Читать книгу Rage. The Legend of "Baseball Bill" Denehy онлайн

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“I didn’t know,” I mumbled.

Soon after Murphy’s lesson, Jerry Kraft and I combined to throw a no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers’ Instructional League team. I pitched five innings, Kraft pitched two. My performance focused even more attention on me.

My Instructional League experience was drama-free. I pitched pretty well that winter.

In one game against Minnesota, a hard-hitting team, I was batted around pretty good, but by the next time I faced them I had become more secure with my new motion of dragging my trailing foot as I delivered the ball home. Then, in a game a few days after Thanksgiving, the New York brass, including Johnny Murphy and Eddie Stanky, came down to watch their prospects. I pitched four innings of one-hit baseball against those same Twins, striking out seven batters.

I returned home to Middletown, Connecticut. I was inspired to stay in shape, so I worked out five days a week at the Wesleyan University indoor college facility. When February rolled around, I reported to Mets’ spring training minor league facility in Homestead, Florida, just south of Miami. I worked out with the Williamsport team. The Mets were hoping I could start my career in Double-A.