On a cool (he insists) August night in 2012, Justin Toole picked up a glove and trotted out to play right field for the Class A Carolina Mudcats of the Carolina League in Zebulon, NC.
He would not return to that position. By 9:10 p.m. he had played a defensive inning at all nine positions. Did right well, too. Fielded a ground ball at each of the “throwing” infield positions. As catcher, snagged a third-strike foul tip. Then finished the game with two strikeouts on the mound. Had the Mudcats taken less of a lead into the ninth, he’d have earned a save.
But in “9 in 9,” the book Toole would later write, there is little self-congratulation, however justified. It’s not about the achievement, it’s about the journey, what he learned about the game in each position. It’s about putting yesterday behind you except as a learning tool, and accepting the failures endemic to the game in which missing seven times out of 10 makes you a star.
Nine-in-nine is not easily executed. First requirement, the opposing team’s good will, a recognition that no disrespect is intended. The game should not be impactful to the standings and it must be at home. A road team, behind in the score, will not take the field in the ninth. And a wise manager will prepare, in advance, a defensive lineup for every inning.
Greg Edge of the Bisons did it in 1992 but lasted only one batter as a pitcher, after a high fly fell for a triple, beyond the grasp of the catcher-by-trade stuck in right field. Since Edge retired nobody, the mound stint doesn’t show up on his “Baseball Cube.”
Base Paths seems to recall a Niagara Power trying it, frustrated when rain cut the game short.
Toole was ideally suited to the task, a fine pitcher in high school and college who then took up the infield as a trade, volunteering for any position to increase his worth. Ironically, former Bison catcher Chris Coste wrote in “The 33-Year-Old Rookie” that the more he worked at becoming a utility player, the more scouts dismissed him as unfocused. It’s always something.
As a writer, Toole poses no threat to George Will or the late Mark Harris. There is something charming in his simplicity, even such Yogi-isms as “you can observe a lot by watching.” The book is purer than Ivory soap, with an odd “disclaimer” cautioning readers not to employ any of its psychological techniques without consulting a professional. Honest.
But its inspirations suit anyone involved in the game and the younger, the better. For the record, Greg Edge retired at 28, right after his own 9-in-9. Toole plays on, a Cleveland farmhand with a few cups of Columbus coffee. Hope he’s here, at least, when Columbus comes to Coca-Cola Field June 24-27, Base Paths’ birthday, as it happens.
Signal back to Base Paths via pollyndoug@hotmail.com
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