It”s a team sport that one individual can ruin in a matter of a few pitches. Just ask former San Francisco Giant Armando Benitez or any other closer who hasn”t been able to do the job.
More so than any other player in baseball, it”s the guy responsible for pitching the ninth inning of a close game who determines whether you”re going to have a good day or a bad one. No one is under more scrutiny. Whereas a good hitter succeeds only 30 percent of the time in baseball, a closer better be up around 85 percent or he”s not going to be one for very long. Pressure? You bet.
Here at the Record-Bee we have a closer who has served us well now for more than a year and if I had to guess, I”d say her career save percentage was in the 90s easy. She was thrown into a situation when she joined us that was far from enviable. The baseball equivalent would probably be bases loaded, no outs in a one-run game. But she retired the side without a run scoring.
Following Thursday”s shift, we lose our closer. News editor Aura Thomas is leaving the Record-Bee to fulfill one of her lifetime dreams, one she has worked incredibly hard and long to attain. By the end of this month, she will be a registered nurse working in the medical-surgical (med-surg) department at Redbud Hospital.
While attending nursing school, Thomas raised her three girls, skillfully talked her way out of a life-threatening situation, overcame the loss of a spouse … all while holding down a demanding full-time job that is the Record-Bee”s news editor.
The Record-Bee newsroom certainly wishes her the best and will miss her more than words could ever explain. We might find another closer in the coming weeks or months, but he/she really will have to be something special to approach Aura”s caliber.
Big thanks
Kudos to Holder Ford-Mercury and Kathy Fowler Pontiac-Chevrolet, both of Lakeport, for providing the red-hot wheels we featured in our Coach of the Year and Athlete of the Year photo shoot last week. Because one of our athletes was unable to make it in time for the primary photo shoot, we actually had to shoot photos a second time and Holder Ford-Mercury let us drive the Ford Mustang convertible off the lot a second time, which was much appreciated.
Both auto dealers really stepped up and we appreciate it here at the Record-Bee.
Also congratulations to our winners, coaches John Berry and Gary Pickle and athletes Brittany Rumfelt and Jake Strickler.
Also thanks to Sarah Sumpter for drawing the signs used in a couple of the Athlete of the Year photos.
Time for a break
The Record-Bee sports editor will be breaking for another vacation in the coming weeks, so try to show some mercy on managing editor Rick Kennedy as he fills in. When a full-time employee goes on vacation at a big paper, there”s always someone to fill in. At a small daily like the Record-Bee, there isn”t. That”s just the way it is.
When I took off two weeks in mid-June, one caller wanted to know if I was dead. I”m not sure if they were happy or unhappy when they heard I was still with the living. And I will return from this vacation as well, God willing, then close out the summer.
