bellowed, "That's a balk! You," I said pointing to the runner at second, "third base."

"Balk? What the hell is that for," the manager said as he bolted out from the bench.

Wanting to cut off any argument, I intercepted him at the mound and quickly got to the point. "Listen, Coach, he isn't stopping. And to make it worse, I already told your pitcher to make sure he stops."

"You did what?" the coach asked.

"Last inning," I continued, "I told your pitcher to make sure he was stopping. He was coming very close to not stopping and Ontario was bitching about it. I can't do much more. Let's play."

The coach looked at the pitcher, and the pitcher had this sheepish look on his face. "Make sure you f***ing stop!" the coach said as he stomped away. As the coach stormed off, I thought: Gee, that was exactly what I told him. I could be a coach!

That exchange took place in August of 2003. Alberta was playing Ontario in the quarterfinal game of the Canadian Senior (no age limit) Baseball Championships. I was working third base and figured to have a quiet night. Well, I called this crucial balk (the runner scored on a sacrifice fly) and also had four tag plays at third! So much for stealing money on that night!

Continued...