Out of Left Field: Bottom of the ninth

In Ted Williams’ final at-bat, he homered to center field in the eighth inning, capping the end of his 19-year career in Boston the only way he knew how. Williams, as he had done in every home run before this, refused to tip his cap to the fans and simply took his spot in the dugout. Nothing too flashy for the Kid.

In Derek Jeter’s last at-bat at Yankee Stadium, as we all remember, he hit a walk-off single on the first pitch in a moment that can only be described as a fairy tale. Even as a Sox fan, I vividly remember sitting at a desk in Ginn Library, surrounded by studious Fletcher students, my mouth agape at the fact that he had just done that. A fitting end to the career of a guy who hit a home run for his 3,000th hit.

In Eddie Murray’s final at-bat, he grounded into a 5-4-3 double play in the bottom of the ninth after pinch hitting for Antonio Osuno.

Maybe Murray’s last at-bat is a more fitting comparison to the conclusion of my sportswriting career at the Daily. As this is my last column, I wanted to go ahead and make some big, bold predictions.

Mike Trout, noted meteorology geek, will continue to be the best player in baseball, accumulating five 10+ WAR seasons. This will cement him as a Hall-of-Famer, before he will suddenly retire to join his local weather team back in New Jersey, leaving the world of baseball stunned.

Chris Sale will finish this season with 350+ strikeouts, reaching a mark no pitcher has since Randy Johnson’s 2001 Cy Young winning season. Sale will also lead the league in cut-up jerseys after finishing the season 3-22 because the Red Sox can’t seem to score any damn runs for him. I’m not bitter, I promise.

Eric ‘God’ Thames will never fail a drug test for the rest of his MLB career. He’ll finish with 600+ home runs and lead the Milwaukee Brewers to their first of what will be three consecutive World Series championships from 2020 to 2022. Thames will then return to Korea at the age of 45 and win a few more MVP awards.

The "Baby Bombers," Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge and the rest of the young Yankees crew, will take turns for the next 15 years winning MVPs, Rookie of the Year awards and driving me crazy as they mash dingers over the Monster.

Finally, maybe the boldest (and most serious?) prediction yet, by 2030, baseball will reclaim its status as America’s most beloved sport after a 71-year old Roger Goodell will finally admit there is nothing the NFL can do to stop the head trauma inherently linked to football.

So that’s it. Thank you to everyone who has read “Out of Left Field” during the past year. Hopefully I was able to impart some baseball knowledge and at least one of you likes the game a little bit more. It’s a beautiful sport that allows us to experience childlike moments of ecstasy, and hopefully more people now realize that.