Pop flys, Grounders and Curve Balls

When I feel like whining, I remember my three boyhood baseball coaches.

Joe Hall was born without a left hand. Joe hit fly balls to us. He tucked the bat under his left arm, tossed a ball high in the air, grabbed the bat in his right hand, and hit a pretty good fly ball with one arm.

Cal Kennedy just hit ground balls. He lost both hands in a hay bale machine, and had two double hooks for hands. Cal could toss the ball up with his left hand hooks, hold the bat in his right, and hit ground balls to us. (Someday I’ll write the story of what happened the day Cal lost his hands)

Snooks was the coach and a hell of a pool player. But Snooks got his knee shot up in the war, and couldn’t bend it, so Snooks pitched balls for batting practice, he didn’t have to move off the pitcher’s mound.

These three guys all made a living, they all had families, and I never heard them complain. No one ever told them they were victims. Lucky guys.