I can’t believe the day I’m having. We’ve gone to visit our good friend Lu San and enjoy some time in his garden and it has turned out to be an impromptu hitting lesson with two of the greatest hitters who have ever played the game. My friend the Babe and Sadaharu, the first baseman for our Electrotech team.

As instructors, I would say they are both amazing. The Babe is very encouraging. He talks to you like you’re a kid trying to learn baseball but for some reason, it’s too satisfying to explain. It seems like every time you learn something new, he’s right there telling you “That’s right, son,” and “There you go, kid,” and “You got that one pretty good.”

Sadaharu is a very still person. As much nervous energy as the Babe carries with him is the stillness of Sadaharu. He is a ball player, to be sure. To be sure, he is the finest possible specimen of the human baseball player. There is no division between body and mind and every muscle and every subtle movement, even in his occasional nervousness, says let’s play ball.

You are too kind.

Okay, sorry. I’m just a little emotional right now.

You did good, kid. What are you worried about?

No, it was just my first time studying hitting in a long time.

You’ve got to work on your swing. Every hitter works on his swing.

Our swing is our life’s achievement.

Just to talk things out, the leg is good enough to kind of walk on. It’s not 100%, but it’ll hold weight. I guess that was enough for me to break out the Birch Bat.

You can see that you have a swing in there. Anyone could see it.

You have not practiced in a long time.

Yeah, it’s true. I have enough body to make it snap a little. But this is where things get kind of sticky. We started arguing about how to get a better grip on the bat. I was thinking of heading off for some pine tar but then both of them told me to send down the handle to the bare wood and then try it again.

I spent the next 15 minutes sanding away at the handle until only a few streaks of black paint remained. I liked the way it looked and they were right that taking off that microscopic layer of paint also made holding it down by the knob more comfortable.

And then came the epic moment that has me writing about this right now. We started talking about dealing with various pitches. Suddenly, there were a lot of questions about how we would approach our at bat.

Batting right handed, I found I was very off balance. I could get a cut and I could barrel up a reasonable strike but I was in no position to run anywhere, not that I plan on it anyway.

Trot or go home, eh slugger?

I’m being practical here. The question came up about what to do with pitches up in the strike zone. I was trying all different kinds of stances to see where I might be effective at getting the bat on the ball. I realized that I was putting all my weight on my right leg and that I was standing up pretty straight in the back of the box. Typical Babe.

I’m swinging big. Let everybody know it.

The babe had a beautiful swing. Very powerful and very direct. I learned much of what I know from studying the great Babe.

The baby here just took off his hot and gave a great broad smile.

But this is where things got interesting.

Sadaharu pointed out that the strikes on was between the armpits and the knees. Standing straight and allowing The leverage of great weight to fall forward is a very good leverage point. But constricting the body to a tighter position demanded a lower pitch.

I realized I was hitting right handed with a pair of left handers. Maybe they just think differently.

I’ve never seriously tried to hit left-handed in my life. It never occurred to me that I needed to hit left-handed because I was effective enough from the right side.

So I slid over to the other side of the plate and took a few swings which of course felt uncomfortable. But then Sadaharu mentioned that all men have a left side and a right side and that they do not necessarily work the same job at the same time.

“The left side and the right side can each have their own jobs. To find perfect harmony between the hemispheres will allow a more perfect stroke.”

I started swinging the bat one-handed from the left side. I could get a bit of a snap from my right arm and also found that allowing the weight to fall on my left leg before the swing was more comfortable than looking forward to its failure at the end of my swing from the right side. I switched hands and realized that all I needed my left hand to do was give a push and guide my right to the ball.

So I started waiting for some more pitches and realized I had come naturally to Sadaharu’s batting stance. I was allowing all the weight to fall on my left leg which had no job but to balance and then allow itself to fall towards the ball at the right moment. I also hunched over to make a smaller strike zone. As the pitch came, all I had to do was direct my attention to where I wanted to snap the bat and just let it snap.

How about that, kid. You learned something after all.

The study of hitting is an honorable application. Nothing in baseball should be confused with the honor we bestow nature. But it is, as my friend babe would say, a grand game.

All I can say is it’s a shame we’re not playing ball on Tuesday.

Hey, G. You thinking about coming out to play some third base for us?

No.