CITYWIDE — Mickey Balestri has a story for every finger.

“This one here, I was pitching,” he said, wiggling a particularly crooked digit at the 16-inch Softball Hall of Fame in suburban Forest Park. “Hit my finger first. Severed my tendon. Separated my knuckle. I threw the ball. The guy was safe. Wasn’t worth it.”

Balestri’s other fingers, the majority a bit bent and swollen at the tips, are almost all the result of 16-inch softball injuries — a palm reader could see not his future but quite a lot of his sporting past. He’s broken two metacarpal bones from line drives, one off the bat of 16-inch Hall of Famer Randy “Stretch” Lee — a fearsome power hitter — and broken his thumb twice.

To play, Balestri, a Bridgeport native, would have to warm up his hands, embarking on a pre-game routine

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