A Mile in His Shoes Page #3

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Okay. Try it again. Let's go now, Mick.

Trust it, buddy, trust it. Okay. Hey, hey! Mick, you okay? Stupid knuckle ball. I don't even know

where it's going. That's the whole point, Mick. MICKEY: Who cares? I got it, Murph. What'd I say? PEE WEE: Murph really

believes in you, man. Don't see him taking

chances on someone who don't got it. Mr. Murphy said I got it. Then you got it! That's an old one. Used it as a recruitment

pamphlet last year. The real rat pack. Everybody's in it. Everybody? Then who took the picture? You know who that is? That's Murph.

Played left field. If he only had

a few more years. I don't understand. An accident.

Chip McNally. This guy standing next to Murph. He's the manager

of the Bullets. They collided hard

in the outfield. Pretty much ended both their

playing careers. So, what do broken players do? Nine times out of ten

they turn to coaching. Hey, Mick. Mickey. I got something for you. It's my old hat. From when I used to play

for the River Rats. Wow. What is this,

like 100 years old? Ha! No, it's not

quite that old. Just don't throw

that one away. Got it? Knuckle ball.

Don't throw it away. [Laughs] I got it. I got it. [George Canyon: Sunshine] I believe in life, love And true pursuit

of happiness No one's gonna tell me that

a smile's ever meaningless I find a drop of hope

when the rain falls down Even when the clouds are

insisting on sticking around [Chatting quietly] I believe in holding on tight

to your innocence Taking leaps of faith when

it doesn't even make sense Don't want to be a tear

on a circus clown I wanna laugh like a kid

on a playground Baby, come on,

let's go for a ride I know a road

that'll change your mind Look what it's done

to this heart of mine I'm an absolute, dedicated

follower of sunshine Go, Coach! Go, Coach! Come on, Mickey. Come on, run with your team,

buddy! Go run with your team! Addicted to the weight

of a ball and chain Everybody tellin' me

to cut it loose [All shouting] [Crowd cheering]

Then I looked up to the sky And I saw something

I could use A little bit of prayer,

a little bit of inspiration A little something different

like a new vibration Hey, look alive today, boys,

look alive. [People in crowd shouting] Off to a slow start

his year, Murph. Yeah, we'll be just fine, McNally.

Yeah? Fine? Fine like when I called you off

that flyball, fine? Are you still on that,

seriously? Yeah. Seriously I am. And I'm still waiting

for that apology. Well, then you're going

to wait a long time, because it ain't coming, Chip!

Huh. All right, all right, let's go. We've got a game to play. Come on. This ain't over, Murph! MAN: Let's get this game

started! Let's go now! [Cheering] Come on!

Bring the heat, Lefty! [Organ playing] [Girl cheering] Come on, you guys,

that's my boyfriend! Let's go, Lefty,

throw some strikes! [People in crowd shouting] ANNOUNCER: Ball 4,

and Murray takes a base. Top of the eighth, one out... Here we go again. What's going on? MURPH: Oh, it's just

Lefty being Lefty. Wait, why's he called Lefty if

he throws with his right hand? Well, it's complicated, Mick. Let's just say, don't ever

play with firecrackers. MURPH: Get there, get there,

get there! [Crowd cheering]

Good job, good job! Hightower is thrown out

at first for the out. Hey, how would you

like to pitch? Today. In the game.

Here. But the... But the scorecard. I'll take care of it. [Organ playing] Uh... Okay, well... The Rats are in red,

the Bullets are blue. They... They have to stay

separate, okay? Okay. No problem at all,

Mick. Look... I'm going to go grab George,

all right? Then I'm gonna signal you.

When I signal you, grab your glove... Come on out.

Okay. ANNOUNCER:
And remember,

you ain't eaten a dog till you had a rat dog. Time!

UMPIRE:
Time! ANNOUNCER: Time-out has been

called on the field. MURPH: Throw the ball.

[Organ playing] How do you feel? Good. I'm going to go to the bullpen. You kidding me, Murph? Come on, these guys couldn't

make a play to save their lives. Besides, I'm throwing

a shutout here. Yeah, you've also

thrown 105 pitches. They're tracking you. I'm gonna go with the kid. Mickey. That's right. You kidding me, right? No. All right, go with Mickey. Let's go, Mick! MAN: Boo! Come on,

let him finish! [Crowd shouting]

Bring Lefty back! Hustle up, Mick, let's go, bud! ANNOUNCER: And it looks like coach

Murphy has gone to the bullpen. MAN: Let's see

what you got, kid! WOMAN: You can do it! Here we go, Mickey,

just like we practiced, okay? Just throw strikes, it's going

to be a piece of cake! Okay. We're gonna have

to switch hats. I'll keep it warm for you. Okay.

You'll be great. That's right, kid,

there's nothing to it. Okay? Just aim for the target

and you'll be okay. All right? All right.

You got this. Okay.

Aim for the target! [Crowd shouting and cheering] [Sighs] ANNOUNCER: Now pitching

for the River Rats, in his first minor league

appearance, please welcome

Mickey Tussler. [Voice echoes] [Organ playing] Mickey, into the glove, okay? Just throw the ball! Strike! [Cheering and applause] [Organ playing]

PEE WEE:
Mick! You got 'im. MAN: Ooh, yeah!

Strike! [Cheering and applause] MAN: Let's go! GIRL: Go, Mickey Tussler! CLARENCE: Mickey, Mickey,

where are you?! Come on, son, you worked hard. Now let's go show that pig! [Crowd cheering] MAN: Right down the middle!

Come on, son, you got this. 2nd MAN: Come on, Mickey,

you got this! CROWD: Ohhh! MAN: And it's...

outta here! ANNOUNCER: That's

a three-run homer over the left-field fence

for Rocco Hightower. Rocco leads the league

in home runs with six, and this season is

just getting started. Come on, Rats,

you'll get it back! [Crowd exclaiming]

MAN:
Get under it! [Cheering] ANNOUNCER: ...bottom

of the eighth with the Rats one run ahead. ANNOUNCER: It's top of

the ninth, and, folks, looks like we got ourselves

a ball game. Okay. You think you can finish

the game for us today? 'Cause the team needs you. Yeah, Mr. Murphy. Block out all the noise, okay? Think about being back

on the farm with Oscar. You know...

Boxcar, give me your glove. Give me your glove. I've got something

to help you out. After another Rats time-out it looks like this game

is finally back under way. Mickey, just throw

it into the glove! MAN: Finish strong! [Crowd cheering and shouting] WOMAN: It's all you, kid!

It's all you! Strike three! Strike three! Strike three, and game.

[Cheering] ANNOUNCER: Rookie Mickey

Tussler retires the side and chalks up the first win

of his career. And the Rats take home their

first victory of the season. Looks like the Rats have a

new shining star on the mound. Let's hear it for

Mickey Tussler! [Cheering] Good hittin'. Mick, great job! Okay. Whatever you did

out there, Skip, that was good managing. Well, I've still got a few

tricks up the old sleeve. Hey, Mick, we got a couple

of days off this week. I was thinking maybe

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