Catfish and Home

Catfish and Home
by Josh Eure

As a Little Leaguer, Josh Eure couldn''t hit a lick, but the presence of local hero Catfish Hunter at all the games made even minor victories at the plate worth savoring.

"Jimmy ''Catfish'' Hunter pitched for the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees and in 1987 was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame—all the while maintaining his small-town farming roots. He played every game with the shotgun pellets from a childhood hunting accident lodged in his foot, and natives imagined he held a major piece of them in his cleats."