The Missed Fly Ball :: Personal Narrative Essays

The Missed Fly Ball    It was only a fly ball, but I missed it.   I missed a fly ball in the final baseball game my 3rd grade year .   It was a beautiful day, a few clouds covering the extremely blue summer sky.   It was very hot. I remember this because of the tremendous amount of sweat that would run down my face while I stood out in right field.   When I heard that crack of the bat, all I could hope for was that the ball would not come my direction.   I have never had good luck, so the ball was coming right for me.   I didn't even have to move, all I did was put my glove in the air and again hope it hit my glove.   It did hit the glove but bounced right out and behind me.   Now all there was to do was pick up the ball and throw it.   It was not this simple for me.   I turned around, bent down for the ball, and after the third try successfully grabbed it and stood back up and prepared to throw.   Well the first thing that came to mind was just to fling it up in the air and hope it makes it to somebody around the base runner.   Considering my previous luck, I just threw it to the first basemen.   The throw was not any better then the catch.   It landed 5 feet short and by the time the first basemen recovered the runner had rounded third base and was at least halfway home.   The runner did score on a close play at the plate.   The run gave the other team a two run advantage going into the sixth inning, which was the last in midget league.   I knew at this point I was going to have a hard time facing the other guys on the team after this big let down.   It also made me decide to quit baseball all together.   Since quitting baseball at such a early age I missed on the opportunity to take part in what could have, at one time, been considered America's Pastime.    Once a few years later I started to learn how to play basketball for the first time.   It was just a few friends and myself down at the park shooting hoops.   I wasn't terrible, considering I had never really played before.   We played a few games of Horse and a few other simple shooting games.   I wasn't the best but I wasn't always last.   I was doing good until someone suggested we play twenty-one.