Things get crazy in September.
I always say the end of the season brings out the drama. And I’m not even talking about the race to the postseason and the ups and downs that entails. As we Red Sox fans know, it really can be exhausting!
No, I mean in a player’s psyche, in the clubhouse. This point in the season is when bodies really wear down, nerves fray, disappointment looms (for some), and clubhouse tensions can no longer be ignored. Pick a season, any season, and you’ll see it.
Earlier this week, down in the minor leagues, we got a preview. The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Twins’ Single-A team, released catcher Derek Bender because he revealed upcoming pitches to opposing hitters while they stood in the batter’s box.
The reason? Bender had been complaining that he was ready for the season to end. Never mind that he was only drafted in July, and had played just nineteen games of professional ball.
The other team scored four runs in one inning, shut out the Mighty Mussels, and clinched the division. Lo and behold, this loss eliminated Bender’s team from playoff contention! End of season accomplished.
This guy is like Anthony Rendon, Angel Hernandez, and Crash Davis rolled into one!
If you have to explain a joke, you know it’s not any good, but for clarity, I feel like I should review: Anthony Rendon has cultivated what some perceive as a lackadaisical attitude toward the game, Angel Hernández allegedly deliberately made the wrong game-ending call because he had to hurry to his next engagement, and Crash Davis literally told opposing hitters what pitches were coming. Except there, he was explicitly trying to ready the phenom-to-be pitcher, Nuke LaLoosh, for the bigs by taking him down a peg or two. So his intentions were pure.
By the way, this is the second time in two weeks I’ve mentioned Crash Davis. Three, if you count my indirect reference to all of Kevin Costner’s baseball roles last week. What in the Sam Horn is going on? I’m telling you, things get nuts at the end of the season.
It’s hard to imagine this Bender guy coming back from this. I can’t believe he can get a minor league career back on track now, even if he wanted to. Does he go and finish his degree at Coastal Carolina? Is there a family business he can join?
I keep returning to this theme lately, of minor league players just not working out…although this is much more of an implosion, rather than, say, Bobby Dalbec’s brand of not working out. Bobby D did nothing but try, try, try, but it simply wasn’t going to happen for him. That’s baseball, and it’s also a part of life. Sometimes things don’t work out, or you’re in the wrong place, doing the wrong thing. I guess even just nineteen games in Single-A can wear you down. When you’ve had enough, you’ve had enough.
We’ll see what end-of-season tensions flare at the major league level. Ten games to go for the Sox—most likely.