Tanuj lakhina tracks down the two million dollar pitcher boys from rural UP who made a splash in a 2008 contest to bag contracts for minor leagues in the US. Today one lives in Varanasi without a job and the other is still struggling for a major league appearance in Florida
Imagine throwing three consecutive balls at 90mph (144 kmph) in a set target zone and if done successfully, you get a million dollars and a stint in a United States baseball team.
That was the prize in 2008 and two youngsters from rural Uttar Pradesh got eerily close to claiming that reward. One however did bag $100,000 for being second quickest and hitting the target each time but the quickest couldn’t maintain his accuracy and had to content with being a strong arm “which could be nurtured”.
It is 10:15 AM in Tampa, Florida and the temperature is hovering around 31 degrees with the sun shining bright on east coast. It is not a surprise weather because Florida does get plenty of sun throughout the year.
There are plenty of left-handed pitchers on the mound. One of them is Rinku Singh — training, running and going about improving his game during the off-season. At 6’2”, Rinku stands out from the rest. He is on the comeback from a Tommy John surgery and has had a horrible injury record since 2012. Trying to get back into the groove of things with his Bradenton Marauders teammates in the Florida State Minor league, he works alongside fellow left handed pitchers Cody Dickson and Andy Otamendi. Dickson hails from Texas while Otamendi is from Venezuela - both with strong baseball affiliations. Rinku, however, comes from a rural village of Bhadohi in UP where not many are aware of the sport’s existence let alone understand the intricacies of it.
He’s been training hard and even before beginning to speak, to this reporter over the phone, in a thick American accent, he apologises and asks for the chat to be kept brief because he has to return to practice. He shares that he’s preparing for the 2016 season after a long and frustrating injury layoff. He further acknowledges that his motivation is to help his family back home - his parents (father a truck driver and mother a house wife) and seven siblings.
* It is 8 PM in India and in Varanasi is a happy Dinesh Patel. He’s recently become father to a daughter and is beaming with joy. The joys of recent fatherhood come with responsibilities too. He understands that he has to be there for the family so he switches off the phone during the day. The joy is compounded because he recently graduated as well. He wishes to continue his education and do an MA in English literature.
He’s not followed the trajectory since 2008, something that his fellow pitcher Rinku did. He begrudgingly admits that he wishes he had. “I wish I had been stronger and not given in to being homesick and fought for things. Don’t get me wrong. I gave it my 100 per cent but I got weak. Maybe my life would have been different if I hadn’t,” says Patel, over the phone, who now does motivational baseball camps for children in his village and other parts of India.
*It was lucknow in November 2008 and two budding javelin throwers were told of a competition called “Million Dollar Arm” by a cricket coach. They were told it was a competition where they could win a million dollars just for throwing fast and hitting the target. Thinking of it as a joke, they went for the tryouts hoping they might get lucky. With 1500 other boys in attendance, the duo came out on top with one of them throwing 87mph (140kmph) and bagging the chance to go to Delhi for yet another tryout.
In Delhi, a month later, both of them again were top of the charts and had booked their place for the final tryout in Mumbai.
In Mumbai, one of the throwers registered 89mph (143kmph) but strayed off target. His colleague threw 87mph (140kmph) but kept hitting the target successfully. The latter, Rinku, won $100,000 for his effort while Dinesh, didn’t win any money but both were assured of a stint in the US to learn, train and hopefully bag a contract with one of the numerous baseball teams in the country where the sport is not even a popular pastime.
*It’s July 4, 2009 and Rinku has just won his first game against the New York Yankees’ affiliate in the Gulf Coast league in which he struckout a batter too. There are celebrations all around with everyone hugging each other and it is a surreal experience for the then 20-year-old. “It was a great moment. Everyone was hugging each other. I was excited about the opportunity that I had in front of me. I had the chance to make an impact on the kids everywhere and have an experience of my own. Thinking about it now, the struggle has taught me a lot. It has been a dream,” he tells you all these years later.
Fast-forward to 2012 and Rinku has played numerous teams at numerous levels. He has had a fairly good run with all the teams he’s represented with his best ERA (Earned run average) coming in 2010 in the Gulf Coast league: 2.38 with 20 strikeouts. Thereafter, he undergoes Tommy John surgery on his left elbow that keeps him out for a lengthy period. That is followed by an operation to remove a bone chip.
*Patel, in 2009, starts off beautifully for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the minor league posting an ERA of 1.42, which is unheard of in a sport where the average ERA has become 3.00 and upward. But just as things start to make promise, the age-old sports rule comes back to dent his performance. His unique fast ball which curve at a later stage are worked out by the batters and he endures a miserable 2010 season with the ERA rising to 8.59. Couple that with a shoulder injury and the contract expires. He decides to return to India. On the upside, he’s earned enough to marry off his sister and get his house renovated.
*Upon winning the Million Dollar Arm contest under the keen eye of sports agent JB Bernstein, Rinku had a tough time getting the support of his family and friends. They felt he would be going to a strange country with a different culture, people and language. However, a determined Rinku drops out from college and eyeing and improved life for his family, boards the aircraft to los Angeles.
*It was a similar situation in Patel’s household. His mother advised him against flying off but he did best to explain. He got the support of his older brother, who understood the sport as someone who had played local kabaddi.
*As both descended onto the tarmac in los Angeles, the first thing to grip them was the timezone. “We left at 9 and were there at 7! We had heard of the timezone difference but never felt it. It was surprising,” Patel says with a laugh.
“It was definitely shocking,” says Rinku of the cultural difference. “Beyond that there is the timezone, the tradition, the people and the mentality,” he adds. Having spent nearly six years in the US now, he has embraced the American way to a large extent. He enjoys pizzas and pancakes with caramelised banana on the bottom.
Dinesh concurs with Rinku. “The roads, the buildings, food, everything is different. Their holidays are fun too. The likes of Halloween, Christmas for example are different for us. The culture is totally unique. There you would get the respect even if you were an old person trying to cross the street. Here people would brush past and not even bother to help. People are polite and follow the rules. Nothing of that sort here. But despite that, I never found the peace there. Always felt homesick,” he says.
*It is hard to fathom that the duo who won a baseball contest, hadn’t heard of the sport before or knew of its rules but that was true of Dinesh and Rinku. Their first impression of the sport was at the University of South California Playoffs. “It was hard to understand. Why were people touching base, stealing bases, and other technical bits. At first I thought coming here and doing this was a mistake. But I never gave up and gave it my 110 per cent,” says Rinku. Patel adds that their education of the sport was also improved with books and watching more and more games. “People compare it with cricket but it’s harder than cricket. We started to learn thanks to books and TV. The language was a barrier at first but for the first two years we had a translator so that helped. For this period, we focused on baseball entirely.
“We played our first game after a month of training. And things got better as we played more. It took us nine months to understand the game fully and go through with it,” he clarified.
*Their journey on reaching the US began with living out of hotel rooms in los Angeles and training at the USC Complex. Thereafter, they were put in rented home accommodation as Bernstein and Co. looked for opportunities to sign a professional contract. Their first tryout was at a subpar Arizona field where neither impressed the scouts present from the 30 clubs.
Bernstein was successful in bagging another tryout opportunity in lA where both dazzled the scouts and eventually signed with Pittsburgh Pirates.
As someone who has gone up and down the pyramid in the minor leagues, Rinku says: “I’m currently in the Double-A league. The level keeps changing as you go up and down. As you go up, the game speeds and the intensity go up and get really fast too.”
*In India where there is marginal support for athletes only when they are at the top, baseball languishes at the bottom of support. Players are expected to pay off their own pocket in order to go on tours and improve their game - a game that could be included for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. This lack of support has affected many talented athletes from prolonging their career and looking at other horizons and it holds true for Rinku and Patel too.
“If India supported us and our efforts, I would have worked hard for the country. The Indian federation doesn’t support us. There is no support coming in from any corporates either. The cricketers get it all. I’m representing the Tricolour since 2009 but have nothing to show for it. I needed the support here (US) and I have got it. Sadly, people here support me more than in India. It has definitely left me frustrated. If I don’t get any money or support, then what’s the pointIJ I would be happy to move back if I got the help I need. I do live here but my heart is still in India,” he says.
Patel who almost came close to representing the country in javelin echoed the same lack of support. “We would use certificates won in javelin to get jobs via sports quota. Otherwise, there is no money paid to athletes. I won Gold medals at U-18, U-19 and other tournaments too. At one stage, I was close to representing India if I hadn’t taken the direction of going to the US,” says the 26-year-old.
“I haven’t seen my family in two years,” says Rinku. “In India, if you’re rich or a politician, all doors open to you. I don’t have the money to get a passport made for them and buy flight tickets. The US players have corporate sponsorships to aid their careers. I have a sponsorship from Under Armor who support me with cleats and gear. But I have to go back to India to get my visa renewed which affects my training schedule and disrupts things.”
*The idea of turning their journey into a Walt Disney sports movie — Million Dollar Arm — was in the pipeline since 2009 and both were aware of it. “I knew of it when it was in the planning stages in 2009. When we returned after the season in 2009 in November, the writer was supposed to work on it but it got rescheduled. Then another writer took over the task and it only released in 2014.
I was there during the shooting and taught the actors how to throw. I spent two-three weeks with them travelling to Delhi, lucknow, Mumbai and was in Atlanta with them too,” says Patel on the movie where Madhur Mittal portrays his character. At the screening of the movie in New York, Patel admits to have shed some tears.
Rinku, however, remains detached from the movie and keeps his eye on the ultimate prize — improving his and family’s life and seeing his career improve even though at 27, his chances of pitching in the major league look slender.