I just had the amazing privilege to
witness my teammate, my friend, and my comadre get inducted into the SDSU Hall
of Fame, one of the highest honors a softball player can obtain. The entire experience was so indescribable,
but I will try to express into words. Sandra
and I have shared the field for 15 years, and it was such an incredible honor
to see one of the finest athletes, ever to hit a softball field, receive her
recognition. She by far is the best pitcher
I have ever played behind and anyone who played behind her would have to
agree. She had this change up that made
players look like they’ve never held a bat in their lives, and I have to be
honest I laughed hysterically every time, thanking God every day she was on MY
team. When Brookie (her career catcher)
called the pitch, I knew exactly where the ball was going and exactly where to
position myself. This was IF the batter
even hit the ball, which most of the time they were sent back to the dugout
verrrrrry embarrassed. It was a joke on
the team that she was our “circle princess”, which if you’re an athlete reading
this you know that definition….if not here it is….
Circle Princess- (noun or adj.): The team’s pitcher…aka…..the
coach’s favorite person in the whole wide world…especially when she retires 20
players straight….and yes when she beats the defending national champions…..she
can do no wrong…..she can say no wrong…..you bow down to her…..if you don’t you’re
now coach’s most hated player…..ahahhahah I’m totally joking Sandra!!! (not
really) but I know she’s laughing so it’s ok!!!!
So I’ll begin
when she called me to help her shop for her event….and yes ladies and gentlemen
it was on Black Friday!!!!!! Now this
is a gorgeous woman who wears softball clothes every day of her life because
she’s a head coach and runs a fitness facility.
I knew this was going to be challenging due to her crazy “Black Friday”
shopping until 6 am……but she got great deals so I’ll excuse her. We started at Macy’s…..I knew we were in
BIGGGGGGGGGGG trouble when I asked her size and she said she didn’t know it.
UMMMM WHAT??!! You don’t know your dress size…..ok…..you look like a 4 but your
booty looks like a “There’s not really a size for that thing back there!” HAHAHA I can only say this due to the
situation I am also currently lugging around called my big a$$! So we figure out her size, gather multiple
dresses and head to the dressing room, and this is where I knew we had met our
demise. She goes in…starts trying them
on…..she would barely show me through a cracked door….wouldn’t turn around when
I asked her to….and hated them all! OMMMMGGG ok…..so we re-grouped left the
store….and I could see I was already losing her and her bloodshot eyes. We went to a couple other stores, but as you
guessed…..nothing. After hours we end at
Cache….one of my favorite dress stores.
Now, I was living a dream when I asked her our budget and she said “No
budget”…..I screamed with joy!!!! We
grabbed every dress and went to the room……I thought surely we’re done…we found
them here. Little did I know, she wasn’t
even trying any on! She was texting and facebooking…….I could’ve slapped her!!!! So I ask her if she’s ok in there and I
notice..uh ohhhh….the very depressed answer “everything’s fine!” Oh crap I know
this line, I use it on Michael all of the time….right before I start screaming
and balling my eyes out in the dressing room.
So I ask her…”are you about to start your period?” (sorry folks for too
much info..but all the women reading will understand)…she replied…Yes…..CCCCCCCRAAAAAAPPPPP
CODE RED CODE RED PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!! Let’s get out of here quickly!!!!! I can
never shop at that time…1. I think I’m the size of an elephant….2. I’m
emotionally unstable….and 3. I normally want to smash all of the mirrors I look
into! SO we leave unsuccessful in the
dress department, but I reminded her we learned a lot. I felt compassion for her, because I‘ve been
there before, but honestly the stores were such a disaster, it looked like a
bomb went off in all of them….we weren’t going to find anything. We chalked it up as some quality friend time
and a learning lesson. Never go shopping
on Black Friday…on No sleep….in Northridge….hungry….no Starbucks…..about to
start your period…..oh did I mention we were in Northridge.
On to the
Ceremony……She looked absolutely divine!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!! She cleans up very
nice! There were 4 inductees and the 1958 baseball team. Leave it to the one Mexican to have 25 people
there to support her……Just kidding…. She only had 14 there…..but this just
means she is very loved! The Host of the
ceremony was Ted Leitner aka Bob Ueker from Major League! Sandra’s highlight
reel came up second and I left my body watching in complete aweeee! They
announced her name, named off her stats, and brought my coach up to present her
with the award. I played with her and
forgot how many accomplishments she had acquired. She still holds most of the pitching records
at SDSU. Her speech was beautiful and
the tears commenced and didn’t stop for a while. One thing my coach said stood out in my
mind. Sandra was one of the most
selfless players you will ever play with.
AMEN! She was the dream teammate….she always made the infield’s job extremely
easy. I always told her I can get my
lawn chair out…drink a margarita….and get a tan at shortstop! She was the
definition of a team player, someone you not only admired but who had your back
100%! She still looked in complete shock as she walked up to accept her
statue. Then she spoke…..I was at a
complete loss for any function other than crying. She acknowledged every single person who came
to support her and spoke more about us than she did about herself…..very “SANDRA
LIKE”. This was her; her speech embodied
what she represents as a person, player, coach, teacher, daughter, friend,
sister, cousin, wife, and mother. She
reminisced with stories and held back others on grounds that we are still
afraid of our coach! HAHAHA! She very humbly and gracefully thanked everyone
for this honor and accepted her now new home in the Aztec Hall of Fame. Our coach also surprised her with her jersey
framed….the all power #13!
Ms. Sandra
Durazo Lusk….I am so very proud of you and very honored to have shared the
field with such an extraordinary athlete.
Thank you for sharing your talents and gifts, as I know for a fact our
teams would not have propelled to success without you! Thank you for your endless
selflessness, kindness, compassion, intelligence, athleticism, friendship, and
simply put awesomeness! You are a blessing to everyone who knows you! I love
you!
