Perhaps the most important thing about being a part of the team is understanding your role and sticking to it. Take the 1996 New York Yankees; the underdog to win the World Series that year, they didn’t have anyone on the roster of the caliber of say, a Babe Ruth or a Willie Mays. What the Yanks did have, however, was a fluid machine composed of high-level role players that proved that the whole can indeed be greater than the sum of its parts. The RDM Lazers were hoping to emulate those same traits on Tuesday night, the first game of their softball season.
Personally, I was dreading the first game. It’s a completely foreign sport to me, and though I know the rules, I’ve only played once or twice in my life. Of course, knowing the rules and playing the game are two different things. I was comforted on the fact that we did seem prepared, many of our teammates have the experience and we are pretty athletic bunch as a whole.
As the Lazers took the field to warm-up, I noticed the other team, Russell Reynolds Associates, didn’t seem to look too intimidating. This was probably due to the fact that they had a grand total of THREE players ready to go. The umpire, a tall, older man with a stern demeanor, walked up to us and informed us all that those blue-shirted gentlemen are the only members of our adversaries that showed up and they would forfeit.
We were about to start packing up our things when the rest of the other team showed up. After they talked amongst themselves (I’m sure the three members who showed up on time had a few words to say) they agreed to at least play a scrimmage game. With the line-ups called out, the game commenced.
As the home team, the RDM Lazers started off in the field behind the hard throwing right hander, Krystal Goff. The Lazers gave up two runs in the 1st, shaking off some rust and adapting to their new positions. They quickly got both runs back in the bottom half of the inning, as Ahmad Oloumi took a 1-1 pitch deep into center for a two-run dinger. Goff (1-0) settled into a groove and benefited from a big 4th inning, as the Lazers received timely hitting from David Alvarez, Josh Olivero, Ronaldo Valenzuela , JJ Acosta, and of course a big homer fromthe “Boss Man”, Peter Boritz. The Lazers went on to win the game 8-5.
Through dozens of surveys and projects, the staff of Real Data Management has always emphasized team-work for efficiency and accuracy. Our team-based mentality from the work-place carried us through a season of charity basketball, eventually landing us at the top of the division, as the Zogsports 3-on-3 champions. Now it’s time to take our teamwork to another venue; the softball diamond. From what I experienced today, it looks like its going to be a great season.
