Kyle in Poland: Games 5-7 Recap

Thank you Greg, Baltic League Cup Action, Hitting Struggles, Solid Pitching Performance, Photos at the end

Before I start, I have to say a massive thank you to my guy Greg.

Yesterday, my laptop fell off the bed and stopped working properly.

Since writing stories is a massive part of my overseas adventures, I was obviously not happy about it.

Right after it happened, I started researching laptops and thought about how I could get a new one as soon as possible.

After I talked to Greg about it, it didn’t make much sense monetarily or logistically to ship one from the U.S. In one of the kindest gestures possible, he brought me a laptop today that I could use for the rest of my stay here.

So, because of Greg, I am able to continue to easily publish stories. On behalf of myself and everyone who reads my work, thank you Greg!

Now, let’s discuss the latest Piraci Wladyslawowo games.

On April 30, we played our first two games in the Baltic League Cup. 

The way the tournament was designed, we were matched up with Falcons Lodz and Kaputy Greens for our group stage, or pool play.

In game one, we played Lodz.

I started at shortstop and hit fifth in the order.

We were the home team, and during the first inning, I had one ball hit to me. I was able to field it cleanly and throw the guy out at first, a true routine play. 

The feeling was very strange since it was my first time in five years to play the position. Also, at least for me, the visual perception of being on the left vs right side of the infield is incredibly different as well. 

Falcons Lodz was not a very good team, at all. However, between a combination of missing a couple starters plus experimenting with our lineup and positions, we fell to an early several run deficit.

We played a few young, inexperienced players and some struggled, but it was necessary to help them grow and gain critical in-game experience and playing time.

Finally, after a couple innings, we began to get the bats rolling. I say “we” but that would be basically everyone except for me.

That day, I would say I was the worst hitter in Poland, Europe, the world, you name it.

For one reason or another, I was struggling mightily at the plate. I am not sure if it was vision, focus, mechanics, all of the above or what. I just know I was performing badly.

In my first at bat, I struck out to a former cricket player from Bangladesh. The guy wasn’t bad and turned out to be super nice, but it was still very embarrassing, to put it mildly. 

During my second at bat, I reached base but only because of an error. Taking a bad cut, I popped the ball up in the infield, and got lucky that it fell to the ground.

I eventually made it to third base when, to everyone's surprise, Taku crushed a ball over the right field fence for a three-run homer.

This was a massive turning point in the game and really got everyone going.

My third at bat was almost too embarrassing to discuss, but I have to be transparent, even though it reveals my awful performance. I struck out, again, but this time to a horrible, terribly slow pitcher. For some reason, I have always had such a hard time hitting against very slow pitching. It is so hard to wait for the ball.

That at bat, just like my theme for the entire day, was very, very poor timing and mechanics. 

The next big moment for us came when one of the players we picked up for the cup, Pawel, hit yet another three-run homer for our squad. 

An inning or so later, I found myself at the plate with the game-winning run on base.

A new pitcher was on the mound now, and his control was very minimal.

I kept getting bunt signs, so I showed bunt, he would get uncomfortable, and throw a wild pitch. This happened two or three times, and Greg eventually scored the winning run on a wild pitch.

We beat Falcons Lodz 11-10 on a walk off.

If we’re being completely honest, for the way our team played at the beginning of the game, we did not deserve to win.

When our team started hitting and fielding better later on, we were closer to our normal selves and pulled off the comeback victory, making us 5-0 on the season.

There was another game in between our first and second games of the day, so we hung out at the field.

Witek was the man and hooked us up with pizzas for lunch. I was starving by that time, so it was perfect.

Finally, after a very long and boring game, the teams before us finished playing.

For the second game of the day, we played the Kaputy Greens on their home turf.

This time, I started at first base and hit third in the lineup.

We began the game as the away squad and immediately jumped to an early lead.

I walked in my first at bat and went on to score.

When it was our turn to play defense, we gave up several runs and saw our lead nearly erased. Greg came into relief, weathered the storm, and went on to pitch well for the rest of the game.

 My second at bat was another strikeout, another awful plate appearance.

I walked in my third and fourth at bats and scored both times.

My fifth at bat made me mad. I was still hitting poorly, but fouled a couple balls off and was battling. Then, on a full count, the umpire called a third strike on a ball that was at my ankles, nowhere near the zone.

I understand, it was a long day for the guy, he was having to sit through a ridiculously long game, and was probably ready to leave, but that type of call is egregious no matter the circumstances.

For my sixth and final at bat of the day, I walked and scored once more.

Finally, what seemed like the never-ending game was complete.

We beat the Greens 25-10 and advanced to the semifinals of the cup.

The next day was the most important game of the season, thus far. We played our semifinal matchup against Centaury Warsaw, a team from the Polish First League.

I was the starting pitcher and hit seventh in the lineup.

Having watched Centaury the previous day, I knew they were a good team that could hit, and I would have to perform well for us to have a chance. 

There was so much that happened, which makes it difficult to break it down inning by inning, so I will give you guys a quick recap of the game. 

Pitching wise, I feel like I performed well.

I threw a complete game, all seven innings, during which I allowed seven hits, eight runs (only four were earned), three walks, one hit by pitch, and ten strikeouts. 

The Centaury lineup was good, and I gave up several hits, but only a few were solid. One of the hard-hit balls I allowed was a home run to left field. No excuses, but I have to note that the field was pretty small. 

As I am used to as a pitcher, our defense struggled. A couple errors and poor execution on routine plays definitely hurt, but it was good for our team to build fielding experience and play against good hitters.

Due to our errors, I had a couple moments where I would try to overpitch, and walked three batters, more than I would have liked

On the positive side, apart from my arm being healthy enough to go all seven innings (a first since 2018), I was proud that I was able to strikeout ten batters. 

Using a four pitch mix of my fastball, curveball, changeup, and sinker, I was able to mix well and get good hitters out. It was also my first time throwing a sinker in a game, shoutout Colt Bartling for the pitch grip advice.

As a hitter, I went one for three with two strikeouts and a single.

Centaury had an American on the mound as well. Phil Richmond, a thirty-year-old man, was sitting in the mid-80s, a speed that I had not seen in quite some time.

Although I struck out twice, I would say each at bat was genuinely solid. 

The first at bat, he got me with a low slider that I chased in the dirt. The next time was a check swing on a full count. He threw a high fastball, and I thought I checked it just enough, but the umpire thought otherwise.

 In my final at bat, I worked the count again, laying off low sliders in the dirt, and hit an infield single.

It wasn’t the most spectacular performance in the box, but I would say based on the competition, it wasn’t a bad day at the plate.

We ended up losing 8-1, eliminating our cup chances in the semifinals.

Here are some thoughts on the games.

Falcons Lodz and Kaputy Greens were low quality teams, but Centaury Warsaw was good.

As a team, we have to be sharper in all aspects of the game if we want to compete with good competition.

We did not have our normal, full squad, but we have to get better at minimizing mistakes and making routine plays.

Personally, as a hitter, I was very poor.

I didn’t get many hits, so I will have to work harder to improve my swing. I drew several walks and scored several runs this weekend, which shows I can be productive on the base paths, I just need to get on more often.

As a pitcher, I performed well, but there is still a ton of room for improvement. 

I did a good job striking out ten batters, but I have to cut down on walks next time. 

My fastball and curveball were good, but my sinker and changeup command can be better. 

Overall, it was a strange weekend on the diamond.

We went 2-1, bringing our overall record to 6-1 on the season.

In two weeks, we play Centaury again in the Polish Cup Quarterfinals, so we will have to work hard in the meantime to receive a better result. It is certainly possible to defeat them, but we will have to perform at a higher level to do so.