Status: In the progress
Major League Sandlot
Chapter 3
“Who are you?” Neil Walker asked when I got into the the visitor’s clubhouse at Busch Stadium.
“Erin Cole,” I told him blantly, Gerrit obviously noticed me and the others noticed my last name.
"I didn't know your sister played baseball," Walker said.
"Wrong Cole," Both Gerrit and I said.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not Gerrit's sister, I'm Ian's sister," I said.
"Who's Ian?" Andrew McCutchen asked.
"Ian Cole, drafted 18th overall in the 2001 NHL draft by the St. Louis Blues, traded to the Penguins in March. The guy I will disown if he ever puts on a Chicago Blackhawks jersey."
"Oh, you mean he is not Gerrit's brother. He also acts like Gerrit is his younger brother," Andrew said.
"Yeah, I can explain that. Ian has always wanted a younger brother and while I think I fit the part, Gerrit lets him think he has a little brother rather than sister. He's annoying that way,"I told them.
I was really glad it didn't take much to get the big team to warm up to me, it really made everything so much easier. I didn’t realize that my bag was mess until I was going through it and found a USC shirt. Of course Gerrit saw this and of course he had to say something about it.
“You poor misguided girl.”
“What?”
Obviously the others did not see the shirt. “Who made you buy that shirt, it’s almost as bad a Red Sox jersey,” Gerrit said. I didn’t answer because I started laughing, I don’t know how I never realized this before.
“What’s so funny?”
“I don’t know how I never realized this before,” I laughed.
“Never realized what before?” Gerrit asked.
“My brother and my “brother” went to rival schools to the one I went to,” I explained.
“Where did you go to” Mark Melancon asked.
“USC.”
“Where did your brother go. Also who is this other brother of yours?”
“My other “brother” is Gerrit, thought you guys would have picked up on that by now. Anyway Ian went to Notre Dame,” I told them
“USC is rivals with Noter Dame?” Chris Stewart asked.
“Yeah, I mean it’s not as big as the ones with UCLA or Stanford, but it’s up there,” I told him.
“Oh.”
“Now, lets go show those silly Cardinals that this isn’t Cardinal’s nation, it’s Blues country,” I yelled.
“What?”
“Do I have to explain everything to you guys. Listen one thing you guys are going to learn real fast is that my hatred for the Cardinals is right up there with the Blackhawks and Yankees.”
One thing you guys should probably know about me is that I hate the Cardinals with a strong passion. To be even more specific, I hate one person on the cardinals more than I hate Patrick Kane and Alex Rodriguez. That one person is the catcher everyone seems to love: Yadier Molina.
My brother played 5 years in St. Louis before getting traded to the Penguins. In those 5 years he met some other athletes in the city. Ian was in St. Louis in the summer doing some off season workouts with a couple teammates. Me being the nosy younger sister I am, I had to go along. We went to a Cardinals-Pirates game in 2013, and we got to meet some of the players. Me meeting Yadier Molina went a little something like this:
"Ian, you think we can go to the other clubhouse, I really want to meet some Pirates. You know they are one of my favorite teams and I really want to meet Russell Martin. Well I actually really want to meet Jason Kendall, but I don't know when that's happening so Martin is the next best thing. You know-" I was cut off by Ian.
"Erin, do me a favor."
"What?"
"Shut up. I brought you here because baseball is your life, I never intended for us to meet the players," Ian told me this while laying a hand on my shoulder trying to slow me down.
"Big baseball fan I take it," TJ Oshie asked.
"Yeah, when I got too tall for gymnastics I started baseball, soccer, basketball. Then I moved to volleyball once I got into high school, and I played roller hockey then ice hockey"
"I wasn't asking for your entire athletic history Erin," TJ said.
"Well too bad Timothy James, I did."
"That's not my name,"he said.
"Dude, let it go,"Ian said, "she could call you a lot worse."
We were talking for awhile when we were finally allowed to go into the clubhouse. I for one was really excited to meet some professional ball players, and I really wanted to talk to Yadier Molina. I walked over to him, "Hi, I'm Erin, catcher, pitcher, outfielder and infielder for the USC Trojans baseball team."
"You play baseball?" He asked me.
"Yup, ever since I was 11."
"You're a girl though, why don't you play softball?"
"Because I just don't."
"You should, girls can't keep up with guys, it's been proven," he told me.
"Listen here buddy," I said my voice rising with each word, "I could snap you like a twig right now!"
After that, let's just say I kneeed him where the sun don't shine and got out of there. I was more than ready to show him girls can play with boys. Even sometimes out play them.
“Erin Cole,” I told him blantly, Gerrit obviously noticed me and the others noticed my last name.
"I didn't know your sister played baseball," Walker said.
"Wrong Cole," Both Gerrit and I said.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not Gerrit's sister, I'm Ian's sister," I said.
"Who's Ian?" Andrew McCutchen asked.
"Ian Cole, drafted 18th overall in the 2001 NHL draft by the St. Louis Blues, traded to the Penguins in March. The guy I will disown if he ever puts on a Chicago Blackhawks jersey."
"Oh, you mean he is not Gerrit's brother. He also acts like Gerrit is his younger brother," Andrew said.
"Yeah, I can explain that. Ian has always wanted a younger brother and while I think I fit the part, Gerrit lets him think he has a little brother rather than sister. He's annoying that way,"I told them.
I was really glad it didn't take much to get the big team to warm up to me, it really made everything so much easier. I didn’t realize that my bag was mess until I was going through it and found a USC shirt. Of course Gerrit saw this and of course he had to say something about it.
“You poor misguided girl.”
“What?”
Obviously the others did not see the shirt. “Who made you buy that shirt, it’s almost as bad a Red Sox jersey,” Gerrit said. I didn’t answer because I started laughing, I don’t know how I never realized this before.
“What’s so funny?”
“I don’t know how I never realized this before,” I laughed.
“Never realized what before?” Gerrit asked.
“My brother and my “brother” went to rival schools to the one I went to,” I explained.
“Where did you go to” Mark Melancon asked.
“USC.”
“Where did your brother go. Also who is this other brother of yours?”
“My other “brother” is Gerrit, thought you guys would have picked up on that by now. Anyway Ian went to Notre Dame,” I told them
“USC is rivals with Noter Dame?” Chris Stewart asked.
“Yeah, I mean it’s not as big as the ones with UCLA or Stanford, but it’s up there,” I told him.
“Oh.”
“Now, lets go show those silly Cardinals that this isn’t Cardinal’s nation, it’s Blues country,” I yelled.
“What?”
“Do I have to explain everything to you guys. Listen one thing you guys are going to learn real fast is that my hatred for the Cardinals is right up there with the Blackhawks and Yankees.”
One thing you guys should probably know about me is that I hate the Cardinals with a strong passion. To be even more specific, I hate one person on the cardinals more than I hate Patrick Kane and Alex Rodriguez. That one person is the catcher everyone seems to love: Yadier Molina.
My brother played 5 years in St. Louis before getting traded to the Penguins. In those 5 years he met some other athletes in the city. Ian was in St. Louis in the summer doing some off season workouts with a couple teammates. Me being the nosy younger sister I am, I had to go along. We went to a Cardinals-Pirates game in 2013, and we got to meet some of the players. Me meeting Yadier Molina went a little something like this:
"Ian, you think we can go to the other clubhouse, I really want to meet some Pirates. You know they are one of my favorite teams and I really want to meet Russell Martin. Well I actually really want to meet Jason Kendall, but I don't know when that's happening so Martin is the next best thing. You know-" I was cut off by Ian.
"Erin, do me a favor."
"What?"
"Shut up. I brought you here because baseball is your life, I never intended for us to meet the players," Ian told me this while laying a hand on my shoulder trying to slow me down.
"Big baseball fan I take it," TJ Oshie asked.
"Yeah, when I got too tall for gymnastics I started baseball, soccer, basketball. Then I moved to volleyball once I got into high school, and I played roller hockey then ice hockey"
"I wasn't asking for your entire athletic history Erin," TJ said.
"Well too bad Timothy James, I did."
"That's not my name,"he said.
"Dude, let it go,"Ian said, "she could call you a lot worse."
We were talking for awhile when we were finally allowed to go into the clubhouse. I for one was really excited to meet some professional ball players, and I really wanted to talk to Yadier Molina. I walked over to him, "Hi, I'm Erin, catcher, pitcher, outfielder and infielder for the USC Trojans baseball team."
"You play baseball?" He asked me.
"Yup, ever since I was 11."
"You're a girl though, why don't you play softball?"
"Because I just don't."
"You should, girls can't keep up with guys, it's been proven," he told me.
"Listen here buddy," I said my voice rising with each word, "I could snap you like a twig right now!"
After that, let's just say I kneeed him where the sun don't shine and got out of there. I was more than ready to show him girls can play with boys. Even sometimes out play them.