1.1 - Once upon a time
The first regular season game of the Oakland Ballers franchise is in the books, an exciting 7 to 6 win over a resilient Glacier Range Riders squad in Kalispell, Montana. It was a back-and-forth game, with plenty of action and close plays (pour one out for the scorekeeper, who had to make some tough hit/error decisions). There was even a bunt double, validating the truism that every ballgame has one thing happen that you’ve probably never seen before.
Rather than trying to recap games in comprehensive fashion, this blog will offer a selection of impressions. Usually I’ll focus on one player at a time, add in a little inside baseball here and a telling detail there, all with the idea of giving the sense of what it’s like to follow a team, to follow the Ballers, from day one.
The game was like the first chapter of a novel, or the pilot episode of a tv series: I came in not knowing who any of the characters were, or their backstories, or what narratives are going to be important going forward. For instance, Austin Davis went 5 for 6, including the previously mentioned bunt double — is that a harbinger of things to come, the baseball gods foreshadowing a consistent threat at the plate and on the basepaths? Or was it just one standout game from a player who will end up being just one of the guys? Unlike a novel or a tv show, nobody knows. That, to me, is cool, to start free of preconceptions and begin a brand new story where nobody knows how it will go.
But I bet Austin Davis has the confidence that this game was a sign and not a fluke. I loved how he went back to second base in the top of the 6th: he flopped on it, almost like he was starting to do a burpee (video clip below). Just a little flair, which I don’t think was for anyone other than himself — just having fun out there.
Speaking of flair and Davis, I think it’s great that the Ballers seemingly have a blinged out medallion that goes to the player of the game (temporarily, I imagine). It’s so easy to get caught up in what is going to come next and miss out on enjoying the moment. Big-time sports are certainly covered that way, with seemingly every game or accomplishment framed as a step toward the next thing. So whatever Austin Davis’ story this season turns out to be, tonight he went 5 for 6 and had a hell of a game. Celebrate that, enjoy that, him and us both.