SteveR wrote:
Besides a couple of very special summers, one memory that has stuck with me was playing against Ted Simmons in the county wide end of the year tournament. I caught, so I was in a great position to see his swing. Our strategy was to pitch him low and away, so if the caught hold of anything it wouldn't go over the fence. Wouldn't you know it, on the very first pitch, pitcher threw a high (and I mean just above the shoulders), inside fastball. Simmons pulled his bat straight up and then hard and level right through the ball for a line drive double down the line. Best swing I've ever swing, and ofc, he was in the majors the next year. On another at bat, he fouled two balls off down the third base line and we had a 1-2 count on him. I talk with my pitcher and decided to shoot the corner. My pitcher could not have missed the corner by more than 1/16th of an inch on the next three pitches, but Simmons took all of them and walked. I swear, if we'd had a major league ump he'd have been called out on strikes. Instead, we had a really good high school ump. Not only could Simmons hit but he had a great sense of the strike zone. He was just elected to the Hall of Fame last year, finally!!!! It does not surprise me, from the experience I just shared, that when Simmons retired in 1988 he held the record for both hits and doubles by a catcher.
Besides a couple of very special summers, one memo... (
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