In 1959, Mark Littell, then just 6 years old, was stepping to the plate for his very first at-bat.
Growing up in Wardell, Missouri, Littell had never been in a game and was much more intrigued by the scores of people in attendance and the bright lights that lit up the ballpark he called "the biggest thing in the world to me at the time."
Against a pitcher twice his age, Littell cranked an 0-2 pitch into right-center field for a hit that started it all.
"I set my goal right then and there," Littell said. "People were laughing at me beforehand because I switched batting from left-handed to right-handed and back to left-handed all in that first at-bat until I hit it. They stopped laughing and I said, 'so this is how you silence the crowd.' The rest is history."
Fourteen years later, the 20-year old Littell silenced hitters in Triple-A to the tune of a 16-6 record with a 2.92 ERA. The righty got the call up to the majors months later and was a key part of a young core of Kansas City Royals in the 1970s.
The affable, straight-shooting Littell, who was drafted out of Gideon High School and enjoyed a nine-year career in the majors and adventures in different parts of the world after his career, shares his colorful stories in his book On the Eighth Day, God Made Baseball.
"People had been bugging me for years to sit down and right them down, so three years ago I started writing down some stories and showed this to some friends," Littell said. "One guy read it and said it made him laugh and another guy said he'd back me if I made it into a book."
Unlike most former players who used co-authors, Littell wrote the book on his own. The former St. Louis Cardinal and Kansas City Royal is one of just four Major League Baseball players to ever write a book without the use of a ghostwriter.
"That's funny for being as wound up as I am," Littell said. "But I didn't want to do the whole stat thing or have other writers changing my voice. I'd think, 'that's not something a country boy would say,' so I kept it in my voice."
And Littell's voice is unique, colorful and entertaining to say the least. Littell, or 'Country' as he is known by his fans, teammates and coaches, makes his return to Southeast Missouri on Friday when he will give a pitching fundamentals clinic at Jackson High School, followed by an appearance Saturday at the SEMO Summer Sports Card Show at the City of Miner Convention Center. Littell will be signing copies of his book as well as ball, bats, cards and jerseys from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"I don't get to come back as much as I'd like to," said Littell, who now lives in Arizona. "I do these signings and card shows all over the country, but it's going to be fun coming back home."
The book begins during Littell's childhood and tells stories about him growing up playing the game in the bootheel of Missouri.
It includes 17 chapters and 253 pages of topics ranging from being drafted out of Gideon High School, playing American Legion ball in Poplar Bluff and Blytheville, Arkansas, stories with teammates, including Hall of Famer George Brett, to his first spring training and his run-ins with some of the best hitters to play the game.
Littell had become one of the top closers in the majors by the age of 23 in 1976. He posted 2.06 ERA over 104 innings that year and received recognition in the American League MVP voting.
Despite the success at a young age, Littell remained grounded when it came to pitching. He highlights his strategy of coping with the big stage in a chapter titled "Separating Yourself From The Pack."
"I was taught how to slow the game completely down and then I had a complete blast when I was out there," Littell said. "We never talked baseball when I was out on the mound. It was all about having fun."
Littell's demeanor was one of the things that earned the trust of Hall of Fame manager Whitey Herzog, who converted Littell to a closer. He was also responsible for giving Littell a couple nicknames, but just prior to that, Littell wasn't sure he'd have a spot on the Royals.
"I was throwing really, really good in spring training and we had an owner lockout at that time. They said it'd be harder on guys like me to make the team and Whitey didn't know how to use me," Littell said. "But I was throwing so well that they had to keep me."
Littell's stories aren't just limited to his relationship with Herzog, who wrote the foreword, or his experiences in major league ballparks; not by a longshot.
The final chapter of the book is called "Forrest Gump Stats" which discusses some of the interesting and unusual events Littell encountered over his career.
"If there's really a Forrest Gump, it's me," Littell said. "I'm serious, because of all these interesting little things that happened to this country kid who came from nowhere."
He was the winning pitcher in the game when Lou Brock got his 3,000th hit, he retired Reggie Jackson twice in one of his first games with the Royals and struck out Hank Aaron looking at three straight pitches the first time he faced him.
"He took a slider and then a fastball and then Buck Martinez called for another fastball. I hesitated for a bit and thought he must know what's coming," Littell said. "I threw it anyway and Aaron took the fastball for strike three."
Littell was traded from the Royals to the Cardinals after the 1977 season. He spent five seasons in St. Louis where he posted a 14-18 record with a 3.31 ERA and 28 saves in 261 innings. He battled a second elbow injury in 1982 and after pitching in 16 games that year, he ended his career as a major leaguer and a World Series champion with the Cardinals.
"I threw 100 innings as a set-up or closer three different years but with a lot of appearances not many guys did that," Littell said. "When they give you the ball though, you didn't say no. Now things are a little different."
After his playing career, Littell stayed active in the game and as a businessman. He is the inventor of the NuttyBuddy -- a unique and award-winning athletic cup designed for the male body -- which was featured on ESPN's "Sport Science."
Littell was also a successful coach in the minor leagues as well as international stints in Australia, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. He was Bruce Bochy's pitching coach in high A ball and mentored countless pitchers who eventually made it to the majors.
At age 64, Littell isn't close to slowing down. This year, he will be the director of a winter league in Cuba, leading 60 U.S. ballplayers and 12 coaches to play against Cuban prospects.
Littell, who has two more books in the works, is still amazed at the good fortune he's had in baseball and the attention his stories are getting some 30 years later.
"It's had great reception. People tell me it's the funniest sports book they've ever read and I'm excited to get more out there," Littell said. "More importantly it's been fun to put them all down in writing and be able to look back at how lucky I am."