Ginny Baker arrived to the Padres Spring Training facility before any of her teammates and immediately started her morning strength and fitness routine. She timed it so she could finish before Al commenced the morning meeting. Everything needed to go right on the first day of her first Spring Training.
Ginny arrived on the practice field for the meeting before anyone else. She'd triple checked the itinerary to make sure this was the right place, but standing all alone waiting made her nervous about getting it wrong. Other players started wandering in after a few minutes. She recognized most of them from playing with them either in the minors or with the Padres last summer. Some of the younger pitchers introduced themselves to her, a few did not. She made a mental note to speak to those who avoided her. None of the catchers spoke to her. They congregated at the left side of the group.
When Al stepped in front of the group there were 34 players assembled, 27 pitchers and seven catchers. "Welcome to Spring Training 2017. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Al Luongo, manager of the Padres. Every one of you has a chance to make the opening day roster. If not, don't be discouraged. We wouldn't have invited you here if we didn't think you had a future with the organization. Daily schedules are posted in the locker room. Today I'm also going to have one-on-one meetings with each of you, first the pitchers then the catchers. By virtue of alphabetical order, Baker is the first pitcher I want to see in the office. The rest of you get to work."
"How's the arm, Baker?" Al knew the answer already, he talked to Ginny on the phone about once a week during the offseason. Ginny had been cleared from rehab in November.
"100%, Skip. I've even added a little velocity on my fastball."
"You followed Buck's throwing schedule this winter?"
She nodded. "I might have gone over his recommended pitch counts a few times, but I only threw on the indicated days."
"A few times?"
She grinned; "Well, almost every day, but only by a little. No more than 20%."
"I figured you would, so I had Buck reduce your scheduled pitches. Next winter just stick to the schedule. I don't want you wearing your arm out. What else have you been working on?"
"Endurance has been the priority. I don't want you shutting me down at the beginning of September again. Running eight miles a day instead of five, except on days when I threw simulated games. Also arm flexibility exercises to strengthen the ligaments and tendons. Doc says it reduces the incidence of injury."
"Anything else?"
"I'm ready to show the cutter. Been throwing it for strikes consistently for weeks."
"What's your goal for the Spring?"
"I want to start opening day. I'm in great shape, been hitting my spots, and feel ready to be the best pitcher on the team."
"Cut the crap, Baker." They both laughed.
"OK, I am in great shape and all that. I can move up in the rotation."
"That's more like it. Now get to work."
The morning of practice went well. Ginny's cutter impressed Al and Buck so much the latter suggested she could legitimately be the #2 starter.
Ginny returned to the locker room to check her phone before getting lunch and saw a bunch of messages waiting with more coming in.
The first was from Evelyn; "How u gon run out w/o tellin me?" Ginny had no idea what she was talking about.
The next one was from Eliot. "Any truth to this?" It also included a link. She tapped and it took her to an article from the Rangers blog at SB Nation entitled "Trade Buzz: Baker, Salinas reuniting in Texas?" Felix Salinas had been Ginny's manager in Double-A and got the job as the Texas Rangers manager after last season. The article went on; "LoneStarBall has learned from multiple sources that Ginny Baker could end up in Texas with her former manager, Felix Salinas. The Rangers are working on a trade to bring the crafty right hander to the Lonestar State in exchange for a package of minor leaguers."
She texted Eliot back; "1st Ive heard. Going to see Oscar."
Ginny walked into Oscar's office without knocking. He had all the tools he needed, despite the smaller office.
"Ginny! Watching you out there today I'd swear it was midseason already. You're going to have a great year."
"Why are you trying to trade me?"
"Whoa, I'm not trying to trade you. Where is this coming from?"
She pulled out her phone and showed him the article. "It's from 'multiple sources'. Why are you trying to trade me?"
"Alright, calm down. None of those 'sources' are from the Padres. The Rangers GM called me last week and your name came up. He was trying to take advantage of the injury to acquire you on the cheap. He gave me a lowball offer, which I refused."
"Why would they leak it to the press?"
"The Rangers have had a tough offseason. No big free agent signings and no significant trades. They're probably trying to reassure the fan base they're trying to do something."
"So you're not going to trade me?"
"Well, if some other team came through with a big enough offer we might take it. Trading away a promising young pitcher with a good attitude and a strong work ethic isn't something we take lightly. With your additional marketability it would have to be a monster deal. I can't promise we won't trade you, but it's unlikely."
"That's got to be flattering."
Mike's response surprised Ginny. She told him the whole story hoping for advice.
"You think everything is flattering. You thought I should be flattered when that guy got my face tattooed on his butt."
Mike laughed at the memory of the viral photo. "Yeah, this is different. The Rangers specifically asked about you. Most players never get that treatment."
"I guess. How much of it comes from the sideshow, though? Extra ticket sales every fifth game without having to spend superstar money is awfully tempting."
"Look where they leaked it. Only diehard baseball nerds read LoneStarBall and the like. They wouldn't leak it there unless they really thought you would help the team. The people who read blogs like that are only interested in your arm, not any of your other body parts."
"OK, but I don't want to be traded and I certainly won't play for Felix Salinas again."
FLASHBACK May 16, 2014 in San Antonio
"Girl!"
Six weeks into Ginny's second season at Double-A and her manager still wouldn't call her by name. She pretended to ignore him.
"Girl!" He grabbed her by the shoulder.
"I have a name."
"The team doesn't hit for you. We need to work on that." Ginny was 2-2 through eight starts despite pitching well in seven of them. She had the worst run support in the league.
"Why are you talking to me? Talk to the hitters."
"I talked to them. They say they could hit better if you helped them relax before the game."
"Relax?"
"Help them release some of their pent up energy."
"I don't understand." Ginny knew what he meant, but couldn't believe he was suggesting what she thought he was suggesting.
"I'm not saying have sex with them, just use your hand or maybe your mouth..."
She slapped him hard across the face. "How dare you! I'm a ballplayer, not a groupie or a hooker! You've got hands and a mouth. If the guys need help, you help them." She turned and stormed away from him.
"Girl, you're through. You'll never pitch in pro ball again!"
"What happened after that?" The story visibly disgusted Mike.
"I told Amelia what happened. She called Oscar. I got promoted to Triple-A the next day. The Padres let Felix go at the end of the season and he went to work for the Rangers."
"I bet the Rangers GM doesn't know any of that."
"He should talk to his manager. Felix doesn't want me on his team."
Later that afternoon, Ginny took a few minutes to talk to some reporters covering Padres camp.
"Ginny, there's a story going around you might be traded to the Rangers. Is there any truth to it?"
"I heard that rumor also. You'll have to talk to Oscar. He's in charge of trades."
"Felix Salinas managed you in Double-A. Would you want to play for him again?"
"Felix and I had some disagreements back in San Antonio. I imagine we would with the Rangers also. However, we're both professionals and I would expect to resolve our issues in a professional manner."
"You didn't answer the question."
"I love San Diego. I don't want to go anywhere. As a ballplayer, I recognize that's not always up to me. If I have to go to Texas to play, then I'll go to Texas. I just want to play ball."
Ginny awoke early the next morning. She turned on ESPN to catch some SportsCenter while she ate and got ready for the day. After a little basketball news, they started talking about the trade rumor. The anchor read her quote about being professionals. Then they had some video of Felix Salinas being asked about it.
"There's no BLEEP truth to it at all. I don't want no girl on my team. Baseball is a BLEEP man's game and no BLEEP girl should be playing. She only played in San Antonio because the Padres forced me to. The only proper place for a BLEEP girl is the bed or the kitchen."
Ginny sighed and shook her head. At least she knew what she'd be talking about today.
Ginny got her early workout in before Oscar came in. She went to see him as soon as he reached the office, saving him the trouble of sending for her.
"I saw Felix's rant on TV this morning. Anything special you want me to say when they ask me about it?"
"The Rangers sent out a release this morning distancing themselves from what he said. We also sent out a release, calling you a valued member of the team and so forth." He handed her copies of both press releases. He continued as she read; "Today you're going to have TV and radio reporters, not just the newspaper beat guys. We're holding a presser at 10:00 to deal with it. Keep the same tone as yesterday. Don't stoop to his level or anything close to it. I'll be right there next to you."
The press conference began normally. Ginny sat next to Oscar as he made an opening statement, reiterating the team's release in support of Ginny, then opened it up for questions.
"Ginny, yesterday Felix Salinas said 'Baseball is a man's sport and no girl should be playing.' Do you have a response to that?"
"That's the family friendly version of his quote, right?" The reporters all laughed. "I really have no idea what he's talking about. I am a woman, not a girl. I'm not aware of any girls playing professional baseball. A woman should have the same chance to prove her ability a man gets. If she's good enough, she can make it all the way here."
Another reporter queried; "You don't think being the only woman in baseball accelerated your promotion to the majors?"
Ginny laughed. "Not a chance. I hate to put Oscar on the spot, but I always felt being a woman kept me from opportunities to show my capabilities. I never got invited to spring training before this year, despite pitching well in the high minors for several seasons. I never got a September call up, despite having better numbers in Double-A and Triple-A than some of my teammates who did. When I did get the call last year, I thought it was a prank."
Oscar went ahead and answered the question before anyone had a chance to ask; "Let me speak to Ginny's point. We never called Ginny up in September because her minor league managers said every year she needed to be shut down due to innings and fatigue. As for spring training, in 2014 we didn't feel she was ready. In 2015 she had a broken finger and wasn't able to pitch until right before the season started. Last year we made a mistake. We were trying some front office maneuvering and thought holding her out of spring ball would help. In hindsight, we should have invited her."
A different reporter posed a question; "Ginny, you said yesterday you and Felix Salinas could work out your problems in a professional manner. Do you still think that would be possible?"
"I have to admit, when I saw Felix's rant this morning the word 'professional' did not leap to mind. I like to think if I were on his team he would treat me with the same respect as any other player and I would reciprocate. That's easy to say when we're working 1300 miles apart. Who knows what would happen if we actually got together again."
A third reporter jumped in; "Does this mean the rumored trade to the Rangers is dead?"
Ginny answered first; "I hope so! I don't want to go anywhere else. Of course it's not up to me." She looked at Oscar expectantly.
"We're certainly not going to send Ginny to Texas while Felix Salinas is the manager. Other than that I can't rule anything out. But, if a team wants Ginny it will have to be a very sweet deal."
"I can't ask for more than that." Ginny laughed. "Any more questions?"
Ginny worked the rest of the day as planned, with reporters occasionally catching her between activities to ask more about her relationship with Felix. Fishing expeditions, she'd heard it called when reporters were trying to get information without anything to go on. She'd only told Amelia about the final episode between the two (Amelia then shared it with Oscar) and apparently Felix told no one. Ginny didn't see the need to escalate by giving that story to the press.
That night she dreamed about pitching against the Rangers and winning. After the game, Felix came up to her and said "Congratulations, Baker." A good dream, one Ginny wished would come true.