Jimmy walks into
the locker room, zigging and zagging his way around players much younger than
him. One player sitting on a bench removes his headphones (the ones from the
90s, not earbuds or AirPods) and asks if Jimmy is the old guy. “I’m the old
guy,” says Jimmy, embracing the role.
Playing for the
Orlando Rays, a minor-league affiliate of the Devil Rays, Jimmy wears a No. 9
jersey as he warms up in the bullpen, located down the first baseline in front
of the stands in the outfield. Fans, also noticing his age, start heckling him.
One probably-not-sober-fellow asks if he uses a walker to get to the mound.
Another can be heard asking if Jimmy came up with the Senators. Then there’s
this gem: “Hey skipper, I didn’t know it was bring your dad to work night.”
Let’s go over
something here. Double-A ball is still two steps away from the major leagues.
So even though Jimmy was in his mid-30s at the time, which is still relatively
young in life and not at all unheard of for players in the big leagues, it’s
definitely rare for someone his age to be stuck in the minors. Obviously, the
scouts couldn’t just send Jimmy immediately to the Bigs, even with that 98-mph
fastball.
Rough first
outing
Back to the game, Jimmy gets the call to go in. Although he’s first introduced as Johnny Morris. I’d love to know if that mistake actually happened somewhere along the way in his minor-league career. When he gets to the mound, after first tripping over monster trucks near first base as part of a fan in-stadium gimmick, the manager hands him the ball and tells him to work fast because they have a long bus trip.
Back to the game, Jimmy gets the call to go in. Although he’s first introduced as Johnny Morris. I’d love to know if that mistake actually happened somewhere along the way in his minor-league career. When he gets to the mound, after first tripping over monster trucks near first base as part of a fan in-stadium gimmick, the manager hands him the ball and tells him to work fast because they have a long bus trip.
Fans are shown in
the stands having a good time, dancing to the music as Jimmy warms up. When he
starts pitching, he lets a wild one sail above the batter at home plate and hit
the protective netting behind the plate. The fans immediately let Jimmy have
it, booing and heckling him hard.
This screams movie-bit
to me. I get that the intent in the movie is to put doubt into the audience's
minds that Jimmy isn’t that good or he’ll be too nervous in the clutch or
whatever. But these are fans at a minor-league ball game watching a brand-new
pitcher. “Old” or not, they’re not going to let the guy have it like that.
We don’t know the
outcome of the game, and it really doesn’t matter, but apparently, Jimmy had a
rough go, telling Lorri on the phone later that he let a few of the pitches get
away from him.
On to triple-A
in the minor-league life
On the charter bus that night, because the minor-league life is not one of luxury, Jimmy sits alone staring out the window. The movie flashes back to teenage Jimmy staring out the window of the station wagon as the family is driving to its final destination in Texas. We also see him throwing the baseball against the fence, with the raindrops bouncing off the chain links as the ball makes contact.
On the charter bus that night, because the minor-league life is not one of luxury, Jimmy sits alone staring out the window. The movie flashes back to teenage Jimmy staring out the window of the station wagon as the family is driving to its final destination in Texas. We also see him throwing the baseball against the fence, with the raindrops bouncing off the chain links as the ball makes contact.
That scene weaves
back to the present with Jimmy blowing away hitters, showing the
swings-and-misses consecutively. Somewhere in this sequence, Jimmy moves from
double-A to triple-A ball, as the screen graphics note with the location:
Durham, NC, AAA International League.
Still living that
minor-league road life, Jimmy stands in a phone booth in the parking lot of a
motel talking to Hunter and asking him the solution for 4x4. Hunter guesses 17,
and dad calls him out for guessing and instructs him to “add it up.” Hunter is
successful this time, while Jimmy receives an impatient knock on the
phone-booth door as the “hurry up” signal.
Not wanting to talk
about math anymore (I don’t blame ya, kid.), Hunter asks his dad if he’s made
it to the big leagues yet. Jimmy, probably exhausted and frustrated with
however long it’s been and he
hasn’t gotten the call-up,
completely ducks the question and asks Hunter to put his mom on the phone.
Jimmy wants a
report on the home front, and Lorri tells him they’re a little behind
money-wise. Baseball aside, being away from his family and the money issues are
stressing him out. He says he’s tired, they say their “I love yous” and end the
call.
He encounters a
line of teammates when he exits the booth, prompting one of the outspoken
fellas to explain to Jimmy that this is the only long-distance phone they have
access to and he should put a time limit on his calls if someone is waiting.
Jimmy doesn’t respond, so the player takes the opportunity to give him some
jabs about how he’s all talked out from being on the phone with his girlfriend.
That gets Jimmy’s attention; he replies that his son needed help with his
homework.
At batting practice on a sunny day, a TV reporter shows up and gets Jimmy called over to the sideline from the outfield. A young-stud hitter in the box, who seems pretty pleased with his cuts, is obviously annoyed that he’s not getting any love from reporters.
“You believe that?
I go 4-for-5 last night, look where they got the camera.”
Then there are a couple
of more comments from other teammates about how Jimmy should retire, because
he’s certainly old enough etc. What are we seeing here? Yes, that’s resentment
from some of the other players to put a conflict out there. It wouldn’t be
unheard of, I suppose. These young players are likely just starting out, trying
to get their careers off the ground, and then this “old guy” comes along and
steals their thunder? Let’s put a pin in this one for later, too.
The Rookie commentary, part 1: ‘What kind of baseball do they have? … They don’t.
The Rookie commentary, part 2: ‘There are more important things in life than baseball’
The Rookie commentary, part 3: ‘Yeah dad, bring the heat!’The Rookie commentary, part 2: ‘There are more important things in life than baseball’
The Rookie commentary, part 4: ‘You don’t have dreams, you don’t have anything’
The Rookie commentary, part 5: 'You got your shot at baseball. You got hurt.'
The Rookie commentary, part 6: 'State! State! State!'
The Rookie commentary, part 7: 'It's your turn, coach'
The Rookie commentary, part 8: 'You just threw 98 mph'
The Rookie commentary, part 9: ‘Do you know how many guys can throw the ball 98 mph?’
The Rookie commentary, part 10: 'What are we telling him if you don't try now?'
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