Take Me Out to the Ballgame

  Baseball...Man this game has taught me so much in my many years of playing. I can honestly sit here and say that from the age of 5, every summer I have put a jersey on and got to step out on that ball field. It has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. And I guess since this year has looked a little different. With baseball and new paths on the way. I wanted to really sit down and reflect on some of these memories and stories I have had along the way.

  I can remember when I was a kid, playing on my very first t-ball team. I was #10 on the Atlanta Braves, and my dad as my coach. I remember every day, going into our unfinished basement with a bat too big for me to swing, but I would swing it anyways. I would try so hard to get in to my shoulder, and once I did. Dad would underhand me a ball to try and hit, and I would be so focused but the bat would crash to the ground and chip the concrete. I would try every time to get better and just hit the ball. There’s times I would, and there’s times where I would chip the concrete even more. But eventually, I got a bat a little more suited for a 5yr old and I first started playing this game that has helped mold me into who I am today.

  There’s a lot I can say about baseball. The memories that every weekend from the age of 8 I was playing in some tournament, in some city/town, traveling around with my family and our team. And honestly, I wouldn’t trade it for anything! I still can look back and name every single team I have ever played on, I can still think about my teammates that I still talk to from those summers. From age 8 playing on my first travel team, age 12 playing for one of the best teams I have ever played on, age 15 making the high school team, signing to play college baseball at 18, getting drafted at 20. These things are highlights of my life to me. But they will never compare to some of the lessons that baseball continues to teach me.

It is in those moments that baseball taught me so much more. It taught me to grow up. It taught me you can’t win at everything. It taught me that no matter how hard you work, you don’t always get the result you want - but that should never stop you from trying. It taught me in life there are going to be ups and downs and it’s all about how you handle them (I mean shoot in baseball you fail 7/10 times and because of the other 3 you’re considered great). It taught me that you are always being watched, that there are people looking up to you and it’s how you handle that platform that matters. It taught me to share my story using this platform, and even more so. It has allowed me to share my love for Christ and my testimony. This game though won’t be around forever for me to play. But the memories I have made in it will last a lifetime.

  Recently I was released from my time with the Rangers, and although the news struck me. I have been given a chance to step back and reflect. I have always been told, “this game isn’t who you are,  it’s just what you do.” And although there is some major truth to this, that I will never find my identity in this game. This game has molded me into who I am. It’s a part of me. Like I mentioned earlier, all of the things it has taught me. My time in this game has let me be around some incredible people. Honestly I would need another post to just thank all the people I would want to in my baseball journey. But it’s because of all of those people, all the teammates, all the summers and long off-seasons. Because of my family who has been there for every step of the way. And for those that are still standing next to me, you know the passion and love I have for this game.

  This is not a fair well to baseball. This is just a brief reflection on some things on my mind about this game. Baseball and the things I get to do in this game are not over. And honestly, I cannot wait to see what door opens next. Because this game, this journey. I believe is just getting started...