The Harrisonburg Hornets don’t exist — unless you count the box scores scribbled on bar napkins at Finnegan’s Cove and the tall tales told by locals who swear they saw them play. But they’ve got a legend on their roster: Danny “Lights Out” Larkin. Once a big-league reliever with a blistering fastball, Danny flamed out young, his stuff gone by the time he was 27. Now in his 30s, he suits up for the Hornets not because the majors are calling, but because he can’t stop chasing the game. On the field he’s still the best player around, flashes of his old dominance keeping fans filing into the bleachers. Off the field, though, it’s a different story.
Most nights end at Finnegan’s Cove, the Irish bar down by James Madison University, where Danny is a legend to the college kids who soak up his stories of facing big-league stars. The problem is, he can’t stop — the late nights, the pitchers of beer, the desperate glow of attention. By morning he’s back at practice, sunglasses on, worn thin but still grinning. Everyone in town knows he’s burning out, but that’s what makes him the heartbeat of the Hornets: a fallen star clinging to baseball and the bright lights of Harrisonburg just a little longer.
