ROAD TO THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
BY STEVE BACHMAN
on the day of baseball tryouts at stone creek high , Matt Alberson arrives at school to begin the day , matt is in
his freshman year of high school ,having just completed little league , with county record 34 homers, at the
end of the day of school , matt is walking out to his moms car, "hey Matt,are you going to try out for the high
school baseball team?" says his childhood friend tony Williams ,"I don't know yet , I have been thinking about it
thought" replies Matt , " you will do great , I know you will ," replies Tony. Matt waves goodbye to Tony as he
and
his mom drive home ,"Matt , are you going to try out for baseball this year?" says Matts mom , "I have been
thinking about , high school baseball is very different from little league , im afraid I wont be like I was in little
league " replies matt , "I know you will do fine , your father played for the Atlanta braves for 18 years before
retiring to come home", replies Matts mom ," I no , I want to be like him , he hit 345 homers in the majors , but im
not like him , i wont be as good as i was in little league ", replies matt,"not everyone is good at it ,your dad spent
4 years in the minors before being called up, he was drafted by the red sox , spent 2 seasons with them before
being traded to Atlanta where he spent the rest of his career , he hit a home run in his last at bat , he crushed it
into the upper deck," replies mom , that night as matt falls asleep , he dreams that he is in Yankee
stadium ,where all the greats appear to him , Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio , Mickey Mantle ,the next
morning Matt is in the kitchen eating breakfast , "Matt , are you ready for the baseball tryouts today?" says Matts
dad jack Alberson ,"yes i am , i am nervous thought , i hope my hitting is ok " reply's matt , "i remember my first
at bat with braves , it was opening day , the pitcher was Nolan Ryan , he gets me to 2-2 count , he throws his
fast fastball at the strike zone , i swing, i nailed it in the seats for a home run , seeing the crowd didn't have a
clue who i was , only clapped for a about 30 seconds , but i knew after that homer , i would be come one of the
best to play the game " says Jack , " i will be ready for tryouts , i have been working hard all winter ," as Matt
leaves to head to school, he thinks about what's going to happen at tryouts , "i just got to keep calm and do the
best as i can " says matt talking to himself, as matt enters school to prepare for his first class , Vanessa Gordon
walks by him , "hey matt , what's up?" ." hey Vanessa , nothing much , how about you?" replies matt, "oh
nothing much , are trying out for baseball this year?" , " yes i am , i am nervous , i did good in little league , but
high school baseball is different from that" replies matt ,"i know you are going to do ok , oops gotta go ,good
luck with tryouts " replies Vanessa , "thank you" matt replies as both head off to there first class of the day , after
school matt gets dressed and heads out to the field to attend to tryouts , he sees kids he played little league
with and against , he sees a kid who led the county in steals 4 straight years ,he sees Brett Johnson the kid who
led the county in strikeouts 5 year in a row . a hour has passed and over 4o kids tryout ,19 has made the
roster ," matt alberson?" says the coach , " here!" replies matt ," get a helmet and get in the batters box" replies
the coach ,"yes sir" says matt ," hey , you are iron jack albersons kid aren't you? , he was my favorite player "the
coach says to matt ,"yes i am," matt replies ," ok , lets see what you can do , i see you led the county in home
runs in little league , but this is different , ok pitcher throw this some fast balls " , "you got it coach " says the
pitcher . the pitcher who is in his junior year and has the state record for most saves throws a ball to matt but it
it high , matt takes it , "good eye" says the coach ,the next pitch is right in the middle , matt takes a step in
and
swings and misses ,"nice try , try again " says the coach , the next pitch is again in the middle of the strike
zone , matt steps in and hits the ball , the ball goes soaring over the left field fence, "wow , nice hit son ,
you
take after your father , a couple more "says the coach , the next pitch is in the left hand corner of the strike
zone , matt drills it over the right field fence ,as matts time in the box progresses , he hits homer after
homer , "that's enough! " says the coach yelling to the pitcher , "son, welcome to the team , be here
Monday for
practice after school " , " yes sir , i will be there " reply's matt ,as matt gets into his fathers truck ,"how did
tryouts
go ?" says jack , " it went great , i hit 6 homers during batting practice, off there closer " matt reply's ,"wow
that's
great , i was never any good against closers , i was always striking out or grounding out to them ,but im \
proud of
you , replies jack , "thanks dad , i got practice Monday after school , " Matt replies ,"you are going be a great
baseball player son " says jack , "thanks dad ,ill try my best " replies matt. As the weekend goes by , it is
time
for matts first practice in high school baseball ,as matt is heading out to the field, he sees Vanessa walking
over
to him ,"hey matt, you look good in that uniform , good luck in practice" , "thanks Vanessa , ill do my best "
replies matt ,matt waves goodbye to Vanessa and joins his teammates heading out to the field to begin
practice ,senior 1st basemen Adam Johnson comes over to talk to matt , " hey your the new guy right? . i
heard
about your tryout , nice hitting , i haven't seen that since my freshman year " says Adam , "thanks i try to do the
best i can" replies matt ,"what's your name " says Adam , "matt alberson " matt replies , "alberson?, are you
related to iron jack alberson? " replies Adam ," yes , he is my father" matt replies ,"wow , i cant believe it , he
was my favorite player as a kid, is he coming to opening day?" says Adam ,"yes he is " replies ,matt ,as the two
continue talking , the coach comes to the field to begin practice ,"ok guys , welcome to another season, lets give
a warm welcome to the son of the great iron jack alberson , matt alberson " , all the players are in shock to learn
that matts father was a pro baseball player , " start throwing to each other then take a lap around the field " says
the coach , as an hour goes by , matt is in the batters box to begin hitting practice , the pitcher is a 4 game
winner from the previous season , as the pitcher takes his wind up , matt begins his stride , the pitcher throws
the ball into the middle of the strike zone , matt takes a step and swings and sails it over the fence , "nice hit son,
keep your eye on the ball" says the coach , the next pitch is high , but matt lets it go , the next pitch is high in
the strike zone , matt steps and hits it into center field ,as matt keeps hitting ball over the fence and in front , the
players look in amazement to what they have just seen ,"ok that's enough " says the coach ," your gonna be a
star here son " ,"thank you sir , i try " replies matt ,as practice ends ,matt is tired , and walks over to his dads
truck, "hey slugger , i saw those homer you hit , im impressed " , "thanks dad " replies matt ,"hey you must be
matts dad , iron jack alberson " says the coach , "yes i am" replies jack , i new you were his dad so i brought my
rookie card of you , will you sign it?" replies the coach , "sure thing " jack replies , as jack is signing the
autograph , matt looks on ,"thank you sir" says the coach ," no problem says jack .as jack and matt head home ,
matt thinks of the way he hit , come school the next morning , Vanessa stops by matts locker , " hey matt good
luck on opening day" , "thanks Vanessa , i will do my best " replies matt , as another school day ends jack
heads to the locker room to get dressed for the road game against mountain valley high school ,as the game
enters the second inning ,matt is on deck , he looks over to see his dad with the video camera , matt waves ,
then head to the plate to bat , "lets go matt , you can do it!" , matt looks to see Vanessa on the bleachers
cheering him on , matt gives her a quick wave and steps into the box , "play ball!" yells the ump , the pitcher
throws matt the first pitch , a curveball into the dirt which matt takes ,"ball one !" the umpire yells , the next pitch
is in the middle of the strike zone , a fast ball , which matt takes , "strike 1!" yells the ump ,the next pitch is a
slider in the outside corner of the plate which matt takes , "ball 2!" the ump yells , the next pitch is over the
strike zone , a changeup , matt takes his step and swings "crack!" as the ball is hit over the fence for a home
run , the stone creek fans stand and cheer as matt rounds the bases , "good hit son!" yells jack ,as the game
progresses , stone creek is trailing 7-6 in the top of the 7th inning ,matt steps into the on deck circle , thinking
about to get on base , "crack!" as the stone creek 1st basemen adam Johnson hits a mammoth home run to tie
the game ,matt steps into the batters box , gives adam a high five and prepares to bat, the first pitch is a fastball
high in the strike zone "ball 1!" yells the ump , "come on matt ,you can do it! " yells Vanessa , matt takes the next
pitch , a fastball over the plate ,"strike 1!" yells the ump , "come on son you can do it " yells jack , matt takes
the next pitch , a curveball in the dirt "ball 2!" ,matt calls time and steps out of the box and does a couple
practice swings , then steps back into the box , the next pitch is over the plate , a fastball , matt steps in and
swings ,"crack!" as the ball goes just foul over the fence , the count is 2-2 , the next pitch is another curve into
the dirt, which matt takes , "ball 3!" yells the ump , now the count is 3-2 ,top of the 7th , nobody out , the game is
tied, the next pitch is a fastball in the middle of the zone ,"crack!" as the ball is hit again foul ,the next pitch ,
matt finally hits over the fence for a home run , the crowd stands and cheers , matt puts his arm into the air as he
is rounding the bases ,the bottom of the 7th , the closer for stone creek retires the side to win the game .as the
season goes by , stone creek is undefeated , with matt leading the team in home runs , they earn a spot in the
state championship game ," hey son , are you ready for the title game?" says jack , "yes i am dad , our team is
home team ,so we get last up " replies matt , " i no you are going to do good, uh i got something to tell ya , i will
be late getting to the game , i got a meeting to go to , but i will try to make it " replies jack , "i understand dad , i
wont let u down though ," replies matt , " i know you wont son , im proud of you ," jack replies , as the state title
game begins, matt struggles the first couple times , with a ground out , a walk and a flyout , "hey matt ,are you
ok to continue?" says the coach , " yes i am , im sorry i am hitting badly ," replies matt , " don't worry about it , "
replys the coach , its is the bottom of the 7th inning , adam Johnson steps up , stone creek is trailing bear valley
6-5 , the pitcher delivers "crack!" as the ball is hit over the fence to tie it up ,stone creek fans stand and cheer
while adam jogs around the bases , matt steps into the box , the first pitch is a very high and in fast ball which
matt ducks and bails to dodge it , "ball 1!" yells the umpire ,the next pitch is a curveball hitting the left side of the
strike zone , "strike 1 !" the umpire yells ,the next pitch is another fastball in the middle of the zone , matt steps
in but misses the ball , "strike 2!" yells the umpire , matt calls time and steps out of the box , matt is confused as
to how to hit the ball , "matt!" as jack yells from the bleachers ,matt is exited to see his father , matt takes a deep
breath and steps back into the box , the next pitch is a fastball high and inside, matt watches it go by,"ball 2!"
yells the umpire ,the next pitch is again high and inside , "ball 3!" yells the umpire , 3 and 2 , in the bottom of the
7th and nobody out , the game is on the line ,the next pitch is in the middle of the strike zone , "crack!" as the
ball is hit hard ,the ball is high , it is deep and it is gone, the stone creek team and fans begin cheering , while
matt jogs around the bases , he touches home and his teammates pick him up in celebration, matt has won the
state title for the stone creek , the first in school history ,matt looks at his dad , his dad gives him a thumbs up ,
then matt throws his dad the game ball , as matt takes his hat off and raises it into the air
part 2
baseball , anything can happen
The night before tryouts for the michigan wolverines baseball team , matt
is with vanessa gordon , the girl he met in high school , they have been in
a relationship for quite some time , "hey , are you ready for the tryouts?"
says vanessa ,"yeah , i am , just a bit nervous tho" replies Matt "college is
quite different than high school ball " , "i know you will be great ,you lead
your home state in homers, so i know you are going to be great here ,ill be
rooting for you the whole way" replies vanessa ,"thanks , vanessa , you
have always been there for me" replies matt ,as both turn into bed , matt
dreams all night of him at home plate at yankee stadium , the pitcher is
chicago white sox closer fred Williamson . the first pitch is very high for a
ball , the next pitch a fastball down the right side of the plate , matt take
and hits it foul ,the next pitch is thrown right at mat, before it hits , matt is
awaken , "whoa what a dream , man it felt real , " says matt ,matt falls
back a sleep before he has to get up for his first class ,the time has finally
come for matts tryout with the wolverines ,matt gets dressed in his
dorm room , does up his buckle , and throws has hat on and grabs his bag
and heads out to the door , he heads out to the field and signs up for
tryouts , as matt arrives to stretch , he looks around , he doesn't no
anybody here ,"ok gentleman, welcome to tryouts , were only picking the
best ,the coach calls out the names of the players till he gets to matts
name , "matt alberson?," says the coach ,"here!" replies matt ,"your up ,
show me what you have" replies the coach , matt grabs a helmet and
walks up to the plate ,the first pitch is right down the middle , matt swings
and crushes it over the wall , "nice shot , i havent seen a homer like that
since george brett " says the coach , "throw him a couple more ", "you
got it coach " replies the pitcher , look calls time to fix his batting glove
,takes a deep breath and steps back into the plate, the next pitch is high ,
matt takes it , matt takes another deep breath and awaits the next pitch ,
the pitch is in the middle of the plate , matt swings and crushes it over the
wall , "thats enough," yells the coach , "where do you play in the field
son?" ,"i am a catcher and first basemen , my dad is iron jack alberson
,catcher for the new york yankees" replies matt , " your father is jack
alberson?" says the pitcher ,"he is my favorite player ", "ok , now matt is
your name right ?" says the coach ,"yes sir " reply matt ," we will give you
a call to tell you how you did" replies the coach ,matt leaves the field ,"hey
slugger , howd it go?" says vanessa ,"i dont know yet , they will call me in
a couple days to tell me how i did" replies matt ,"dont worry , i know you
did great " replies vanessa ,"thanks vanessa ,i hope i made the team , but
time will tell . i am tired so i am going to relax in our dorm ", replies matt .
The next day , matt is sitting with vanessa watching the tv in there dorm
room , "today is a cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms ,tomorrows
sunny with no chance of rain " says the weatherman , "the weather is ,
always wrong ,this guy never get its right" says matt ,"its not his fault matt
the skys are always confusing , "replies vanessa ,"last week , he said it
was gonna rain with hail , it never happend " matt replies , "he said that for
the other side of state ,i remember " replies vanessa , " he said we will get
rain while the other side of the state got hail " ," o right i remember now
,your right ," ring ring " as matts cell phone goes off, its his father ,"hello?"
says matt , "hey slugger , how did tryouts go?" replies jack ,"oh hey dad , i
dont know yet , i am hoping by tomorrow to find out " replies matt ,"i know
you did great , just call me when you find out ,your mother wants to talk to
you , "matt?" says matts mom , "hi mom , wats up" replies matt , "i just
want to know how you are doing ,i miss you , but i know you are doing wat
you love". replies mom ,"i miss you guys too , vanessa has been keeping
me company " replies matt "thats good , that your with people you know,
how did baseball tryouts go ?" replies mom "it went good , i have not heard
from coach yet if i made the team" replies matt ,"of course you made the
team , dont worry , if u fail, your father will fly to ann arbor to speak with
the coach " replies mom , "ok , i gotta go matt, heres your father " ,hey
matt i know you will make the team ,baseball has been in our blood for
years " says jack , "i dont want to disappoint you " replies will
never disappoint us " replies jack , "ok i have to go , call me when you
find how you did " , replies jack ,"ok dad , ill give ya a call when i find out
how i did ,talk to you later " replies matt as he hangs up his phone , "how
are you parents doing ?" says vanessa , " there doing great , remind me to
call them after i find out " replies matt , "knock knock" ,matt opens his
door to find the mail man ,the mail man gives matt a letter , matt opens to
find a letter
"dear matt
i am writing to inform you , that you have been named to the michigan
wolverines roster , good job, we expect big things out of you , go out and
play hard ,your number will be 31 after your favorite player mike piazza
,you will be behind the plate , at practice you will compete with the our
other catcher to determine who will start opening day , we know the talent
you have ,we know your father was a professional player , report to the
field tomorrow afternoon for the first practice session, we will give you
your jersey ,
GO BLUE
coach williams "
"wow , i knew you could do it" says vanessa ,"i cant believe i am a
wolverine " replies matt, "i gotta call dad ". "ring ring " ,"hello?" says matts
dad ," dad , i made the team , a mail men gave me a letter from the coach"
replies matt , "thats great son , i am happy , i know you are going to have
a great season ," replies jack , "i gotta compete with the other catcher "
replies matt , "i no you will win , if you dont maybe they will let you play
first or dh " replies jack ,"ill do my best , ive never liked sitting on the
bench replies matt, "I know you will do great " replies jack , "thanks dad"
replies matt ,"anytime slugger .ill give you a call tomorrow " replies jack ,
"ok , ill talk to you later " replies matt ,matt hangs up the phone and puts
his arm around vanessa , the next morning ,matt gets ready for practice ,
matt finishes putting his jersey on , he looks at himself in the mirror , matt
fixes his hat and grabs his bag and heads out the door to the field , matt
arrives to practice , puts his stuff on the bench and jogs to the field ,45
minutes into practice , matt is behind the plate catching , the coach hits a
soft grounder in front of the plate and throws it to first without any problems
the coach tosses the ball into the air in front of the plate ,matt catches it
and fires to first for a double play ,its time for matt to bat , matt grabs his
bat and heads to the plate ,matt steps in , the pitcher is last years all
american pitcher brett johnson ,brett finds the pitch he want and delivers ,
the pitch is high , which matt drives into centerfield , the next pitch is in the
middle of the plate , matt swings and misses , matt steps out and takes a
deep breath ,he steps in ,the pitch is again in the middle of the plate ,matt
swings and crushes it over the left field fence ,the next 6 pitches matt
belts over the fence ,"thats enough " says coach williams ,"you did great
son , im impressed , you are the starting catcher ,congratulations" ,"thank
you sir , ive practiced hard to earn this" replies matt ,"dont make us regret
this choice " replies the coach , as matt leaves the field to head back to
his dorm ,he calls dad , " ring ring ". "hello?" says jack ,"dad i made the
opening day roster," replies matt, " thats great son , i am so proud of you
,i new you could do it , me and your mother are flying to ann arbor to watch
your first game , we cannot wait to see you and vanessa , i will invite her
parents too ," replies dad , "ok i will tell her ,i cant wait to see you guys "
replies matt ,"ok i gotta go son , congrats" dad replies , " thank you , bye"
replies matt ,"so wat did your dad say ?" says vanessa " he told me
congrats on making the starting roster , and hes inviting your parents to
come to ann arbor to watch my first game ," replies matt ,"my parents are
coming with yours?'" replies vanessa ,"yes my dad invited them ,are you
ok with that ?" replies matt,"im ok with it , i miss them so much " replies
vanessa ,as both sit in there dorm watching tv , "i am going to order a
pizza , do u want anything?" says matt, "im ok , im not hungry, " replies
vanessa ,"ok " replies mat, as both are sitting in there dorm the rest of the
night , matt thinks about the season is going to go or him , "i hope i can
remain patient this year at the plate , the next morning , matt and vanessa
go out to breakfast , "well todays the day , opening day " says vanessa ,
"i am exited ," replies matt ,in a couple hours , matt and vanessa are in
there dorm , "knock knock ",matt opens the door , "dad!" ."hey slugger , its
great to finally see you " says dad ,"mom , dad!" says vanessa ,"matts
parents invited us ,we are happy to see you " replies Vanessa's mom, "so
matt are you ready for the game?" says jack ," yes ,i am dad " replies matt
as both families go out to dinner , a couple hours have passed ,it is time
for the game , 'ok son , were gonna head to the field , good luck out there"
says jack ,"thanks dad , ill do my best , as matt heads to the locker room
to get dressed , he see the lineup on the wall
gerhart ss
sanders 3B
alberson c
jimmerson RF
cabrera 1B
williamson 2B
reese LF
8. cody armstrong CF
johnson p
"ok boys , its opening day , play hard , " says the coach ,"on 3"
"Go blue!" yells the team as they jog out to the field , matt and brett head
to the bullpen to begin warming up , the announcer announces both sides
,the national anthem plays and the wolverines take the field to a big
standing ovation , the game begins with brett johnson tossing a 1,2,3
inning ,matt and the wolverines head to the dugout to get ready to hit ,"we
have a very special guest with us tonight , please welcome former major
league slugger , iron jack alberson ,the crowd applauds as jack stands and
waves and signs a few autographs ,the next inning begins with max gerhart
lining a double in to right , lee sanders knocks a single , 2 on , no body out
,matt steps up to the plate ,matts parents stand and cheer for him ,matt
stands in the batters box , the first pitch is a high fastball ,matt takes ,
'ball 1!" yells the umpire , the next pitch a slider low and away , make
takes , "strike 1!" yells the umpire ,the next pitch is a changeup , right
down the middle , matt swings ,"crack!" goes the bat as the ball goes
sailing over the fence for a home run ,as matt rounds the bases ,the blue
crowd goes wild ,matt and Vanessa's parents applaud ,
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES TEXAS STATE
3 0
in the top of the 6th inning , texas states clean up hitter crushes a home run to center field for the 2 run homer
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES TEXAS STATE
3 2
in the bottom of the 7th , matt come up ,with a homer and a single ,steps
in ,the first pitch is a change up low which matt takes , "ball 1!" yells the
umpire ,matt calls time and steps up , then steps back in , the next pitch is
a fast ball in , matt swings and misses , "strike 1!" , the count 1 and 1 , the
next pitch is a curveball hitting the outside corner , matt swings "crack" as
the ball is hit into the right field wall for a double , matts family cheers ,
matt waves ,tony jimmerson drives a ball into right center , allowing matt to
score ,
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES TEXAS STATE
4 2
it is the top of 9th ,closer barry jenkins is in to finish the game , "get these
guys " says matt , as matt gets into his crouch , he signals for a fastball ,
barry shakes his head no , matt then signals a curveball , barry agian
shakes his head no , matt signals slider , barry nods , and begins his stride
and fires , "strike 1! " yells the umpire ,the next pitch by barry is a slurve
,it is fouled back , "foul ball!",the next pitch is a fast ball high and in
,"strike 3!, 1 out , the next batter , texas state LF bubba morrow , steps in
, matt signals slider ,barry nods and fires , "crack " as the ball is hit over
the fence for a home run ,
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES TEXAS STATE
4 3
barry strikes out the next batter, then texas slugger george hernandez
steps in , barry deliver , "crack" as the ball is hit , it is high it is deep and it
is caught!, right fielder tony jimmerson robs hernandez of a home run ,
giving michigan a 4-3 win ,after the game , matt meet up with his family
and Vanessa's ,"great game son" says jack,"i am very proud of you "
says mom , "great game matt " says Vanessa's parents ,"thank you"
replies matt , the family spend the weekend with each other at a nearby
hotel , they go to the rest of the series against texas state , michigan
sweeps them , at the airport , the parents hear there plane being called
"well son , take care " says jack , "thanks dad" ,vanessa says goodbye to
her parents as well , when matt and vanessa get back to there dorm , they
fall asleep under the full moon , over the next 3 seasons, matt leads the
ncaa in home runs with 64,and is predicted to be drafted in the first round
of the mlb draft ,
THE END
next story will feature matt entering the minor leagues working his way to the bigs , thank you for reading ,