The star of Brooklyn Kickball is back — but is he ready for a tiger-sized season?
Matt “Marquis de” Sadewitz — one of the league’s most valuable players ever — has returned from his broken collarbone and is poised to anchor a New Frontiersmen squad that fell a few kicks short of the final four.
But the man with the sterling silver toe doesn’t know for sure what will happen.
“I don’t know how long it’ll take me to feel 100 percent on board with laying out for catches again,” said Sadewitz, who separated his shoulder making an unbelievable diving catch last year, a defensive gem that won the game, yet sidelined the star for two months.
He returned in August, but his team fell short in the quarterfinals to Majesty.
Sadewitz endured a rigorous regimen of physical therapy in the chilly offseason to get a full range of motion in his arm and shoulder.
His shoulder clicks and aches once in a while but the freewheeling outfielder’s greater challenge is mental.
“I imagine I’ll be conservative for the first few months of the season and ease into things,” he said.
Sadewitz will again be backed by New Frontiersmen stars, including lights-out pitcher Jessica “Special Ops” Seibert, speedy slugger Veronica “Not Nydia” Velazquez, stud outfielder Benny “Fred” Thompson and lanky captain Mike “Robert” Altman.
As such, the Marquis thinks this is the year.
“We’ve really started to finally lock down a few of the finer points that were eluding us, such as kicking grounders, so I think we’ll be pretty unstoppable this season,” said Sadewitz. “That was the last piece of the puzzle, I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Teammates obviously revere the legend of the diamond.
“Matty Tiger’s shoulder is a national treasure, and should be landmarked as such,” said “Hey” Kate Brown.
Even opponents have nothing but respect for the legend, but most see an opening (it’s near the right acromion, to be precise).
“Sadewitz is unbelievable — just by his sheer presence he can change the course of the game.” said Pony Boys captain Jason Finkel, an MVP candidate in his own right. “You can’t say that about too many people. If he’s healthy, they can go far.”
It’s a big “if.”
