Chapter 12 – Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

I went with Luke to Springfield, home to the Cardinals' AAA club. We were not there long. The Cardinals called him up when rosters expanded in September. He would work from the bullpen.

He pitched in a half-dozen games, including the division clincher over Pittsburgh on September 30. He entered the game in the top of the 7th, the score tied, the bases loaded, and only one out. He needed eight pitches to get out of the inning. Four of them were over 100 m.p.h. He got a standing ovation and a curtain call as he bounded off the mound. While Luke got some grief from some phobic fans on the road, he got nothing but red love in St. Louis.

The Cardinals waltzed into the NLCS, sweeping the Phillies in the first round. The wild card Cubs battled in, taking out the Dodgers in five one-run games. With the Dodgers' loss, the Cardinals would be hosting the Cubs for the right to play in the World Series. If they won, Luke would be one of a select group of players to pitch in both the CWS and the World Series in the same year.

The home team held serve through the first six games, none of which were particularly close or entertaining. Game seven occurred on an electric October night. In the bottom of the first, the Cardinals' leadoff hitter tripled and scored on a grounder. If the Cubs' manager had known how the game would go, he may have had his infield in to try to prevent the run.

Neither team scored after that. Until the ninth, neither team mounted much of a threat. In the ninth, the Cardinals' closer got two quick outs, then walked the bases loaded. None of his last six pitches sniffed the strike zone. He was off. The Cardinals' catcher strolled to the mound, buying time as Luke quickly warmed up. When the umpire broke up the party on the mound, the manager strolled out and signaled to the bullpen.

Luke sauntered in to the roar of a jet engine. As he warmed up, the Cardinals played "Bennie and the Jets," and the camera found me. The crowd roared. I wanted to die.

The crowd roared with every one of Luke six pitches. The first three left the bases loaded with two outs. The last was a chest high fastball. The Cub meekly swung, and the Cardinals leaped in the air. The game was over. The crowd was wild. The Cardinals' carried Luke off the field.

For the fourth time in ten years, the Cardinals were headed to the World Series. For the 68th consecutive year, the Cubs were not.

A lot had changed in those 68 years, not the least of which was the nation's attitude toward homosexuals. In 1945, homosexuality was illegal in most states. In 2013, Luke and I were married and on the cover of Sports Illustrated, under the headline "Bennie and the Jet." In the photo, Luke smiled into the camera. My head was turned, looking at Luke. We were two boys in love.

The article was about baseball, our search for truth within our faith, and our marriage. It ended, "In the end, this story is about two people who met in college, fell in love, and got married. It's a tale as old as time. The fact they're both male does not change the story. It, too, is a tale as old as time."