Michael Locke receives the Manhattan Beach Little League’s first ever Most Inspirational Player Award from Mayor Portia Cohen on Saturday. He also received a free one-year membership to the training center Velocity. His teammate and longtime friend James White looks on.

by Linda Houseman
Everyone loves happy endings. But one side’s happy ending could be the other side’s unhappy ending. It depends on which side you are on.
The baseball game at Big Marine on the night of May 14 was a happy ending if you ask me. That game was the last one for both the Volcanoes and the River Dogs.
Both teams were out of play-off ranks, so they decided to have one last six-inning game against each other to wrap up the season and have some fun. The Volcanoes even planned to have their end-of-season party after the game. They had their big cooler filled with soft drinks and water. Pizzas were ordered and delivered to the park before the game finished. Mark Macdonald even fired up his players by giving them Red Vines before the game started. That might have been the trigger for the dramatic ending.
At the top of the last inning, the score was 6 to 4, River Dogs, one out and bases loaded. Kyle Danskin was the batter. Kit and I were standing behind the home plate watching the game. Michael Locke’s dad, Scott, walked up to us, reached his hand out and said “Congratulations! Your team won.”
Just as I said, “The game’s not finished yet,” Kyle got a hit. The ball dropped between the pitcher and the catcher. The catcher ran up, got the ball, ran back and stepped on the home plate. The lead runner was out. Had our catcher thrown the ball to first base, the game would have been over. It would have been a happy ending for the River Dogs.
But the catcher was hesitant to throw down the ball because the runner on second base had already made his way to third.
The Volcanoes were yelling, “Two out rally, two out rally!”
The bases were once again loaded. The next batter came out of the dugout. It was Michael Locke. Michael struck out the first time he was up at bat.
As the crowd was chanting, “Let’s go Michael! Let’s go Michael!” Scott told me that this would be Michael’s last time to bat in Little League baseball.
“He’s going to high school next year. This is his last chance. And that will be it,” he said.
All of a sudden, my heart pumped really fast and I felt terribly nervous. My son René was the closing pitcher. The air seemed still. I looked at both René and Michael. My mind was blank.
“Oh no, I hope René is not the one who strikes Michael out in his last time at-bat,” I thought.
René looked around the bases, looked at Michael and delivered his pitch. It was a perfect meatball. Michael hit the ball so hard that it flew to right field. Two runs in. Michael even made it to first base. The crowd went nuts. Michael had a big familiar smile on his face. I’d never seen him so happy since he was injured. René looked a little confused and upset. It was a little bittersweet for me. The score was now tied 6 to 6. The Volcanoes put a pinch runner in for Michael. Michael walked through the dugout and up to his dad who gave him a big hug.
“You’ve made my day,” Scott said.
At this point, as the Chinese say, the qi, or energy, changed. The Volcanoes were no longer dormant. The players in the dugout went totally wild. They began to chant even louder “Two out rally! Two out rally!” The next batter hit the ball and brought in two more runs for the Volcanoes. More runs came in for the Volcanoes. René gave up seven runs that final inning. In the bottom of sixth inning, the River Dogs only gained one run.
The game ended with the score of 11 to 7, Volcanoes.
Michael received the game ball as his teammates were cheering for him. His hard effort was recognized.
“I don’t think it’s fair, Mom,” René told me as we walked out of the park, “If Michael struck out, it didn’t count. But if he got a hit, it counts.” He seemed a little uneasy and couldn’t overcome losing the game. I told him what Michael’s dad had told me.
“You will have many games to win, but I’m not sure about Michael. He may or may not have another chance. You made him a hero tonight. I’m sure for the rest of his life, he will remember this moment. You made him so happy and I am very proud of you.”
A big smile with two cute dimples appeared on his face, René gave me a big hug and a kiss (bonus for me) “You’re right, Mom.”
One of the awards that MBLL is going to issue at the end of the season is for “Most Inspirational” player. I have someone in mind, how about you? I quote from Scott, “Two years ago, death was knocking on his door.”
Here is to you, Michael. You are my hero! ER