Game 35 Recap: Patience is a Virtue
“It looks like baseball” -Literally Everyone
Ballers Beat Freebirds 5-4 on Oakland Stands Up Night
By Roberto Santiago
WEST OAKLAND—Baseball is difficult. It is a game built on failure. For most of us, a 40% success rate at work would get us fired. In baseball, it makes you a legend. Modern baseball has been consumed by the “chicks dig the long ball” philosophy of launch angle and three true outcomes (strikeouts, walks, home runs). But there is another way. Mahatma Gandhi said, “To lose patience is to lose the battle,” and in baseball, each at-bat is a battle between the pitcher and hitter. On Saturday, the Ballers hitters won with patience rather than power.
Saturday in West Oakland was another shining example of why the East Bay is not only the best part of the area, but possibly the best part of the world—sunny and clear, with a cool breeze coming off the bay. A late-arriving crowd trickled in, content to catch as much of the game as possible after a day at LakeFest or any number of other events happening in town. A nervous Ballers front office required patience after a small early gate swelled to a respectable 1,921 fans, many taking advantage of a recent Mystery Ticket promotion offering a discount on field reserve seating.
Ballers starting pitcher Hunter Day made his Oakland debut, throwing 5 innings and giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. Day was able to scatter hits in all but the third inning when he allowed two singles in front of a double by Yuba-Sutter’s Jordan Donahue that plated both runners. Donahue advanced to third on the play due to an error by shortstop Tremayne Cobb. Zach Chamizo singled two batters later to bring in Donahue. Otherwise, Day sprinkled just 3 hits over his other 4 innings.
For the Ballers, a team that has powered their way to football scoreline wins all year, it was clear from the start that they would need to find another way to win this one. Walks and the patience to take pitches would be the theme for the B’s all day. Oakland took a 1-0 in the bottom of the first, loading the bases on a single, walk and hit-by-pitch. Noah Blythe hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Cobb from third. Down 3-1 in the fourth, Blythe walked to open the inning. Nick Leehey doubled to put runners at second and third with Davis Drewek at the plate. A wild pitch by Chase Martinez allowed both runners to advance and Oakland was in business at 3-2.
Michael Riley (2-1) relieved Day and threw 3 strong innings of 3 hit, 1 run ball, setting up a dramatic finish. It looked like the B’s might have a rally going in the seventh when catcher Connor Smith walked in front of a single by Esai Santos. Jake Allgeyer stepped in with one out and hit a medium-soft liner to center. Smith took off on contact and never seemed to know that the ball was caught, making no attempt to retreat to second before being doubled off for the third out.
“That was Connor’s first game on the bases here and the read is different in the outfield because of the shape of the park,” said coach James Harris after the game. “In other parks, that’s a ball that probably drops.” The missed opportunity to possibly tie the game tested fans’ patience even more when the Freebirds added a run in the top of the eighth.
But good things come to those who wait.
Jeter Ybarra, the Pioneer League leader in home runs, led off the bottom of the eighth with a single. It would be the only hit in an inning where the team would go on to score 3 runs. The next batter, Blythe, walked. After a strikeout from Paul Winland, Leehey also walked to load the bases. Team batting leader Jaden Collura pinch hit for Davis Drewek. Collura, hitting .388 in front of a crowd ready to explode with anticipation, walked to bring in a run. Smith struck out, bringing Oakland to 2 outs down 4-3. The tension and fan frenzy grew with each pitch as Cobb drew a walk on 5 pitches to tie the game. Or did he? The Freebirds used a timely challenge as the the stands held a collective breath. Sensing the moment, the stadium announcer paused for just a moment between “The call is” and “confirmed a ball” adding to the drama. Santos, as clutch a player as the Ballers have had in their short existence, stepped in with the score knotted. Santos watched the first two pitches from Corbin Barker. With the count at 1-1, catcher Diego Aaragon appeared to set up for a pitch down and away. Instead, the ball went down and in, hitting Santos on his back foot and bringing in the go ahead run. Like that, the team that sits second in the league in home runs was in place to win with a four-walk, one HBP rally.
Matthew Maloney came in to get a 1-2-3 top of the ninth to secure the win. Asked if Maloney is the closer after the trade, manager Aaron Miles replied, “He’s earned it. He’s the guy. We knew if we tied or took the lead in the eighth, he was coming out.”
The day was won by being the willow rather than the oak, proving what Bay Area native Bruce Lee once said: “Patience is not passive, on the contrary, it is concentrated strength.”
Odds and Ends:
C.J. Blowers will get the start on Sunday, Christmas in June Day at Raimondi. Blowers took a turn coaching first base for the ninth inning on Friday night. “I think coach Harris needed a break. It was fun.”
The earliest newcomer Connor Godwin might start would be Tuesday at Long Beach, though he may be pushed to Thursday, according to Miles.
The game was delayed for several minutes after a Noah Blythe pop foul hit one of the stadium lights, showering glass down on the field. Grounds crew, umpires and coaches worked together to pick glass out of the grass and warning track. No one was injured.
Freebirds catcher Diego Aaragon argued that the ball that hit Santos actually hit Aaragon. There was some speculation in the stands about what really happened, though Santos did wince when the trainer came out and poked at his foot. “It really did hit me!” Santos assured members of the front office after the game.
Photos from Caleb Elkind.
Roberto Santiago is a third generation Berkeley boy currently raising the fourth generation. Roberto’s writing has appeared in Latina, Parents, and various online outlets. A lifelong baseball fan, Roberto worked briefly with the Boston Red Sox and once hit an RBI single off Spaceman Lee on a 2-2 changeup. It was his only at bat ever in a real baseball game. Find him on Instagram.
