Ex-Frat Goon Takes Ball To the Face. Flips Out Accordingly.

I was nearly involved in my first physical altercation last night during kickball. Here are the deets:

Around the 3rd inning, the game got really weird because the other team was more drunk than they were when the game started. That, combined with the home plate umpire being a first season rookie and not knowing the rules, set off a series of events that led to a near fist fight. Our opponents became increasingly agitated when I brought out the rule book twice to challenge calls that were completely incorrect, but what really set them off was what happened at the top of the fifth inning.

I was up to kick and having seen the home plate ump make really bad calls on the pitches, I decided to try and work the count since I had already been walked earlier in the game. The second pitch could have gone either way (it was probably a strike but the ump's strike zone was all over the place), so I waited as long as I could before fouling it off. Unfortunately, the ball had rolled behind me at that point, so I had to pivot on my left foot, which turned me 180 degrees (my back is to the field now) to kick the ball.

Well, the catcher happened to be standing right behind me when this happened, so when I kicked the ball it ramped up his foot, up his leg, up his torso, and caught him on the lip/nose area of his face. I immediately said that I was sorry and that it was an accident, but he wasn't going to have any of that. He shoved me and started going on and on about, "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT? WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KICK IT AT ME? WHAT THE FUCK?" The whole time he's making a scene, I'm trying to apologize and make sure he's okay.

The umpires and his team finally got him to calm down enough to play again, but not before the first base ump came over and gave me the 3rd degree about it. I swear to God he was trying to get me to admit that I did it on purpose or something.

After the game we lined up to do the "good game/high five line thing" and the catcher didn't go so far as to not give me a high five or spit in his hand, but he did forget to say "good game." I tried to catch up with him after the game to say that I was sorry again but he blew me off and said, "Leave me alone, you're only making it worse by talking to me."

Looking back, I think they were frustrated with losing for the first time this season and this is what broke the proverbial camel's back. I've been told that they were really bad in the spring and turned things around this season. I understand that; I've been there. Reading the rules to the umpires to overturn their calls probably didn't help the situation either. I get it.

I still feel bad for what happened. I wouldn't try to hurt someone on purpose, nor would I pull some jackass maneuver like that just for the hell of it. What kills me about this situation, though, is his reaction to it. I've been hit in the face with baseballs, hockey sticks, hockey pucks, soccer balls, and kickballs and I have never had that kind of reaction, even when I had to go to the ER to get stitches. Hell, I didn't flip out when some jackass tackled me in a flag football game and broke my ankle.

I understand him being upset about it, but the shoving and yelling was over the top. You're not bleeding and there's not even a red mark on your chin, so shut up and get over it. The fact that 3 people on his team told me after the game that he does this all the time is testament to how out of control his is.

The other thing that pisses me off is that I've worked for 8 weeks to build up a good reputation with the people in this division and it was wiped out in 5 seconds last night. People who hear the story from him are only going to get, "That asshole from Los Angeles kicked a ball at me on purpose" and he's going to completely leave out the part where he acted like a douche for the rest of the game. Everyone who saw it happen, including the division president, thinks he over reacted, so I have some reassurance that I handled it correctly, but those fifteen or so people can't stop him from telling "his side" of the story. Megan thinks everyone will forget by next week, especially since no one really knows who I am outside of the "rules/newsletter guy" thing, so if I wear different shorts next Thursday, no one will recognize me. I think she's right, but I feel that my good reputation has taken a hit because of this clown.

I've seen my share of nonsense in Studio (Ex.The Warner Pros semi-final game last spring), but this was just too much. We took it seriously in Studio but it rarely got to this point because I think everyone realized that it's not worth taking to the next level. I'm finding more and more people in Kansas City that seem to think they need to relive their college frat days by being over the top with their competitiveness.

I've already been accused of being too serious by multiple teams in this division, but they don't seem to understand that just because I want to win doesn't mean I'm not having fun. I played many different sports growing up and it's just what I was taught: don't do something unless you're going to do your best. On the flip side, they don't have a problem with knuckleheads like this guy throwing tantrums and starting fights. They justify it by saying, "That's just the way he is. Oh well." and they don't do anything to correct the behavior.

Megan had the best line of the night, though. When one of the girls said to me while I was pitching, "You're finally pitching nice to a girl," Megan said, "So you're saying you want to be treated differently than guys? If that's so, you better get your ass home, pregnant, and have dinner on the table every day. Stand up for yourself, woman!"

I couldn't be more proud to be married to her.