“SEE THE BALL. HIT THE BALL,” OUR COACH, FLIP Valentini, was telling the guys when I skidded my bike up to the dugout at Dunn Field. “Catch it. Throw it. And show up on time or you don’t play. It’s a simple game, boys.” Flip ought to know. He pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers in their glory years. He was with Cincinnati and Pittsburgh too for a while. Flip won 287 games and struck out almost 3,000 batters during his career. He’s in the Baseball Hall of Fame.