The Big Field

“If you followed baseball the way he did and nobody he knew followed baseball the way he did, you knew that a great shortstop was worth his weight in gold.”

Baseball consumes Hutch’s life, and the hyperbolic diction emphasizes Hutch’s infatuation with baseball—“nobody” knows baseball like him. His keen awareness of the sport pressures him to stay at shortstop, the golden position, where he hopes to prove his worth.

“Today, he said, he thought he was getting a ride from a friend of his mom’s, but the friend had never shown up.”

Darryl’s reason for arriving late to practice is not an excuse, but the truth. His explanation hints at his unsettled home life and gives the reader a clue that having amazing talents doesn’t automatically produce a struggle-free life.

“[I]t was baseball that broke his heart for good by telling him he wasn’t good enough and sending him home.”

Mike Lupica’s metaphor illustrates that baseball caused irreparable sadness in Carl—it “broke his heart.” As baseball also talks to Carl, Lupica uses personification to turn baseball into a person who rejected him.

“I know, I know. I just want to get to that big field at Roger Dean so bad.”

Cody explicitly links the “big field” to The Hopes and Pressures of Young Athletes. The phrase “so bad” expresses Cody’s longing to play at Roger Dean Stadium, which puts pressure on him and his teammates to make it there.

“From behind him, Hutch heard Mr. Cullen, coaching first, say something one of the guys on SportsCenter used to say. ‘It’s deep and I don’t think it’s playable.’”

Lupica uses the media to announce Hutch’s home run. He alludes to ESPN’s longtime sports highlight show, SportsCenter (1979-), and has Cullen recite the phrase used by one of the first anchors, Keith Olbermann.

“All the bouncing boys look alike to me.”

Carl’s comment reveals his bitter experience with baseball. While baseball can distinguish people, it can also make them disposable. Carl was supposed to be different, but baseball ended up treating him like just another player who tried and failed to make it. As a result, his passion and his attentiveness toward baseball have diminished.

“He prided himself on being where he was supposed to be at all times, the way Jeter of the Yankees always was.”

Hutch’s idolization of Jeter connects to the motif of belonging. Jeter belongs on the field and knows where he should be, enabling him to pull off the “flip” play in the 2001 playoffs. The play foreshadows what Hutch does in game two of the finals.

“Darryl had wanted him to get run over.”

Darryl struggles to be a good teammate, and Lupica uses hyperbolic language to demonstrate his antagonism of Hutch. Darryl didn’t try to get Hutch run over by a car, but he intentionally put Hutch in a dangerous situation during practice.

“There’s no almost in baseball.”

Darryl’s blunt statement shows how baseball symbolizes life. In baseball, a person either hits a home or they don’t. In life, a person can do something or they can’t. Thus, if a person “almost” doesn’t say something hurtful, they’ve still said something hurtful.

“You may be the captain of this team. But everybody who plays ball knows who the captain of the infield is.”

Darryl reinforces the heroic symbolism behind the shortstop. Hutch is team captain, but he isn’t “the captain of the infield.” In other words, he isn’t playing the most coveted position.

“Not only do you have a dad, you’ve got a baseball dad […] I never even met my dad.”

With Hutch and Carl, the relationship is Son Versus Father, but Darryl appreciates Hutch’s dad. Here, he juxtaposes Hutch’s parental situation with his own. Darryl’s dad isn’t in his life, and the absence adds layers to his characterization, showing that—despite the tension in their relationship—Hutch and Carl are lucky to be in each other’s lives.

“Well, I want you to care! I care, don’t you get that?”

The Son Versus Father theme is centered around the word “care.” Carl cared about baseball so much that it hurt him when he failed to pursue it professionally, and he doesn’t want his son to experience the same pain. However, by trying not to care about Hutch and baseball, he hurts Hutch.

“Nobody can prepare you for that, having your dreams killed.”

The hyperbolic diction—the word “killed”—indicates that The Hopes and Pressures of Young Athletes can come with traumatic consequences. Carl’s hopes never came true, and the inability to live up the pressure has irrevocably scarred him.

“Hush and listen. Because I’ve basically got just two words for you tonight: Roger Dean.”

Roger Dean Stadium—“the big field”—remains linked to The Hopes and Pressures of Young Athletes. Cullen’s brief pep talk indicates that it’s not bad to put pressure on young people and give them hope. Cullen also gives his team the tools to confront the pressure and realize their dreams.

“Same game, same house, different broadcasts. Maybe it figured.”

The repetition of “same” suggests Hutch and his dad should be on the “same” page. The appearance of “different” jolts the reader back to reality and the conflict that subsumes Hutch and his dad.

“[Y]ou and your dad are just going through a rough patch, is all.”

Connie brings a sober perspective to the Son Versus Father theme. She doesn’t view it as a permanent battle, but as something that will eventually work itself out. Connie’s undramatic judgment proves correct.

“I’m almost positive novocaine isn’t on baseball’s list of banned substances.”

Hutch displays his sense of humor by joking about banned substances. In baseball, the issue isn’t a joke. Steroids—a “banned substance”—caused a big scandal, and Lupica received criticism by omitting the role of steroids in his account of the 1998 home run chase, Summer of ’98: When Homers Flew, Records Fell, and Baseball Reclaimed America.

“Nothing has ruined more arms than guys thinking they had one more inning in them when they didn’t.”

Cullen isn’t a toxic manager; he neither pressures Tripp to go another inning, nor allows Tripp to pressure himself into pitching more. Cullen looks out for Tripp’s long-term health.

“‘What do you always tell me when I ask you why some game ended in some weird way?’ ‘I tell you that it’s baseball.’ ‘Baseball happened tonight.’”

The dialogue between Cody and Hutch advances the claim that baseball symbolizes life. Like life, baseball can unfold in a surprising or “weird way.” Cody pushes Hutch to move on from his error. In life, when people make a mistake, they must figure out how to keep moving forward.

“This is why you play. It was everything. The stakes, the setting, playing to keep playing.”

The narrator highlights the importance of hope and its relationship to pressure. Hutch and the Cardinals play baseball to be in pressure situations like the finals; the high-leverage situations bring hope that they could, and might one day, confront the pressure of being a professional athlete.

“Finally they were sharing baseball, even if only one of them knew it.”

Lupica uses the word “sharing” ironically. Carl doesn’t know his dad is experiencing his time in the batting cage with him. Though the sharing is one-sided and somewhat sneaky, it brings Hutch catharsis.

“You oughta stop actin’ like such a baby on account of what you don’t got. And be a lot happier, and more grateful, for what you do.”

In a sense, Darryl and Hutch reverse roles, with Darryl becoming the captain and teaching Hutch how to appreciate his dad. Carl isn’t perfect, but life (and baseball) isn’t perfect, so Darryl believes Hutch should be “grateful” he has a dad who is present. This also highlights Darryl’s situation; his dad is not present in his life, but Darryl would be happier if he were.

“Hutch couldn’t help but smile.”

In the middle of game three, Hutch absorbs the scene and smiles. The image of Hutch smiling connects to the motif of belonging. He is happy because he belongs on “the big field” and in high-stakes games.