51 Days to Opening Day

Opening Day 2008 for the Timber Rattlers is April 3. That is 51 days from today. This off-season, the countdown will be based on books. Each day between now and Opening Day 2008, I will pick a random book out of my library and excerpt a passage off the page number corresponding with the number of days remaining to the first pitch of the new season. I will try not to repeat a book during the countdown.

Today’s book is Best Destiny by Diane Carey. Ever wonder what Captain James T. Kirk was like as a teenager? Wonder no more.

There, not quite filling the man-size shell, cooking with resentments, plots, and plans, Jimmy Kirk was ready to make his escape. He seemed more disgusted than embarrassed at having been caught, and he didn’t move or attempt to cover up what he’d been doing. Maybe he was even proud of it.

Amber eyes that had once gazed at George in adoration and respect now burned with thankless acrimony – and it took some of the red out of George’s hair to see it.

The boy was dry ice.

“You’re pulling a weapon,” he said, “on your own son.”

Jimmy’s bulky, muscular body never flinched as he glared at his father. Still half-hidden between the touring cap and the raised collar of his high school jacket, his eyes showed belief in his own sentiments. He had moved forward on his decisions with all the force of a teenager, and apparently he had no concern that his judgment might be bad or his course off.

Put today’s excerpt in a baseball context.