Week 1 Player Profile

Marshall. John Marshall.

That was how he introduced himself to me. Not in a high end lounge, donned in the requisite tuxedo, grasping a shaken martini, but on the first base line of the PAL fields, wearing a purple WAKA shirt and swigging an adult sports beverage out of an oversized tumbler. Who was this man of mystery?

He gave me a quick rundown: USF grad. Second season playing WAKA. Still hasn't seen "Avatar."

Sure, sure. A likely story, I thought. But something seemed awry. I pressed him for details.

"What do you do?"

A long pause.

"I handle... logistics... for Latin American businesses."

My curiosity was piqued. International intrigue? Now we're getting somewhere. Logistics? What did that mean? Translating? Hacking governmental Web sites? Deciding where to bury bodies?

"I'm a huge Yankees fan," he confessed.

"Oh," I responded. "Are you from New York?"

"No," he answered.

Aha! A tell! His story wasn't adding up. But I soon remembered that, for all their fanaticism, 90% of Yankees fans have never set foot in the city. I was grasping at straws. How do I penetrate this wall he hides behind? Then he admitted...

"I wear a mask."

"Do tell," I prodded.

"Well, I used to. People don't know the real me. They don't see the real me."

"Why do you wear the mask, John. WHY?"

"I have to. People expect it. But it's suffocating. The pressure... and the heat."

"Yes, I'm sure it- wait. The heat?"

"God, yes. The heat, the horns, the hair. Being Rocky the Bull was tough work."

So there you have it. Marshall. John Marshall. Former Rocky the Bull mascot. Current catcher for Quit Yer Pitchin'. And yes, ladies - he's single. Welcome back, everyone!