A baseball pitcher begins with his ritual. The tics that make up this series of small movements include a tug on the hat, a wipe of the brow, and a pat on the neck. He continues to move parts of his body, and finally kicks up his leg to prepare for the pitch. The pitcher sends a fastball flying past the batter. He grew up in the Midwest, where he lived with his dysfunctional father who drank and had angry outbursts. His father also used to play baseball, a fact that created jealousy and animosity between father and son. The pitcher's baseball journey has resulted in multiple positions on major league teams. Because of this, he has been able to financially provide for his mother and sister. His father died while he was playing a baseball game, and it was the only game he ever lost. However, he also has no wife, no girlfriend, and no space for anything except baseball. In the midst of a pivotal game, the pitcher feels paralyzed and can't get up to go to the mound. After some encouragement from his teammates, he gets up and throws the last few pitches. The batter hits one, but his team is able to move the ball around to get the batter out. The team runs to the pitcher, and crushes him with the weight of their bodies to signal that they won the game yet again.