C h a s i n g D r e a m s ➮ C a r r i s o n

• 8 •

After the off day following the home opener, Harrison got his day off of catching. He was playing third base for the second game against the Dodgers, giving Wilson Contreras his first start of the season at catcher.

Before batting practice, Carrie took him out on Wrigley Field and hit him grounders to practice his fielding.

He looked quite hilarious out there on third base. First, he was wearing a winter hat with a big pom-pom on top. Then he had on a sweatshirt that was covered by a Cubs jacket and very baggy white pinstriped baseball pants.

"I might be a little bit rusty," he admitted with a smile.

"A little bit? How about a lot?"

Harrison laughed. He hadn't seen third base action since last season.

"Alright, let's see it."

She hit him the first grounder that he easily fielded and made a good throw to the net a first base.

"I still got it."

The next one was a little to his right. Harrison stepped to his right, backhanded the ball, and threw it to first base.

"Can't you hit it any harder?"

She leaned against the bat. "Okay hotshot."

Carrie grabbed another ball from the basket and tossed it up to herself. She wasn't trying to hit it to Harrison. He watched as it sailed way over his head and over the outfield wall and into the empty seats with a bang.

"Wow."

"How about that?"

"You just hit that 370 feet from soft toss. I've never seen that before."

"You've seen it now."

"Geez Carrie. You want to come play for us?" With that question, he was serious.

"Maybe after softball," she answered quickly. "Ready?"

He nodded and she hit him another ground ball. Harrison had no doubt that she could kick ass in the MLB.

As he made the throw to first, he couldn't help but imagine her playing center field for the Cubs. She could be the one to break the gender barrier in professional baseball. And Harrison had no doubt that she could be the one to do it.

"Would you ever want to play baseball?" He asked.

She just looked at him. "Why do you ask?"

"You hit that ball 370 feet by just tossing it to yourself. Neither myself or my teammates could do that on the first try. You have a talent. And don't be mad when I say you damn well could be the first female major league player."

Carrie let that sink in. There were women in the minor leagues that branched off from teams like the Cubs. But no woman had ever stepped on a major league field in a uniform.

"And I'm not just saying that to say it. I'm saying it because it's true."

She hit him another grounder. This time it took a hop, hit him in the palm, and rolled into the outfield. "Get your body in front of that."

Carrie tossed another ball up and swung down on it to hit a grounder. She watched as he fielded it and made the throw to first. "I don't think I could play baseball. Look at me, I'm tiny."

Sure she was only 5'1. But she could do things on the field most guys couldn't. "Size doesn't matter. Look at Dustin Pedroia. Or Steph Curry."

"I don't know."

"Hey, you're badass on both the softball and baseball field."

She ripped a shot to him which he backhanded. "I know that one was a shot, but if you can, try and get in front of it. It'll reduce the chance of a bad hop."

The next play, he did as she said. Sure enough, the ball took a little bit of a hop, but he was able to keep it in front and make a play. "That was sweet."

He smiled. "What's so funny?"

"You're going to make a great coach someday."

⚾︎⚾︎⚾︎

Carrie watched Harrison jog onto the field to make his third base debut of the season. Today he was wearing his tight pants that were cinched at the knee. The dark blue Cubs socks were easily seen.

The Dodgers woke him up on the first pitch of the game. Their left fielder Chris Taylor lined a rope to third base. He dove to his glove side and caught the ball just before he hit the ground.

After throwing the ball around after the first out, his eyes found hers and he smiled. So much for the white and blue pinstriped jersey staying clean for a few more innings.