The Big Field

Hutch watches the highlights of his game on Channel 12’s nightly news broadcast. Connie wishes Hutch would have raised his head so people could see his “gorgeous face,” while Cody wishes his best friend would have given an articulate interview.

They tape the segment, and Cody insists they rewind it so he can see himself on the TV. Hutch’s dad doesn’t see Cody. To him, the players look the same. Carl excuses himself, as he has to get up early for work. Hutch looks at his mom. Sometimes, his mom’s face makes it seem like his dad will leave and never return. The narrator reflects that life is like baseball: A player has to take what the other team gives them. At least Carl came to the game.

Cody sleeps over at Hutch’s house, and in the morning, with Hutch on the first page of the Palm Beach Post sports section, Cody continues to tease Hutch about the media attention. The Post writer uses the phrase “field of dreams” and notes Carl’s baseball past and his current job for Sun Coast. Hutch feels bad: He is not a one-person team. Cody anoints him the new “American Idol.”

At practice, the Cardinals tease Hutch about the media spotlight. Darryl shows up on time, wearing Nike flip-flops and Alex Rodriguez sunglasses. Cody makes fun of Darryl, but Hutch tells Cody to “chill.” Cody wonders if Darryl would stick up for Hutch the way that Hutch defends Darryl.

The team does “situation room drills”—that is, they practice game situations until they make the best decision. One situation involves a runner on first and third with nobody out. Cullen smacks the ball into the outfield, and Hutch receives the cutoff throw and snaps it home to get the trail runner. Darryl mocks Hutch’s success, calling him “Captain Hutch” and comparing him to Beyoncé and Britney Spears.

Hutch compares himself to Derek Jeter. He wears Jeter’s number (2), and, like Jeter, Hutch is always where he should be on the field. In the first round of the 2001 MLB playoffs, the Yankees played the A’s, and the A’s led the five-game series, 2–0. The A’s were in control of the third game, and the A’s were about to score another run, but Jeter, in the right place, flipped the ball that missed the cutoff man to the Yankees catcher, cutting down the A’s runner. The Yankees won the game and the series, and Jeter’s “flip” became an iconic moment in baseball history.

For “extreme infield,” Cullen has the Cardinals practice hard running and making the right defensive decisions on the infield. Darryl and Hutch can turn a double play, but Darryl, smiling, doesn’t immediately throw the ball to Hutch. The runner, Brett, “pops” Hutch, and he feels like a “balloon.”

Hutch lands hard on his right shoulder, and Brett apologizes for slamming into him; Brett thought Hutch would get out of the way. Hutch would have done the same thing. Darryl issues a snarky apology, and at Cody’s house, Cody identifies the issue: Hutch is “too good.”

Arriving home before a storm, Hutch knocks on the living room wall before entering. His dad sips beer and watches the Marlins play the Chicago Cubs. He wants to talk baseball with his dad, but he doesn’t. He goes to his room and thinks about the Hun School of Princeton and how Darryl intentionally held the ball.

Connie works at a clothing store, Blue, in a shopping center. Before work, she asks Hutch how he is doing. Hutch says his shoulder is fine, but his mom wonders if he wants to talk about something else. Hutch asks why his dad doesn’t speak to him about baseball, and she says Carl worries that baseball will “break” Hutch’s “heart.”

Next, the Cardinals play the Sarasota Dodgers in Fort Lauderdale. During the bus ride, they pass Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital. DiMaggio played for the Yankees, and with DiMaggio, the Yankees went to 10 World Series tournaments and won nine of them. Announcers labeled him the best baseball player alive, but Carl thinks the Giants outfielder Willie Mays was better. Cody connects Willie Mays to Willie Mays Hayes—a character in the baseball comedy Major League (1989). Cody and Hutch start “trash-talking,” and everyone but Darryl joins them, since he is sleeping.

Against the Dodgers, the Cardinals get three quick runs. Darryl hits a long fly ball that brings in Hutch, making the score 4–0. Hutch says Darryl “almost” hit a home run, but Darryl says there is no “almost” in baseball: Hutch should go “captain” another player.

The Dodgers cut the lead to 4–2, and Darryl, trying to hit a grand slam, strikes out. Darryl and Hutch hear the Dodgers players laugh at Darryl, and Darryl threatens to “fling” his bat at the Dodgers’ bench, which would get him ejected and automatically suspended for the next game. Hutch screams at Darryl, and the umpire—a former baseball player—grabs the bat and stops Darryl before he does something to get himself suspended.

The Dodgers tie the game at five, but Brett, not a power hitter, smacks a home run, so the Cardinals lead 7–5. Due to an error and a hit, the Dodgers threaten to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. Hutch calms Pedro, the pitcher, telling him to get the batter to hit the ball to him. The batter hits a flare. Hutch chases it and crashes into Darryl.