On Monday, Regis senior pitcher Chris Bates participated in the invite-only National Pre-Draft Showcase in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, pitching in front of scouts from all 30 Major League Baseball teams. The left-hander shares his thoughts and feelings from the day with this first-person diary exclusively for NYPost.com.
7:30 a.m. — I lifted the covers from my still-half-asleep body to shut off the blaring alarm that had so rudely woke me up. I walked to the hotel room’s bathroom to put on my contacts, part of the daily routine that helps shake the feeling of sleepiness.
As I looked in the mirror, fumbling with those tiny pieces of plastic, I was hit with a wave of nausea like I’ve felt only a few times before in my life. It was like the SAT times 10, like someone had reached into my stomach and turned everything upside down. I knew that particular day could possibly shape the rest of my life.
I knew that few ever got the opportunity that I had that day; that this time tomorrow, I could be on a completely different path, a path that I had dreamed of since I was able to throw a baseball.
8 a.m. – My dad and I went to the hotel restaurant to get breakfast. I stared at my French toast and eggs for a few minutes, thinking about whether or not I could actually hold this stuff down. My dad told me not eating would be worse than eating and feeling sick for a few minutes.
I thought about it for a moment, then realized that this was sound logic and went ahead slowly eating what I’d gotten from the buffet. After my plate was cleared — somewhat — my dad and I went to the car to drive off to the baseball field where the showcase was to take place.
8:45 a.m. – We were in the car on the way to the stadium passing a rather large cornfield when it dawned on me that we might have found the middle of nowhere. People always talk about it, but they never really, truly believe that they are there.
Well, the outskirts of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, pretty much fit the description of “middle of nowhere.” I mean, the minor-league baseball stadium was the main attraction of the city, as stated by a few signs in the airport. Just to give you a picture, our 10-story hotel was the tallest building as far as the eye could see and the eye could see very, very far. The fields in sight were also abnormally flat — really, really flat.
9 a.m. – Being a few minutes late, my dad dropped me off at the front gate of the stadium so I could run in to register. I then made my way down to the dugout, and what I saw left me paralyzed in shock for at least two minutes. Standing there were some of the largest high-school seniors I had ever seen. This only added to the feelings of nervousness I was experiencing earlier.
I always thought I was a somewhat big guy, being tall and everything, but these kids were my height, about 6-foot-5 and built like tanks. After I came to, I turned around to see a throng of major-league and college scouts chatting in the stands behind home plate. This was going to be a long day.
9:30a.m. and on – We warmed up, infielders and outfielders did their routine, and catchers did their pop times to second base. After all of that was wrapped up, the 14-inning game started. I was slated to pitch the 10th and 11th innings, so I had a huge chunk of time before the moment of truth. I took that time to sit on the bench and just observe — the hitters, the pitchers, and what worked or didn’t work.
A large attraction seemed to be the radar gun that was wired up to the screen in center field. For pitcher after pitcher, it would light up – 89 mph, 91 mph, 92 mph, 90 mph, and sometimes it would dip to 87 mph.
Yes this was intimidating, but I knew that even though these guys might throw two or three miles per hour harder than me, being a tall, smart lefty, I was just as good as the rest of them. It was only a matter of execution. As time went on, my nerves relaxed, and I started gearing up for my two innings.
The eighth inning rolled around, and I started to get warm out in the bullpen. It’s an odd concept, but once you get going, those nerves that so badly affected your previous state of mind seem to disappear. The warmup was average; the two-seamer was tailing off the corner nicely, the changeup had some dive to it, and the curveball was dropping in perfectly for strikes.
All these things put together gave me some confidence for what I was about to do. After I felt ready to go out to the mound, I went into the dugout to wait a few minutes for the 10th inning to roll around. Eventually it did, and I ran out to the mound to do what I’ve done for the past six years: pitch.
Being on that mound in a national showcase with 60 or 70 scouts watching is a feeling that’s so hard to describe, I’m not sure I can come close. The best I can do is say that it was a mixture of a little nervousness, fear of failure, confidence, and adrenaline. Those seem like odd feelings to have alongside each other, but that’s what I think was going on.
What happened next was kind of like a dream. It went by very fast and was over before I really had time to notice how I was doing. I faced seven batters and retired six. One guy got a bloop single over the shortstop’s head. I didn’t throw many pitches, and I worked the strike zone. The curveball was my biggest weapon and I threw it accurately and for strikes.
After the last out in the 11th inning, I went back to my spot in the dugout and just sat there until the end of the game. I was in a sort of dream state, so I didn’t really know what went on in the three innings after I came out of the game, but my team won the game and we shook hands and left. It was actually a very anticlimactic ending to probably the most important game of my life.
I made my way up to my dad who congratulated me on a job well done, said hello to a few people, and left the ballpark for the airport. The ride with my dad was full of conversation about what sort of doors could be opened because of this event. The whole day, much like my two innings on the mound, felt like a dream.
I always wanted to have the opportunity to pitch in college and even beyond, but now that this dream is starting to become a reality, I’m not really sure what will come out of it. I know that all I can do is my best and pitch my heart out every time I step on that mound. A lot of people would give a limb to be in the position of each person on the field that day. This is why I think these moments are so special.
This was a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
