That day, it wasn't Kyle Schwarber, baseball player. It was Kyle Schwarber, middle linebacker.
"We were playing the best team in the state and I just remember I made a mental mistake on a play and pretty much lost this game. We lost 10-7," Schwarber said, reflecting on his days as a member of the Middletown (IN) High. "I didn’t do my assignment. I tried to be smart and tried to take out the quarterback when they were running a triple-option and I was supposed to have the fullback. The quarterback just looked at me with a big smile, let the ball go and the guy ran right by me. That taught me to not try and be smart, be in the moment, and just do what you’re supposed to do."
Sound familiar?
One would think that anybody who has taken on the challenge of playing a new position in the heat of a World Series run - as Schwarber has done by playing first base for the Red Sox these days - would have a long history of fearlessness. Like jumping off roofs into pools, kind of stuff.
But the way Schwarber explains it, this attitude and approach is a product of simple time and experience.
"I’ve been fortunate to be on good teams pretty much my whole life. I have had a lot of experience," he said. "There are times you’re in the box and you’re giddy and you have to calm yourself down. The more that you play and there you are in big games, it just becomes second nature to be relaxed and not let the moment overtake yourself. When I’m out of the game I’m a wreck.
"When I got taken out of the game with Bobby (Dalbec) going in, I turned into a wreck. I’m just watching and hoping. I turn into the biggest cheerleader."
Make no mistake about it, Schwarber has been nervous on a baseball field.
There was his major league debut. Or that first time in the postseason. And, of course, his first go-round playing an unfamiliar position when the Cubs transitioned him from catcher to outfield in his rookie season.
Put it this way, that well-publicized tip of the hat and fist pump that came after making the routine play he botched earlier in Game 4 against the Rays Monday night would never have emerged six years ago.
'That was way more nerve-wracking. I had never done it before. I’m in the big leagues for the first time. And I had to figure it out," said Schwarber of playing outfield for the first time.
"Now, I'm able to have the experience to lean back on of playing in the outfield and knowing not to beat yourself up too much. If you make a mistake, go out there and be ready for the next one. The thing I did, I just wanted to show I wasn’t taking it too serious. If I had that happen six years ago I would have probably beaten myself up so bad the next one I would have screwed myself. Just having that experience of learning the new position and being able to lean back on your failures really helps you.
"You have to be able to have a short memory, especially when you do something you should have done differently. You have to let it go."
Schwarber then goes on to perfectly sum up a reality we sometimes lose sight of.
"At the end of the day we’re all humans, we’re just really good at baseball," he said. "We’re all human beings. We’re not objects. We all want to bring this home for everyone in the city of Boston. We want to do well for ourselves, our team and for the fan base. We don’t want to make errors. But it’s human and it’s going to happen. You have to still be able to enjoy it in the moment."
And that's exactly what Schwarber has been doing.
Through all the missed tackles, and imperfections that baseball will always surface, the 28-year-old has found his happy place.
He plays with the throw-caution-to-the-wind air about him that we hope all these guys might carry. It is a reminder that, yes, he is a human being who just happens to be good at baseball.
"If you’re watching it on TV, I know fans are nervous … It can get to players, don’t get me wrong. But at the end of the day, nerves are more beforehand than when you’re playing," Schwarber said. "We’re competing. We’re out there competing. I remember Game 7 of the World Series, having all these thoughts run through your heads, and all of a sudden you step on the field and you’re blank. It’s just second nature. I think that’s what this group does a really good job of, being able to stay present in the moment and the job at the end of the day is to get 27 outs and have more runs on the board when those 27 outs run out.
"You have to be able to have fun and make fun of yourselves. We’re all human. We’re all going to mess up, but to be able to have fun in the moment - especially in a playoff game - it’s part of it."
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