Chapter 9

Dinner with Alice was relaxed and enjoyable, I thought, for both of us. Perhaps Alice was inexperienced with romantic situations, but our friendship was well-established and, since I'd made no overt "moves" on her of a sexual nature, I figured it was a simple matter for Alice to continue to think of us as "just friends."

Nothing wrong with that. Thinking of me as a friend would only be self-delusion, on her part, if I tried to escalate the relationship into something else.

I found myself liking this woman more and more. My first impressions had been simply that Alice was a big, competent, self-assured female. I had met her in her own habitat -- her office in the hospital -- and I had been delighted to find that she was also active in kid baseball, and knowledgeable about the game.

But we were still entirely platonic. My questions about her past were, for the most part, still unanswered, and I wasn't eager to launch an attempt at a romantic relationship before I knew more. Margaret Hughes would have to do some of my spadework for me. I wasn't about to pry into Alice's past personal life prematurely.

So we talked about the little league kids, and my work with the inner city kids, and the Orioles, and the hospital, and all the little things people talk about. She was fascinated by the traveling life of a professional athlete, and had lots of questions about life on the road. I explained that it was, indeed, a grind, but at the big-league level, the clubs did all they could to make us comfortable. Some of the ballplayers with families, I confided, actually loved the life -- not because they weren't happy at home, but because the frequent breaks from house-and-kids gave them a chance to recharge. As a result, when they were at home, they tended to be better husbands and fathers.

"But for you single men," Alice said, "it must be one of those 'girl in every port' things."

"There are some guys who operate that way," I agreed. "And not all of them are single, either. But all that travel is exhausting, and since we play mostly night games, it's not that easy to develop relationships on the road. So unless you're into prostitutes or groupies, you don't get a lot of action."

"Groupies. Yes, I've heard about them. What an amazing phenomenon! Women who are willing to have sex with strangers, just because they're celebrities."

"Yes."

"I don't suppose this is a comfortable subject for you, is it?" Alice said.

I smiled. "I haven't gone near a groupie in years," I said. "But if you want to know if I've ever allowed myself to be seduced by a groupie, I'm afraid the answer is yes."

"I suppose we all succumb to temptation at some point in our lives," Alice said.

Now, I wonder what she meant by that?

The conversation was easygoing, and Alice had surprised me a little by demonstrating a willingness -- even an interest -- in talking about such matters as Sex on the Road, but I didn't push it. Any discussion we were going to have, at this stage, of such topics was going to be initiated by, and pursued only at the behest of, Ms. Alice Winslow, Hospital Executive.

I didn't actively steer the conversation away from such spicy things. I simply didn't push. Eventually, Alice dropped the subject of groupies and our traveling schedule and just asked me to compare my experience in Baltimore with my years with the Astros.

"Both experiences have been first-rate," I told her. "Houston is a great city, we had a pretty decent ball club, and the management there treated me well, even when I was just a rookie. I had absolutely no complaints. I liked the Astro organization so much that I really hesitated about becoming a free agent at all. But my evil agent talked me into testing the waters, and after the bidding started, the process kind of took possession of me. It was the off-season, and hearing about all the competition for my services was like -- I don't know -- like when you're out looking for a new car, and get dazzled by the models in the showrooms... Or it's like getting involved in a Bull Market, investing in stocks. You get caught up in it."

"So your loyalty to the Astros faded a little?"

"I never would have been unhappy, staying there. And they offered me more than enough money on a new contract. But the Baltimore people gave me a real rush, too. They made, by far, the biggest offer -- at least if you don't count the New York clubs, and I didn't want them. And Baltimore's reputation -- at least in the past few years -- has been excellent with players. They've made a nice comeback, competitively, under Paul Warren. All their coaches are good baseball men, and the front office people didn't play any games with me, or with my agent. They just made me an offer; one I didn't see how I could refuse!"

"Well, I'm glad you came to Baltimore. You've done a lot for the kids, and the Orioles are really playing well this year!"