an Astroturf field. The weather was beautiful. We would meet two other Canadians at McDonalds before we would leave. I got a 5 dollar McMuffin and coffee that morning. Not your dollar menu shit. After I said my hello’s to Marc and Sebastian, the Canadians, we headed off. We got to the field and their were the two teams we were going to play playing their game ahead of us. I just watched them play for awhile. In my mind, I was looking at their pitching and thinking, “Oh..yeeeahh baby.”
So we warmed up and I gotta say I was nervous because I really wanted to do perform well in front of the other guys.
Bois Guillaume Woodchucks vs Paris Expos. Attendance: 20.
“Ven Caballo!” said Romain. My nickname to him is ‘horse.’ And mine to him is “Gringo de France.” Simply, ‘gringo’. We really have a good rapport with one another.
The game started. We were visiting and I was batting 3rd. The two guys ahead of me, Marc and Pierre, struck out. The pitcher was throwing about 75 miles per hour. So this was my first at bat in France. So I did my same ritual before I strode up to the plate and stepped in.
First pitch. I swung so hard I almost pulled my shoulder out of my socket and completely wiffed. I am going to have to get used to French pitching.
I worked a full count and the 3rd pitch was on the way. I would like to tell you I knocked it out of the park but that would be a lie. The ball was about a good 2 feet high at my head level. I threw my bat back to the dugout and started walking towards first. Then I heard a bunch of screaming from my bench in detest.
“Strike Three. YOU’RE OUT!”
OH FUCKING BULLSHIT. Everyone was laughing at my reaction and everyone told me that the zone in France could be absolutely horrible and that if it is close at all on full count I have to swing. I told them I will never swing at a Ball. So my first at bat…backwards K.
I got my glove and ran out to SS cussing the umpire out the whole way. I can get away with it because he has no clue what I was saying as I was eyeing him down the whole time.
“Tony….I know you are upset…just try to keep the ‘Fucks’ and ‘bullshits’ to a lower level.” Jean-Luc said as he was laughing.
So the game went on. I made some really good plays at short-stop the whole game. I would field an easy ground ball and just air it out to 1b. We losing 5-1 going into the top of the third.
Next at bat. Jean-Luc told me before I went up to the plate that if there is a pitch I can hit, I better swing at it because it would probably be the best one I would get. Ok..Jean.
First pitch. I waited back and swung. CRACK! The ball went sailing towards the power alley in right center. Off the top of the wall! I went into 3rd with a diving triple. All the guys were yelling from the bench and I will never forget that moment. My first French hit.
With that hit and a couple other hits from the guys we regained the lead at 8-5. We eventually went on the win the first game. It was great.
We took about a 30 minute break before the start of the second game. Jean-Luc told me he wanted me to play 1st this game because I was going to close (pitch the final innings) this next game. I was happy with this because I wanted to have my full arm strength this next game.
Bois Guillaume vs Montequille Cougars.
Marc, one the Canadians, was the starting pitcher. He throws lower 80’s with just a sick slider. Dad, he could definitely pitch at our level. I was impressed with the way he through. 3 up 3 down for about 4 innings. My first at bat that game was another triple to the opposite field. Hitting is going to fun all summer.
It started to rain and with some errors commited my us, we found ourselves down 3-2 in the 5 inning. We came back up to bat at the bottom of the 5th and we retook the lead 4-3 with the help of a double hit by Marc, his 3rd of the afternoon. He is an athlete.
“Tony, close this game out,” Jean –Luc said.
So I started warming up down the line. I was feeling really good. My knuck was working and my fastball had surprising pop. Dad, maybe I am over exaggerating but I was pumping Mid-Upper 80’s. To these guys it looked like 95.
Top of the 6th. First batter I faced. I threw an inside fastball and the fucker laid a great bunt down the 3rd base line. I yelled “BALL”, bare handed it, and threw a laser into the 1st baseman’s glove, Olivear. “YOU’RE OUT!” yelled the umpire. A roar of applause came from the team. Wheww. I absolutely blew the next batters away for swinging K’s. Dad, I know what you are thinking…’Throw your damn knuckle ball’….I did and almost plunked one to the hitters in the head. I couldn’t get a good grip on it because it was raining.
We went down in order the next inning and I had one more inning to record the save. 4-3. I got the first batter to K. Next batter hit a little bloop over my left shoulder and Charles made the play of the day. A diving catch for the 2nd out. I gave him a hug for the out and strode back up to the mound.
First pitch. Swinging strike. Next pitch. Looking strike two. The next pitch was going to be gas. I knew it, the batter knew it, my team knew it.
I hiked up my leg, and grunted loud as I released the ball. Romain’s, my catcher’s, glove made a snapping sound and the umpire yelled, “STRIKE THREE. YOU ARE OUT!”
Bois-Guillaume to start off the season. 2-0. A great day. High fives, Socre Bleu’s, and laughing was had by all. I took pictures of the field as well as my team. I slept on the car ride home and went directly to sleep when I got back to my house.
I love you guys and miss you guys very much. I will contact you guys soon. Love you, au revoir.