Okay, it's really not that dramatic.
But a couple of weeks ago, I received a text message from my softball captain. He said that the team's regular third baseman, who'd been injured all of last season (hence the reason I was picked up in March), was healthy and ready to reclaim his role on the team. So, unless I wanted to just ride the pine or play a fill-in role, the captain suggested I look for another team to join.
Fair enough, especially considering this team has, by and large, been together for 20 years. I'm not going to mess with that dynamic. Besides, he was very complimentary about my glove skills over at third and about having me on the team, and said if they were ever short on players, he'd love to have me fill in for a game. That felt nice.
In the meantime, it's back to the free agent market I go.
Because this is a trading card blog, I've tried to find a vintage baseball card with an appropriate "released" note on the front that I could share here, but haven't come up with anything. There are a couple of interesting "free agent" notes on hockey cards that I've shown on the blog, but that's as close as I've gotten. So here are some similar examples from the 1974 Topps baseball set.
Cecil Upshaw seems confused to learn that he's been traded. Fernando Gonzalez looks outright incensed. And Bob Johnson? He's just happy to be playing pro ball somewhere!
I think Bob Johnson's expression is the one I relate to here. I had a decent feeling my team's regular third baseman would be back at some point, so the news isn't confusing or aggravating to me. I'll definitely miss the guys. They're a good bunch. And this league really pushed me to be a better ballplayer. But I'll have to find another team now. No biggie.
(Also, just for fun, maybe I should have created a custom softball card with my face on it, and a big "RELEASED" note in a yellow banner.)
In any case, the free agent feelers have been deployed. There are two or three softball leagues that are located within 30 minutes of my home. Something is bound to come up. Who knows? Maybe I'll even join another team in the same league!
Stay tuned, and thanks as always for following along with my sports journeys.
If any of you have some interesting "traded" or "released" stories from your personal sports lives, feel free to share in the comment section.
The expression on Gonzalez's face made me crack up. Best of luck on finding a new team. Can't think of any times I've been traded or released... but I only played softball one year. And I don't remember any kids getting traded or released when I played Little League, but maybe it happened.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fuji! Yes, Gonzalez was not a happy camper there. Maybe he knew the airbrush job that was coming. Seems to me he got off easy, though.
DeleteTime to hook up with a Scott Boras-type softball agent and rake in the big bucks!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking for $0.10 per game :-D
DeleteThe 2020 Topps Bartolo Colón active leaders card does list him as a free agent, FWIW. I'd imagine somewhere there's a baseball card which notes the player's release in the text, but I don't recall seeing one more prominent than that.
ReplyDeleteGood knowledge there, Brett, thank you! Not a bad-looking card. Bartolo was a fan favorite in New York, for sure.
DeleteOne of the players I interviewed for my blog, Kurt Bevacaqua, hated having a card that said "TRADED" like that.
ReplyDeleteI think there might be some OPCs that note release or free agent. Sometimes in the 1950s and 1960s Topps would note it in the text on the back of a card.
Good stuff, Bo. It seems like OPC did make more of an effort to add those types of notes than Topps did.
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ReplyDeleteAlways appreciate you stopping by, Mark!
DeleteI know that you said it ended amicably, but I'm still sorry to hear about this. On the bright side though, I have no doubt that you'll find a new team sooner than later :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the positive energy, Jon! Warmer weather is just around the corner, too.
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