The Phenom

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1

So what happened?

- There? Right there?

- Hm-mm. Yup.

The scouting report.

What was that report?

That he's better than

most pitchers at the plate.

Can't lay down a bunt,

can't throw it hard and inside,

because he's got some bad speed.

Ah.

And instead of an easy out,

like you would have with most pitchers,

you actually had to work for this one.

Hm, maybe that was exasperating to you.

After facing all these good hitters, you

don't even get an easy out with the pitcher.

Is this what you do in here?

I mean, is this... Is this what you do

with players, you review tape?

Is this what we are gonna do all week?

My instructions were to calm you down

for the playoffs.

Yeah, so are we gonna

just watch a tape or...

No, that's what we are doing now.

Tomorrow, it'll be different.

Is that okay with you, man?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

Yeah, you are the Coach.

Okay.

Ah.

You remember anything else specific?

Yeah, I remember I'm about to throw

five wild pitches and

make a f***ing ass out of myself

in front of the entire world.

Yeah, I remember that.

Oh, I got that.

But do you remember what you were thinking,

and what you felt in this moment?

Um...

I, I heard this guy in the crowd,

he was a vendor. I heard him yell "Coke."

You ever do coke?

No.

What kind of a question is that?

Just flowing with it.

Just keeping it loose... All right,

let's stick with this, uh, soda guy.

That must have been pretty loud

for you to hear it over the crowd.

Yeah, but when I'm focused,

whenever I'm... you know,

I don't even hear the guy next to me.

He could be saying something

and I won't even hear him.

But right before this pitch,

I remember I heard the Coke guy,

I heard little noises in the crowd.

Sandy Koufax said when he lost focus,

he would see the crowd, not the catcher.

- Koufax said that?

- Uh-huh.

- Really?

- Yeah.

You are not the first pitcher

to have this problem, you know, man.

- Yeah, I know, Howard Glass.

- You're not so special.

- I know Howard Glass had this, right?

- Mm.

And he started throwing, he threw strikes.

Woke up one day, couldn't throw

any strikes, never threw again.

Ah, a lot of pitchers struggle

with control when they are young.

Yeah.

Hey, he killed himself, right?

He hung himself.

- Hm-mm.

- You didn't work with him, did you?

No, not really.

Yeah.

Is there a name for what he had?

Yeah, there's plenty of names

but I don't subscribe to any of those.

Why not?

Don't want to legitimize it.

This is a passing thing for you.

And you give it a name,

it might wanna stick around.

- Yeah?

- Mm.

Mm-hm.

All right.

Well, I think we are about

out of time for today.

Do you have any other question

you want to ask me, though?

Do you prescribe medication in here?

What's the problem?

I, uh...

I haven't slept in like three days.

I don't sleep so good,

you know. I mean I can,

but I have these bad dreams, so I don't.

Need something to knock me out maybe.

Let's try and see if we can handle that

without meds for now.

- Okay.

- Okay?

All right. Fine.

Also, I'll tell you my memory

is a little bit foggy.

I don't remember things so well.

Um, you know.

Memory is a funny business.

And sometimes we fog over the past,

because of damage.

You know, like in the old movies when

they put Vaseline on the camera lens

to make the faces prettier

and softer, you know?

Yeah, I'm not damaged.

I mean I'm not damaged at all.

Some things I remember very clearly.

- You know?

- Okay.

- But some things I don't.

- Okay.

Yeah.

This is a kid who comes into

the game with six wins, no losses,

a 2.03 ERA.

A terrific strikeout to walk ratio which

makes what happened all the more strange.

Well, yeah.

We have to be a little concerned

with the rookie at this point, anyway.

I mean, throwing five wild pitches

in one inning,

on national television to boot.

You know he must be in a state of shock.

I mean, this is a kid who's never had

any control issues at all.

You are absolutely right about that.

The kid is known for pinpoint accuracy

and well, frankly, a fast bowler

that the Gods would be jealous of.

The Gods being Nolan Ryan and,

Walter "The Big Train" Johnson.

You know, I hope the kid's okay.

Hopper, Rachel Cullum with Sport Net.

Could you tell us what happened out there?

Hopper, right here.

That agent who wants to rep you, Scott...

- Hm-mm.

- He sent me his portfolio of the house.

He thinks I should move in,

five miles from Jensen Beach.

I asked him to do that. What do you think?

I can't believe it. It's a f***ing castle.

Well, believe it, Mom, 'cause it's yours.

Just in your name, just for you.

Castle makes me nervous, Hop.

Don't be nervous,

just enjoy it. Look at this.

Look at that pool.

You like swimming, right?

No, you like swimming.

Ever since you saw The Little Mermaid.

I'm scared of sharks.

- Sharks in the pool, really?

- At night, yeah.

I'm always terrified

there's gonna be sharks in a dark pool.

- I know it's not likely.

- It's not likely at all.

But you know what?

You can just turn the pool lights on.

There's lights all over it.

Mom.

Just enjoy it.

I'll try, Hop. I really will try.

It's a mansion though, right?

- Yeah.

- It's a f***ing mansion.

You like it?

Yeah, they cut the lawn so nice, too.

You think your baseball coach

is going to get you out of this?

- No, ma'am.

- Good.

'Cause he's not.

I don't play by those rules.

I don't care if you are the big jock

around here,

you still have to study

when it comes to my class.

Yes, ma'am.

I know those big league scouts

are all over the place. I see them.

You'll have more money in a year from now

than I'll have in... all my lifetimes.

But you and I both know

that does not change one undeniable fact.

Ma'am?

You know I know your daddy?

You do?

We were at school here, together.

He was a real piece of work.

An expert at cutting corners.

When there weren't any corners left,

he'd make circles around her.

I was hoping

he hadn't taught you that trick.

Well, I'm not trying to make excuses,

Ms. Epland, but sometimes, I find it

a little difficult to balance

baseball and homework.

Now, you listen to me.

When you're gifted

with a talent like you are,

people will say,

"Wow, that's pretty nifty."

And they'll tell you honestly

that it can change your life,

lead you to inconceivable realms.

But you have to work at bringing

the rest of your person up to that level.

If you only do what comes easy to you,

what you are good at,

you are just an untrained thoroughbred,

which isn't a race horse, at all.

It's a wild animal.

I'm using sports metaphor

so that you can understand,

Junior.

Yo, what's up, Hopper?

Uh, Dorothy was telling us

that you are trying to decide

between college and being a professional.

Yeah.

I know my college education

is important, but at the same time...

Mm, nonsense.

I mean, when those colleges

start giving kids a share

of all the money they are making

off of them, then maybe.

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