The Rookie

Lorri:
Jim Morris, I'm a Texas woman, which means I don't need the help of a man to keep things running.

Hunter:
But Dad...

Jimmy:
No buts about it... I'm getting enough butts as it is.

Jimmy:
You know what we get to do today, Brooks? We get to play baseball.

Tryout Catcher:
[Running out to Jim, who's just finished his tryout] Pitch... pitch... man, you were bringing some heat up there!

Jimmy:
Come on...

Tryout Catcher:
You got 'em talkin'!

Jimmy:
Naww...

Tryout Catcher:
You got 'em talkin'... good job, man.

Dave Patterson:
Jimmy, how fast were you throwing fifteen years ago?

Jimmy:
Slow enough to where scouts stopped using the word "fast".

Dave Patterson:
Seriously, how fast were you throwing?

Jimmy:
I don't know... 85-86?

Dave Patterson:
You just threw 98 miles an hour.

Jimmy:
Nawww!

Dave Patterson:
Twelve straight pitches, three radar guns. Same thing on all of 'em.

Jimmy:
Look, Dave, there's no way...

Dave Patterson:
Jimmy, I've been a scout for a long time, and the number one rule is, arms slow down when they get old. Now, if I call the office and tell 'em I got a guy here almost twice these kids' age, I'm gonna get laughed at. But, if I don't call in a 98-mile-an-hour fastball, I'm gonna get fired! I'm just saying there's a chance you might get a call on this. [turns to leave, then turns around] You figure out what I saw out there today, you let me know.

Joaquin 'Wack' Campos:
[after being the first Owl to get a foul tip off of Jimmy's fastball] Got a piece of that one!

Jimmy:
Now get all of it.

TV Reporter:
[interviewing Jimmy after his first major league game] What pitches did you throw to get that strikeout?

Jimmy:
Fastball, fastball, and [chuckling] fastball!

TV Reporter:
How did it feel, pitching in the major leagues?

Jimmy:
Just like I hoped it would.

Jimmy:
[to the reporters, seeing his father through the TV lights] Can you excuse me?

Sanchez:
So, Riv, what was it like watching the Babe play?

Jimmy:
You sure you wanna start this?

Sanchez:
How many fans did you lose when they raised ticket prices to 50 cents?

Jimmy:
Almost as many as we lose when you pitch!

Brooks:
Oooh! And this game is over, baby!

Durham Manager Mac:
Jimmy, I just got off the phone with the big club. They're calling up Brooks.

Jimmy:
That's great. He won't be back.

Durham Manager Mac:
He respects you, and I think you ought to be the one to tell him. Being that you're going, too...

Lorri:
Does this mean I don't get a baseball?

Lorri:
So how does it feel to be the oldest rookie in the last 30 years?

Jimmy:
I don't know... I'm tired.

Jimmy:
Frank, isn't it a little late to be playing this song?

Frank:
It's only 8:30.

Jimmy:
It's March.

Jimmy:
[while he and Lorri are lying in bed, their baby crying in the other room] I'll get her.

Lorri:
Was that a real, "I'll get her"? Or are you just waiting for me to say, "Go back to sleep"?

Jimmy:
I haven't decided yet.

Lorri:
[gently pats him as she gets up] Go back to sleep.

Jimmy:
Do you know how many guys can throw a ball 98 miles an hour?

Lorri:
[shrugs] Not many?

Jimmy:
You can count them with one hand.

Jimmy:
[Meeting his father after the game] You came.

Jim Morris Sr.:
[Nods] Wasn't going to miss this one. [pause] Watching you out there tonight... not many fathers get to do that.

Jimmy:
Anybody wanna tell me how we lost that game? Hmmm? No? How about taking a look at the numbers on that scoreboard out there? What do those numbers tell you?

Joe David West:
How to get ahold of Bo's Tire Barn? [team laughs, Jimmy pauses, obviously not amused]

Jimmy:
You quit. You quit out there. You quit on me and, worse, you quit on yourselves. Now, what is it? You think we don't care about baseball around here? Think the school's gonna drop the program? You're just making it easy for 'em. Sad part is, I see it and you don't.

Joel De La Garza:
[while him and Jimmy play catch] Hey coach, back when you were really pitching, how fast were you throwing it?

Jimmy:
I don't know. 85, 86?

Joel De La Garza:
That's not too bad.

Jimmy:
It is when the other guy's throwing 90.

Joel De La Garza:
Coach, let's see you bring one.

Jimmy:
Can't. Promised too many doctors.

Joel De La Garza:
Come on, coach, one isn't going to kill you. Come on, feed me!

Hunter:
Yeah, dad, bring the heat!

Joel De La Garza:
[Jim gets himself ready while Joel waits in the catcher's position] Feed me, coach.

[Jim pauses, then winds up and throws his fastball, which audibly whisses by and hits hard into Joel's glove, much to the shock of him and Hunter]

Hunter:
Woah!

Joel De La Garza:
Coach, where did that come from?

Jimmy:
[Smiles] Forgot how good that sounded.

Jimmy:
Look, guys, most of you, you're gonna finish up school here, you're gonna work the rigs, you're gonna work at Bo's Tire Barn, you're gonna raise a family, you're gonna retire, and you're gonna do all that right here in Big Lake. And there's nothing wrong with that. A lot of real good people have done that. I'm doing it. But, if you're looking for something more after you're done here, you better give some serious thought as to how you're gonna play out the rest of this season!

Joaquin 'Wack' Campos:
What difference does it make? I mean, it's not like any of us are getting scholarships.

Jimmy:
I'm not talking about college. I'm talking about wanting things in life. I'm talking about having dreams. And all that starts right here [points at his heart] , right here. If you don't have dreams, you don't have anything.

Joel De La Garza:
Coach, what about you? You talk about our dreams...

Jimmy:
Joel, we are not talking about me.

Joel De La Garza:
Yeah, but come on, Coach. Every time you throw, I gotta ice my hand, every time! You're the one who should be wanting something more.

Joaquin 'Wack' Campos:
And the sad part is, you know, we see it and you don't.

Joel De La Garza:
Now, wait a minute... we start winning, you try out again.

Jimmy:
[sighs] Last time I checked, scouts aren't looking for high school science teachers.

Joe David West:
Well, not many science teachers throw like you.

Jimmy:
It's gonna take a heckuva lot more than a couple of wins to get me to make a fool of myself.

Joel De La Garza:
Alright, what if we win district, huh? What if we win district and go to the state playoffs? Then?

Jimmy:
You serious?

Joel De La Garza:
Yeah, absolutely.

Jimmy:
You're serious?

Joe David West:
Yeah.

Joaquin 'Wack' Campos:
Yeah!

Jimmy:
And all I have to do is find some kind of tryout somewhere?

Joaquin 'Wack' Campos:
That's it, man!

Jimmy:
[clears throat] Alright... IF we win district! [Team cheers and leaves for locker room]

Hunter:
I don't get to tell Mom about this, do I?

Jim Morris Sr.:
Your grandfather once told me it was ok to think about what you want to do until it was time to start doing what you were meant to do.

Jimmy:
What's the damage?

Lorri:
Well, they took the bed, but they left the dresser.