LAST GAME

Spent 8 years playing in softball in various leagues in NYC but was moving back home to WA.
I loved playing ball in Central Park
Could there be a better setting?
New York is baseball so softball is a big deal too
Sometimes it got really serious
There were some amazing ballers
That New York mixture of cultures
I loved it so much
Favorite thing about New York
People playing in the park
So my last game
The Playoffs
Playing for Addams family (No I was not in the show)
The manager, a friend, Jim Moye, said, "Look we're not scoring I think you need to try and hit a home run."
I was like, okay
This was my last game
I knew it
Hadn't hit a home run all season long
This season I'd focused on hitting for average and my on base percentage was the best of my life but, you know I missed the long ball
I got the heavy $20 cheap ass bat out of my bag
The week before the game I had this incredible experience
THE KODAMA GRIP
It worked
I hit two
After the second one the kid who played Pugsley said. "Stone, You The Man!"
Great last game
We lost
After the game ended I walked out to home plate and knelt down
I ran the dirt through my fingers
I wept
What a wonderful thing to get to play games with friends