Sadly, I know this may not be the case for everyone; if you're like me, a baseball junkie whose passion falls somewhere between nerdy and obsessy, you'll probably recognize that six-lettered name. Let me say it again: J...A...H...a...p...p. Yuck.
I don't say this just because I'm bitter, or jealous, or as delusional as a 101-year old Cub fan thinking they'll see the end of all the next years. I say yuck because the kid is a kid I grew up with, a kid who was Johnny All-Star, a kid whose dad was the cliche Little League Dad (you know him, that sad sack o'schnitzel who likes to jump up and down on the third baseline whenever a call goes against his precious chromosomal offshoot).
And now J.A "Don't call me Jay" Happ is the number four starter in the Philadelphia Phillies starting rotation. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year balloting last year and had an ERA below three.
And I really wish I didn't know that.
Here at WSU, we have great players oozing from our annals (yes, that's two "n's") and it should be no surprise that someone like Joe Carter once two-stepped his way through our hallways. Darren Dreifort, Eric Wedge, Pat Meares. You know the list. They're Shockers; they should have played in the pros. I'm even teaching a pair of baseball players in my Business Writing class and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if their names are called on draft day.
But JA Happ was a St. Bede Bruin before he became a Northwestern Wildcat and an eventual Phillie.
Bruins, my high school's rivals, don't typically make it past the college level, especially considering that the town Happ and I grew up in has 10,000 people squeezed between its city limit signs.
I could go on and on and on but the guy, but quite frankly I'm sick of even speaking his name, let alone putting it in print.
Honestly, the area I'm from is pretty prolific in regards to its size. Three kids from my college team were drafted. Two years a go, right-hander from my alum was drafted by the Cardinals in the 11th round, while others I played against found their name pulled from the Draft hat in years past (including a kid who was taken by the Expos the year we graduated. Remember them?).
My hometown has an offensive lineman in the NFL and a few other pigskinners whose names are in the league's X-Mas Card List.
So yes, I've rubbed elbows with talent.
I've also pitched two two no-hitters, something Happ can't say.
Of course, I can't say I won a World Series ring, that I am loved by the ladies of Philly, and that I have shook hands with the president.
But so what?
I can conjugate a verb.
Take that, Jay.
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