On the beautiful Sunday, I am at work engineering a baseball game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies. For the most part it is a meaningless games as the Rockies are in last place and the Dodgers are headed to the playoffs. The Dodgers are losing 2 to1 as I write this in the 7th inning.
Why you may ask am I writing about what many would consider such a non-event? Because one of the reasons baseball is so wonderful because it teaches so many great lessons about life.
The starting pitcher for the Rockies was Jeff Francis. The lanky Canadian started out his MLB career with so much promise. Francis had a great couple of years including starting Game 1 of the 2007 World Series for the Rockies. Then he has been beset by injuries and the promise has faded away. This year he has a lousy year and his contract is up. Today could easily be his last day in baseball.
Francis pitched well today and had a 2-0 lead in the 5th, In baseball, you must pitch 5 innings to get a win. In the 5th, Francis struggled and gave up a run. There were runners on first and third for the Dodgers with 2 outs. Out of the dugout came Rockie manager Walt Weiss. Weiss is an old school guy who you can tell respects the traditions of the game.
Dodger announcers speculated that Weiss would take out Francis. All of the infield gathered on the mound for the meeting. And Weiss being aware of the situation, that this could be Francis's last game and that he couldn't be the winning pitcher if didn't complete the inning, did the classy thing. He simply smiled and patted Francis on the arm and went back to the dugout. If this is to be the last game for Jeff Francis, his fate was in his own hands.
And how did Francis respond to this reprieve? He struck out the Dodger batter. He may not win today's game but he walked off the field a winner. And Walt Weiss? Well his team may have finished last this year but he managed like a champion today.
A remarkable little story in a "meaningless" game.
PS Update Rockies win 2 to 1
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