As a newly inducted member of the Kutz community, I was unaware of one of the coolest traditions of the place: Shabbat Afternoon Softball.
The way the game works is this: staff plays against participants, with staff calling themselves the winners. Participants will cry foul play, but the games are, as a general rule, as fair as possible. The only time it gets a little fuzzy is when the game is close in the last inning.
I looked forward to this from the day I got here until today. There were no games during staff week or Mechina, so this, my third Shabbat, was my first round. I was so excited as I grabbed my mitt and headed for the field; I was excited because 1. I love baseball/softball, 2. I don’t get to play nearly enough, 3. I was finally able to play on the staff side of a URJ camp sporting event.
As we took the field, it was about 25 staff members against 20 participants. I took the field most innings, and played a combination of first base and outfield. I have to say that fielding was my favorite part. I fancy myself an excellent fielder, while my hitting is a little sub par.
In my first at-bat, I hit foul pop that was caught harmlessly. In the field that inning, though, I was able to recover an errant throw and gun down a runner trying to score from second. It was a laser beam of a throw, and easily got the man (although, as usual, the participants argued.)
In my second and final at-bat (with a 25 man roster, not everyone hits a whole lot), I took a few low and outside pitches before rocketing one to deep right-center. I flew around the bases for an inside-the-park two-run home run. I would love to be able to say that this was a game-changer, and that it put the staff ahead for the first time before sealing it in the bottom half of the inning. Instead, it was simply the 14th and 15th runs, with a final score of 15-4. Wasn’t really close, but at least I was able to contribute.
What was most fantastic about the game was that everyone was able to play a little bit, get really into the competition of the game, and yet still band together to enjoy one another’s company. After the game, we were all able to laugh about the hard plays, and we were able to congratulate one another on the big ones.
I guess it was made even better by the fact that we won.
AZ
