Frank had called me beforehand to tell me what Aaron and Jamie had cooked up. The expression on Leah’s face sold it. She even said, “Damn, David,” without being prompted. I liked the little tag line and didn’t feel guilty for stealing it from Darryl.
◊◊◊
It was interesting to see how the paparazzi affected different people. Halle and Rita just took them in stride. I think Rita had actually missed them. Fritz and his colleagues seemed to enjoy the cat-and-mouse games. I was sure it was better than sitting and waiting for me to finish work or driving me around. Caryn wanted nothing to do with them, and I believe if she’d been packing, we might have been down a couple of the more aggressive ones.
I wasn’t really sure what to make of it. I did notice that people started to recognize me more. When we arrived at the dojo to work out, I was even asked to sign autographs by a few of the other club members. I realized this was all part of it, so I decided to embrace it for now.
◊◊◊ Friday December 4
I’d done my homework for batting practice, and the sound of the bat on the ball told the story. Instead of a ‘dink’ sound, there was a satisfying ‘crack.’ Coach Revilla wanted to talk to me about my hitting stance.
“I notice that you have your front foot open. Why’s that?” he asked.
“I see the ball better.”
“Hm,” he grunted.
“Why, is that wrong?” I asked.
“I’m just surprised that someone with your skills would need to cheat like that,” he said. “But I’m not here to change your stance. I just want to make sure you have the mechanics down.”
“Coach, I’m not afraid to change my stance if it’ll make me a better hitter.”
“Okay,” he said with a smile. “I like a kid who’s open to being better. Let me walk you through the five steps for hitting.
“The first one is rhythm. That’s where it all begins. You need to get comfortable in the batter’s box. Some guys like to move their hips, and others circle the bat above their head; I don’t care what you do so long as you do it every time and it helps you settle in and begin your motion.
“The other part of rhythm is timing the pitch. I recommend that you begin when a pitcher brings his knee up and has his hand in the glove. That’s the point when you start to time the pitch and focus on the release point.
“The second step is seeing the ball out of the pitcher’s hand with the timing of the arm. The key is to have your front foot down, which allows you to see what the pitch is and where it is, also known as pitch recognition.
“Third is separation. This requires the hands and front foot to go in opposite directions at the same time. You want to end in a balanced and athletic position. Your weight distribution should be 50/50 in your lower half after separation and as you transfer into the ball.
“The fourth is staying square. Think of it as though you’re facing the plate and you’re standing in a doorway. This position allows you to back the ball up, or let it get deep into the plate, and still be able to hit it soundly. It permits your hands to stay inside the ball for backspin and power.
“The final step is weight shift and transfer. After you separate and stay square with timing, the shift takes place. Learn to control your weight shift or backside through the system. Weight-shifting allows you to transfer your weight into the ball as you make contact. You don’t lunge, you turn your hips, and you end up facing the field. The key is your back leg ends up bent at the knee and looks like an ‘L.’
“Let’s go through the five steps: rhythm, seeing the ball, separation, staying square, and weight shift and transfer,” Coach Revilla said.
He had me bat against the pitching machine to make sure I had the basics in place, and then he brought in a pitcher and catcher.
“David, this is Ray. He’s here to work on pitching with Coach Boyd. Coach Boyd wants to see Ray pitch against a live batter, and I want you to see what you can do,” Coach Revilla said.
Ray was a few years older than I was. The way they worked it out was that Ray would pitch until he gave up a hit, walked me, or struck me out. The coaches would then talk to us about what we’d done right or could improve on, and we would go again. It turned out that Ray was a pitching prospect for the Dodgers and on their Double-A roster for the Tulsa Drillers. He was much better than anyone I’d faced in high school ball, and I quickly found out I had a long way to go.
Ray owned me early, but I began to hit him. I think Ray just started to tire, so I wasn’t putting much stock into any thoughts that I’d made a vast improvement. After all, it was my first day of seeing live pitching in several months. What I did know was that I looked forward to working with Coach Revilla while he was here.
◊◊◊
When we stopped for the day at the studio, I reflected on surviving my first week. Rita suggested we go to the beach house because Trip had said he planned to go out with Craig and Kent tonight and he was crashing at Craig’s place.
Caryn left to go visit her parents. I was happy that Rosy had several bags and got into the car with us. Fritz and Flo joined us. The paparazzi were out in force after my Hollywood Central Live appearance. I was impressed when Rita sent Fritz out to talk to them. He explained that we were going to the beach house and reminded them that other people lived next to them. If they promised to be at least one hundred feet away, and not cause a riot, they were welcome. By the time we left, there were only a handful of photographers who’d stayed to get some shots of us leaving the house.
Halle and I sat in the third row. I was glad that we didn’t have the crazed motorcyclist chasing us.
“This is a big deal for me,” Halle admitted. “Mom has always shielded me from the press. With this being my first significant movie role, she warned me that I’d have to step up and face them.”
“I hope you brought your tiniest bikini,” I teased.
“Did you bring your speedo?” she asked.
“I’m not some German tourist,” I shot back.
“Even if it’s true, you can’t say something like that in public,” Rita admonished me.
“Rosy, do you think I should wear a speedo?” I asked.
“I no speak English,” she said.
That got us all to laugh. Rosy had been raised in East LA and spoke English just fine. When I teased her, she would drop into Spanish and act like she couldn’t understand me. It was a game that Rita and Halle found amusing.
Rita showed me my room, and I changed into a t-shirt and board shorts. I came out to the patio overlooking the ocean and found Rosy had made me a sandwich. She’d raised two boys of her own and understood that we needed plenty to eat.
The waves seemed to be bigger than the last time I’d been here. Several people were surfing. I was disappointed when Flo, Halle, and Rita came out in spring suits, or shorty wet suits. We all walked out to the surf together, with Flo and Fritz on the outside. The paparazzi captured the moment. I think there’s a cottage industry built around catching celebrities at the beach.
Because the waves were higher, Fritz showed me how to tip the board down and dive through the bigger ones. He taught me the etiquette when there were a group of surfers all wanting to catch a wave. The etiquette isn’t so much ‘rules,’ but more a proper code of conduct designed to keep everyone in the water safe and happy. He told me if I consistently violated them, there might be a beating in my future.
The first rule was the right-of-way. With a wave, there’s a crest, and the person closest to the crest had the right of way. Fritz explained that when a wave begins, you could spot the crest by seeing where the whitecap first appears. Two surfers could take a wave if they were on either side of the whitecap and surfed in different directions.
The biggest no-no was to drop in on another surfer. That was when they had the right-of-way, and you surfed out in front of them. He also told me that when I was done and paddled back, not to go straight through the heart of the lineup where people are surfing. He also told me not to ditch my board. They’re big and heavy and could hurt someone. Finally, accidents happen, of course, and I should just be courteous to others.