In the summer of 1998, 10-year-old Ashur Tolliver kneeled in the Ray Winder Field dugout and tried not "to screw anything up."
Tolliver was the bat boy for the Arkansas Travelers, and he couldn't imagine what it would be like to play for his hometown team.
"As a kid, you grow up thinking these players live in some fantasy land or something," said Tolliver, a left-handed reliever from Sherwood who was assigned to the Travs on Friday. "It's pretty weird to be playing here after growing up.
"You think these guys are like superheroes almost. You want autographs and to meet them and everything, but when you get older you realize they're just a bunch of regular guys like everyone else. They're just good at baseball."
Tolliver is one of those "regular guys" now -- he has been since the Baltimore Orioles selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 MLB draft out of Oklahoma City University.
The 2006 graduate of Sylvan Hills High School led the Bears to state championships in 2003 and 2005 before spending two seasons at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Tolliver transferred to Oklahoma City, and he spent seven years in Baltimore's minor league system before he made his major league debut against the Houston Astros on May 26, 2016.
Tolliver spent part of the 2017 season on the Astros roster, where he had a 3.60 ERA in five innings, but he mostly spent the season pitching for the Class AAA Fresno Grizzlies, where he went 2-0 with a 7.43 ERA. The Grizzlies were playing at the Albuquerque Isotopes on Aug. 12 when Tolliver said a front office member of the Astros told him he was going to be released.
"They acquired a few guys after the deadline, and they needed to make room," said Tolliver, who was 0-0 with a 5.65 ERA in his final 11 games with Fresno. "I respect that, and I guess they didn't see me as a part of their plans going forward."
He returned home to Sherwood and his wife, Kelli, and 1-year-old son, Maverick. He relaxed and fished while his agent worried about baseball for him.
A few days later, his agent called and said the Seattle Mariners were interested in signing him.
"We knew with the Travs being a team with the Mariners, we knew that playing at home would be a possibility," Tolliver said. "I could stay at my own house, sleep in my own bed and just go to the ballpark like normal. It'd be kind of weird, actually. But I was all for that."
Tolliver signed a contract with the Mariners through the rest of the season, and he joined the Travs in Midland, Texas, on Friday. He would have joined the team earlier had he not gotten food poisoning that week while eating out.
Tolliver pitched an inning in the Travs 8-3 victory over Midland on Saturday, when he gave up 2 earned runs, 3 hits and a walk.
"I don't put a whole lot in a guy's first outing with an organization," Travs Manager Daren Brown said. "For us, it's 'see what we have.' I thought the other day in Midland, he showed us good stuff. A little erratic at times, but that's nothing that can't be fixed. Hadn't faced hitters in awhile.
"I haven't seen enough of him. I liked the stuff I saw the other day, and that's really all I can say."
The Travs have 13 games left in the season they will close out at home against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals from Sept. 2-4. After that, Tolliver will become a free agent.
"I just want to go out and end the season healthy -- just enjoy this short period I have playing here at home," Tolliver said. "I signed with these guys and get a chance to pitch with them a little bit. They get to know me, and I get to know them, and it might possibly be an option for next year."
Tolliver noticed that only the scoreboard from the since demolished Ray Winder Field remains visible from Interstate 630, but the connection remains.
"It will be fun doing it local," Tolliver said. "Like old times."
Today's game
Travelers vs. Drillers
WHEN 7:10 p.m.
WHERE Dickey-Stephens Park, North Little Rock
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in central Arkansas
WEBSITE travs.com
PITCHERS Travs: RHP Aaron West (0-2, 2.19 ERA); Drillers: RHP Andrew Sopko (3-6, 4.26)
THE WEEK AHEAD
TODAY vs. Tulsa, 7:10 p.m.
THURSDAY vs. Tulsa, 7:10 p.m.
FRIDAY vs. Tulsa, 7:10 p.m.
SATURDAY at NW Arkansas, 6:05 p.m.
SUNDAY at NW Arkansas, 2:05 p.m.
MONDAY at NW Arkansas, 7:05 p.m.
TUESDAY at Springfield, 6:30 p.m.
Sports on 08/23/2017