Finding Fun New Ways to Lose
A bullpen meltdown led to my elimination in the Old Heads Tournament on Friday.
Let’s not bury the lede: I gave up a walk-off grand slam to lose in the second round of the Old Heads Tournament on Friday night.
It was one of three leads I blew during the game, giving me plenty of ways to Monday Morning Quarterback my play. It was also objectively pretty funny. I mean, losing sucks, but if you are going to lose you might as well get a tragic funny story out of it.
Here’s mine: I led 4-0 going into the bottom of the third inning (in what were five-inning games). The score was tied 4-4 after the fourth. We went to extras (after I narrowly escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the inning). I took a 6-4 lead in the top of the sixth but gave up a two-run home run with two outs AND TWO STRIKES OH MY GOD I WAS SO CLOSE.
Tied again, we went to the top of the seventh. I hit back-to-back home runs and took a 9-6 lead. Time to try to close this out again. In the words of Lee Corso…
I’m going to spare you the play-by-play recap, which you can view here if you want, but it involved three pitchers, four hits, two walks, and a Gleybar Torres (spoiler: his card is good) walk-off grand slam.
I’d like to say I was surprised but I’ve had those innings before where whatever I do seems to go wrong. I audibly laughed when Gleybar hit the last pitch. I put my controller down on my desk and told my son who was watching the stream, “The announcers are about to go nuts.”
They did. Rightfully so.
Please do not take this as me whining.
The game (as you might have guessed from the recap) was at Shield Woods. As you know, games there are never over until they are over. No lead is safe and every pitch feels like a disaster waiting to happen.
Plus, my opponent, cuzimbillymitch, was a dog. He hammered every fastball I threw. I survived throwing lots of junk in weird places (high screwball anyone?) and trying to get him to chase, which he almost never did, or at least not have great timing.
Yes, I wanted to win, but I really did not want to get my ass kicked. I’ve played the Show long enough to know that while I win my share of games, I’m by no means a great player. I just wanted to compete and put together a respectable performance. I think I did that.
I’m proud of myself. I went the distance. I had multiple opportunities to win. I played a solid opponent and had my opportunities. As for the loss, well, that’s where being an Old Head helps. In my 20s, I might have slammed the controller or unleashed a torrent of f-bombs.
Now, I take it all in stride.
My only disappointment was not winning in front of my son. He’s 8 and loves baseball. We play The Show together. We’ll often play Battle Royale games, taking turns pitching and hitting. He also likes March to October. Even if it is just a video game, it is fun to be your son’s hero. He doesn’t quite understand moral victories yet.
As for the tournament, it was a total blast. I was excited all day to play.
So, a big thank you to ShowZone, yourboyCLE, Robert Flores, and all the competitors in the tournament. (Skarpyyy won the whole thing.) It brought this old man some fun and a little bit of confidence.
Plus, is there a more dramatic way to lose than a walk-off grand slam?
Frostie Punches Hit Ticket
Frostie became the first player to qualify for the in-person Sunburst Invitation Final held in St. Petersburg on August 1 this weekend. There will be three more opportunities to join him over the coming weeks. Follow Yuki for updates on qualifying opportunities and to follow the action once play resumes.
Free Stubs
This is actually a free stub method, unlike every YouTube video that exclaims FREE STUBS IN A FEW HOURS, and the guidance is to play 14 mini-season games on Legend with an all-left-handed team of silvers.
Anyway, here’s what to do: Buy the captain’s packs in the marketplace, even if you don’t want one of the captains.
The pack costs 40,000 stubs. As of this writing, the cards in the pack were selling for 48,000+. You can buy two packs. Obviously, you can keep the captain cards (there are some good ones, especially the Carlos Santana switch-hitter boost) or you can sell and take the easy profit.
For Everyone Tired of Randy Johnson
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Do Waldron next!