"For what you want to do, it doesn't hurt to think about it,
But to do it is another matter. ”
"If you report to the team for an older guy,
I would be fired. ”
"Dreams cannot be eaten as food,
Nor can it be used to buy clothes, shoes, or babysitters. ”
.................
How do you respond when confronted with a voice of doubt?
Maybe today's baseball screening hall can give you the answer.
Source Douban Network: "Mind Pitcher"
Over 30 is the age at which athletes can consider retirement, not to mention pitchers in this age group, and how fanciful it is to re-enter the major league from the draft competition. When people reach middle age, family and career torture will make a man gradually lose confidence and numb himself.
And there are not many people who dare to chase their dreams at such moments, and the movie "Mind Pitcher" tells the story of a 35-year-old man named Jim Morris, how in the "twilight years" of athletes, bravely chased the dream of professional baseball in his heart.
The hardships and setbacks on the road to pursuing dreams
The little Jim in the story has been obsessed with baseball since he was a child, and for 24 hours, in addition to eating and sleeping, he practiced pitching. Whether in the yard, in bed, or on the court, I dream of one day being on the major league stage.
Jim often competed in school, and since his father was a naval officer, their home address needed to change frequently, which allowed him to never complete a season in his school career.
Jim practiced pitching during his formative years, and eventually, with excellent talent and hard work, he successfully entered the Brewers Minor League (each major league team has several minor league teams, and every player who appears on the major league stage must first go through the minor league training and finally be recognized to become a full player in the major league), but his baseball dream temporarily stopped at Minor League 1A (Minor League teams have six levels, namely 3A, 2A, Advanced 1A, 1A, Short-term 1A and Rookie League) prevented him from playing baseball for the same cliché: a sudden shoulder injury that sent the train to his dream pressed the pause button.
The dream in my heart is far from extinguished
After a few years of rest, Jim Morris, who married and had a baby, taught chemistry and baseball coached at BigLake High School. A stable life seems to have entered the trajectory of an ordinary middle-aged uncle.
During his time in charge of baseball, the students were shadowed by the losing streak in the game, and the low morale has been hanging over the varsity team [Owl]. To motivate his players to reinvigorate their fighting spirits, Jim came up with an unattainable bet challenge, and if the team can win a district championship, he will re-challenge professional baseball at the age of 35 to fight for a place in major leagues.
It sounds as ridiculous as a million from heaven, and saying it will only cause adult ridicule. However, the children with dreams do not think so, they are eager to help Jim re-enter the professional baseball stage, for everyone's baseball dreams to sound the horn of hope, more eager to rely on this promise to change the bad status quo, have more motivation to win the championship in one fell swoop.
Dream train restarts
The story moves in the ideal direction, the Owls catch up, five consecutive wins, twelve consecutive wins, sixteen consecutive wins, under the continuous three strikes and home runs, the Owls won 17 innings and finally won the district championship without living up to expectations!
"Now it's your turn, coach." It was time for Jim Morris to keep his promise. He then set off for San Angelo for that year's pitcher test. After 10 years, the scout still recognized the potential stock of that year, but when he learned that he came to the draft himself instead of taking young players to participate, the expression on the scout's face was mixed.
However, Jim's pitching practice for more than two decades finally paid off, and he stood on the pitcher's hill and threw a 98-mile speedball at this age, which made the whole stadium freeze. You know, most players only get their speed down with age, but Jim does the opposite, which makes scouts see his value.
The contradiction between dreams and family
However, things did not go as smoothly as expected, and after receiving and completing the test of tampa Bay Manta Rays (the predecessor of the Rays), Jim was opposed by his father and wife.
"It doesn't hurt to think about what you want to do." "Dreams can't be eaten as food." Frustration and family involve Jim in his decisions, and just as Jim was about to give up, his wife supported Jim's decision to set an example for her children. He immediately set off for the minor leagues and chased his dreams.
Dream, back on the field!
Jim, who played in the minor leagues at the beginning, did not fully adapt to the rhythm of the ball game, frequently shooting (pitchers threw balls that the catcher could not receive called violent shots), Jim's rookie road was not smooth, not only was he ridiculed by his teammates, but in the 3A (3A is the closest to the level of the minor league level of the major league) played for a long time no team was willing to sign him.
Soon, however, Jim regained himself on the court and won a contract with a stable fastball to the tampa Bay Manta Rays backup pitcher. At that moment, he perfectly fulfilled his promise to the [Owl] team members, broke the gossip, and completed his alliance dream under the hardships and hardships!
Jim's first game was against the Texas Rangers, tampa Bay in the bottom half of the 8th innings 1-5, the opponent has two out, then as a backup pitcher Jim came on, after a stable attitude to throw three 98-mile fast balls, swallowed the innings.
Although the score gap is large, scoring 1k on the debut is also the return of Jim's hard work and sweat for so many years. Even the father, who had never been to the court to watch his son play, quietly arrived, missed most of his children's games, and finally did not miss the moment when his son's dream came true, at this time, Jim also gave his father the first baseball in his major league career.
True Stories in the League:
The road to professional baseball for older golfers
James Samuel Morris Jr
（James Samuel Morris Jr）
The protagonist of the film story is the true story adapted from Morris, but unlike the film, his family has never supported him, and he played American football for a while in high school.
In 1982, Morris ranked 466th in the Yankees' amateur baseball draft, but the Yankees did not sign him. The following year, he was signed as fourth in the Milwaukee Brewers' amateur draft, but suffered several shoulder injuries while playing in the minor leagues, missing the entire 1986 season.
Morris was released after shooting four games in 1987 and made no progress after 1A. After that, the story is familiar to everyone, and the coach returns to the league. But he didn't stay in the league very long either, and in 2000, two months after the Rays played, he relapsed with an old injury and scrapped the entire season.
After signing into the Dodgers Minor League in 2001, he was released after attending spring training. Morris's wife divorced him as a result, and his major league career ended. Although Morris did not have a perfect ending compared to the movie, the elderly baseball player had a heart that never gave up, he stood on the pitcher hill of the major leagues, blew the horn of his own struggle, and broke the impossibilities of all the population one by one.
Luke Haggetty
(Luke Hagerty)
The next guy is another remake of the psychic pitcher. In 2002, Haggerty was selected with the first round 32 pick in the Chicago Cubs draft. Unlike Morris, he has been very good in minor leagues, playing 10 games as a starting pitcher in 1A and in 48 innings, shooting 50 three-strikeouts, only 15 four-bad balls, and a low 1.13 ERA. In this regard, Haggerty became one of the Cubs' most eye-catching rookies.
But the subsequent elbow ligament replacement surgery (an occupational disease common to baseball players) and his rare illness, YIPS (pitching amnesia), which bothered Haggerty for a long time, after which the situation did not get better, haggerty had to regret leaving baseball for a while.
Also coaching in high school, he regained his ball speed and possession, the 37-year-old actually soared 99 miles of speedball, after 11 years in October 2019 again signed with the Cubs to the minor league, it seems that Haggerty's return to the field is not smooth. Hopefully, one day I'll see him stand on the major league pitcher hill and make his dream come true.
The above is the content of all the baseball screening halls today, I hope that you who are reading the article, in the long road of life, can also dare to break through the difficulties, cut through the thorns, and chase that dazzling dream. Although it may seem out of reach, even the most difficult ideals can be reached through continuous effort.
Just like the protagonist of the movie, once he has the opportunity to climb the pitcher mound in his heart, no amount of obstruction and difficulty can stop the heart of the consistent child.
All of the above unspecified images are derived from screenshots of the genuine Youtube "Mind Pitcher" movie