September or Bust

For most teams, the season final few days represents a chance to show coaches and scouts that they belong.

A base hit beaten out, that extra stretch to get to first, or reach that fly ball. Some rookies get forgotten, some leave the fall with a chance, a chance to impress. They hope the tape shows they have some promise.

Their winter will be a long cold winter in wait.  Perhaps some team will tap them on the shoulder and whisper "winter ball".  That chance to fly to Arizona, South America, to extend their dreams awhile longer.

Some winters there is no call, and they train, the work themselves in hope to get a spring opportunity. Work hard a coach says, "I will coach, and they bust their butts from October to February, maybe the phone will ring for them. 

Some old players simply hope to get a gig in Winter Ball to show the scouts they have something left to give. Some power, some quickness, some skill. They learned to conquer the inside pitch, and can make the throw to the plate.  Some just want the season not to end.

The dreamers are many, and the ones who enjoy the free beer, the beaches, the sights, and the adulation of fervent fans in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Colombia and Mexico.



For the rest of us, it's just a bloody cold winter.

October baseball is an exclusive club, full of high expectations, crowded parks, cool nights, and cameras in faces. The images broadcast around the world.  Nothing wrong with that, any players dream to play deep into October.

Scouts and coaches will break down the film and decide if certain players need winter ball to develop skills.

And some will settle for 3 months of training, somewhere in the sun where they can prepare for next spring. Life will renew itself, as it always does.

And others will lay on the beach wishing it was them, and just dream.