YARD BALL

I played against the San Francisco Giants this past Saturday. It was both an honor and a privilege. Being a former player and current fan, the opportunity was one that I had a to take advantage of. From the perspective of an individual who used to play the game, any organized game of hardball that is available for me to participate in is almost a no-brainer let alone against the SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS! It’s at this point where I do feel the need to confess/mention a couple things about the game I played in over the weekend. First off, the game was not located at AT&T Park; the games location was at San Quentin prison north of the city and off the Richmond exit. Secondly, while the team was wearing official Giants jerseys, I did not recognize one of the players; and to me, “the freak,” “the panda,” and “the kid,” (my newly created nickname for Buster) are all recognizable people. Turns out, the team I was playing was composed of current inmates at the prison. The Giants sponsored their jerseys and even donated other gear that included official Major League baseballs (pretty cool, even if they were made in China). During my morning and afternoon at San Quentin, there were two parts of the experience that stuck out more than others. Those two parts included the seemingly lack of guard supervision at the yard where the game was being played, and the appreciation the prisoners had not only for an outside teams participation but also the game of baseball.

After a security check at the entry way and entering through multiple different gates my squad and I (composed of former ballplayers now living in the bay area) walked into the yard. While the baseball field took up the most space, there were a lot of other things to look at as well. For starters, the yard was for the most part segregated by race. The blacks were at the basketball court, the Latinos were near the punching bag, and the whites were near the tennis court. While most all of the prisoners were doing some form of physical activity, there were some who were just chilling and preparing to watch the games about to take place (an outside team was also brought in to play basketball). As I walked onto the baseball field I took a moment to look around. The look though was different from the one Kevin Costner took in the movie “For the Love of the Game” before throwing the first pitch during the last game of his professional baseball career. What I noticed during my look around was the seemingly lack of guard supervision within the yard. While there were probably guards in secret towers who had guns and the inmates knew that, in the moment I did not feel comfortable with the ostensible low number of guards. However, the street smarts that I gained through working in low income neighborhoods in SF and the Tenderloin kicked it, and I had a gut feeling I was going to be okay.

From the beginning of my time on the field, it was clear all of the inmates were enjoying being on the field. Their love of the game shined through in a couple different ways. All of their uniforms were tucked in and it was clear they had a focus/desire to win the upcoming game. The team I was playing on showed up with only 7 guys. Therefore, we needed a couple of the players from the other team to play with us. The three guys they sent over were all nice guys; each of them went out of their way to introduce themselves. While I was a little bit apprehensive before my first at bat, I ended up lining a single right back up the box. As I was moving around the base paths I noticed the warmth from a few of the infielders on the inmate squad (saying “good hit” etc). While part of me wanted to engage with them and joke around  (like I would during a normal game of pickup ball), I was hesitant because of the prison environment scenario. However, as the game progressed, I did loosen up….a little bit!  While most of the players on the inmate squad were past their primes, they still had a fair amount of talent. That being said, my team ended up losing the game; for the most part though, the loss was as a result of  our pitchers not being able to find the plate and walking an abundance of players. After the game, there were hugs and a higher level of love that I usually sense coming from a normal competitive athletic game.

While I  want to win any game I participate in, as the game progressed it became clear that this game was really not about winning and losing. It was about gratitude. For the prisoners they were grateful for the opportunity to play baseball and play against an opposing team comprised of former ballplayers like themselves. And for me, the gratitude I felt was from the numerous opportunities I have been and am able to pursue past, present, and future, along with the abundance of  freedom I have in my life. While I did make some bad decisions when I was younger, I have been able to turn my life around and am thankful that none of the decisions led me to being enclosed in a specified area (prison) all day everyday. All in all, I had a great experience playing at San Quentin and look forward to playing there again.

p.s Almost a guarantee my next article will be on Buster “the kid and main reason the Giants have a post-season shot” Posey!