By Travis Cross

David Ramirez's tired eyes stare out toward Blair Field in Long Beach, California. His sharp chinstrap mustache is upstaged by black hair jettisoning away from his head, as if he just made the mistake of putting a fork in an electrical outlet. Not exactly who you would expect to be calling pitches for Jose Lima every fifth day.

Ramirez plays for the Long Beach Armada in Long Beach, CA. The team is known for bringing former big league talent to the field; this year, Hideki Irabu and Jose Lima lead the charge. The team is part of the Golden Baseball League, an Independent league that spans three countries and four states on the West Coast.

He's been a member of the team since 2006 and is one of only four to return from the 2008 squad. In Independent baseball, where the word "turnover" is as common as "hillbilly horseshoes" (don't ask), staying on for a second, much less a third season, is an accomplishment in itself.

"Out here," says Ramirez, "if you have a bad week, snip, you're gone; versus college ball where you still have a team to come back to on Monday."

It's the harsh truth of playing for an Independent team, which is not quite as common as "astronaut" on most children's "what I want to be when I grow up" lists. Ramirez's dream, like most who have played baseball, was to make it to the big leagues.

Ramirez was playing at Oxnard College, a junior college in Oxnard, California when scouts started talking about his defense. Both the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres had called, wondering what his status was after his sophomore year. When word got out he was going back home to play for his local college, Cal Lutheran, the calls stopped coming..

"I found out fast that in Division III, you really have to put up numbers to get noticed, " reflects Ramirez

He played two years for Cal Lutheran, leading the team in batting average (.444) in 2004, but went undrafted after his senior year. Ramirez found himself an above average college player looking up through the glass ceiling, wondering how to break through. He decided to do what he had done all his life: keep playing.

Ramirez played for the Santa Barbara Foresters in the summer of 2006 and then finished up his time at Cal Lutheran, graduating with a degree in Sports Medicine in the fall. In December, he decided to give baseball one last go.

The Long Beach Armada open tryout attracted over 600 people and Ramirez was one of the few to sign a contract. The San Diego Padres took notice and invited him to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.

" I was there a week and caught bullpens," says Ramirez, "then they told me it wasn't going to work out."

That's more than most players can say. He came to the Armada that summer and played until what he thought was his last season in 2008.

After the summer, Ramirez decided it was time to make his off-season job a full-time position. He works for Casa Pacifica, a home that serves abused and rejected children in the southern California area. He was promoted in the off-season and when it came time for Independent ball to start and Ramirez was staying put, people started asking questions why he wasn't going.

With the encouragement of fellow employees and kids at the shelter, he decided to come back to the Armada a week before the Spring Training camps began.

"The kids had pictures of me playing in their rooms," says Ramirez, "it's hard to say no to that."

He hasn't regretted it since. In a league that is traditionally pitching based, Ramirez fits in just fine.

"I love calling the game," says Ramirez, "it's the reason why I'm still here. Back-picking and throwing out runners is what I live for."

A good pitcher always helps a catcher and having two former major leaguers on staff certainly has improved Ramirez's game.

"It's rare to see [Lima and Irabu] throw in the dirt with any of their pitches," says Ramirez.

He pauses and you can see the wheels turning beneath the frayed hair.

"They just don't miss their spots," he adds smiling, "Ever."

The truth of professional sports is that everyone has to stop playing eventually. Everyone has a last game, a last season, it's only a matter of when. Many stay in the game after their playing days are done, but Ramirez doesn't like to think about that. At least that's what he tells people.

Ramirez has plans for his days after playing. He's in the process of buying a house in the Oxnard area with a backyard big enough to build a baseball field. And that's exactly what he's going to do.

"I want to help kids get better at playing the game," Ramirez says, "seeing kids get picked up and get the chance to play at the next level...that's pretty cool stuff."

Whether that's in a classroom on a high-school campus or in his own backyard, Ramirez doesn't know just quite yet.

"I'm just taking it month by month, day by day," he says, "the only thing I know is that I'm going to stay around the game for as long as I can."