KANNAPOLIS — There’s no crying in baseball — even when you break a nail, haven’t the time to powder your nose or just so happen to sprain your ankle.
This and other Intimidators trade secrets I learned last weekend at the Women’s Fantasy Baseball Camp. The event — sponsored by Rowan Regional Medical Center to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation — gave women a chance to see what the game is all about.
My experience with the sport was limited to batting cages, but motivated by my friend, a good cause and cute boys in baseball pants, I signed on the dotted line and showed up at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium bright and early on a Saturday morning.
Razor Shines, the manager of the minor league Kannapolis Intimidators, began the day by explaining some of baseball’s fundamentals. He answered our questions about the game and coaching strategies, even explaining how they use signals during the games.
Although he shied away from letting us steal any important signs, Shines did demonstrate the most commonly used one. Moving both hands across his torso twice in a downward motion, he then signaled the numbers two, zero, five. This, he explained with a grin, means there is an attractive woman sitting in Section 205.
Once Shines was through with the mechanics, everyone hit the field for drills. Something that came as a surprise was the simplicity of some of the drills even professionals do. When Razor explained that we would be practicing hitting off a tee, some in the group seemed a little disheartened, but he explained that even the pros bat off a tee for practice.
Catcher-outfielder Joey Gillikin showed us the basics of hitting, a process which really shouldn’t be referred to as basic at all. Seemingly the easiest part of the sport, I quickly learned that even more concentration goes into a good swing than making sure the bacon, eggs and toast get done all at the same time without being burned.
In the outfield, catcher Wally Rosa tried to show us how to quickly retrieve the ball and get it back to the infield and how to catch pop flies. As I attempted to catch the fly balls, Rosa explained the importance of getting under the ball, but all I could think about was how I would look with a broken nose.
Rocky Hughes and Steve Madril — both left-handed pitchers — led our third set of drills: the fastball, curveball and changeup. Unfortunately my pitching skills remain at a novice level, the scenery a distraction.
After the drills — and a lunch of good old-fashioned ballpark food — we split into teams “coached” by Gillikin and Madril, a chance to show off our newly polished skills.
One of the neatest parts of the game was looking over the field to see the diversity in the women who participated. The group was made up of 25 women — from a high schooler to a grandmother.
The game was a great way to end the day, except for a mishap right before the final out. In trying to back up the play at first base from the outfield, my friend lost her balance near the foul line and sprained her ankle.
She didn’t even cry.
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