I missed this, the feel of the bat in my hands, my ratty old batting glove that is molded to my palms, the sound of the ball hitting the bat, and the feel of the connection in the right spot. God, I missed it.
So, why haven't I really done this that often since being allowed too? Well, I guess I felt like I betrayed my bat, my batting glove and my helmet by getting hurt. I felt like maybe hitting with them again would feel different, dirty, all because I put them down for over a year. But the thing is, it didn't. It felt right, like a first kiss, or the first bite of a really rich and fudge filled chocolate cake. That ecstatic feeling you get when you open your presents on Christmas morning when you were still a little kid, that's the feeling I get when I pick up my bat, take my slight hitch, exhale, and swing. It feels amazing to step into the batters box, or as in the case today, backyard, and to hit about 150 balls from the tee. It feels like, well happiness, peace, and love all wrapped up into one ecstatic hour.
I know I write about softball quite a bit on here, but in reality, it is the one place where I step out of this shell and move from LoRo, Laurel, Lo, La, and into something else. Someone more intense, yet relaxed, who knows what they are doing every second of the time that batting glove is on my hand. When I step into that box, I have my own little "hitch" as I would call it. I get in there, wait for the sign, take three swings, and, in a whisper say "Bring it bitch, you're mine" or "this ones mine". Yes, the catchers do sometimes hear me, but many of them have played with me before so they know its coming. Then its lift the bat, watch for the beginning of the motion, move my arms back a little higher, and once in the right spot, release that amount of tension from my shoulders and hips. I am a totally different person when I step up to my plate, because that's what it is, MY PLATE. My plate, my bases, and my pitching mound, and I constantly feel as though that pitcher needs to know that.
Needless to say, whether swinging left or right, my ideal pitch is in the same area; low and outside. Why, well, I always seem to drive it to left field no matter which way I am batting. Now, that is pretty bad, as when batting right the outside pitch needs to go to right field, and the inside pitch to left, but then again this is softball me we are talking about here. It goes to the left to the left. ooh.
The thing about batting is that you have to believe in yourself. If you don't, well then you won't hit the ball. You have to be cocky in some way, that way you really bring the BOOM, and not the 'was that supposed to be a bunt?' You have to know that you can hit it, and that when you do, it will be far, it will be hard, and that you will make it to first base. And yes, I said first base because when you aim for a multiple base hit, and start swinging for the fences, that's when you hit a nice soft grounder right to the shortstop, who takes her time, and makes a nice, easy pretty throw to throw your ass out. Either that of you totally whiff it on strike three.
Be Cocky, be happy, and know that no matter what, the next person up has your back if you whiff it.
On another note, my father, Boboni, thinks that my swing looks better when I go lefty. I think he is out of his mind. But either way, I still hit 75 from the left, balancing inside, middle, and outside all the same after I got my rightyness out of the way.
Yours Truly,
Laurel Lee
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