The Day I Hit Chester Twice

Before stepping up to the plate,

Chester who played for the Reds,

took a couple of warm-up swings.

He was a great little leaguer

who could run, throw, field, and

really clobber the ball.

Best of all, he was my friend.

On that Saturday morning

as Chester stepped to the plate

I took to the mound.

The Greens were playing the Reds.

My first pitch was a ball inside.

Chester fouled the second

which soared past PT,

the only pine tree watching the game!

The third pitch went wild

as I attempted to deliver a fast ball inside.

The ball struck Chester

under the left side of his rib cage.

"Take your base!" Yelled the umpire.

Trotting down the first baseline

Chester seemed to be okay.

A couple of innings later

Chester returned to the plate

with the go-ahead run on third.

I decided to throw another fastball inside.

Before the ball left my fingertips

the pitcher's plate broke free from the red clay.

My right foot shifted with it

as I released the ball.

The ball headed straight toward Chester again,

impacting his left side just under the rib cage.

"Take your base!" The umpire roared.

"No! Stop the game!" Screamed the Reds' coach.

As Chester walked to first base

rubbing his left side,

I was ejected from the game.

The Greens lost the game to the Reds that day.

After the game, I went over to Chester

and apologized for hitting him twice.

I tried to explain to him that

the first pitch was my fault.

But the other one was an accident.

Like a true friend,

he told me that it was okay.

There were no hard feelings.

I never hit another batter

the rest of the season.

A few years later

Chester was hit again,

not by a wild pitch

but by a drunk driver

home from Vietnam.

Chester rounded third...