Saturday, June 11

The Great Game

In my time here on Earth I have found many things that I like, someI hate, and a handful of things that I love to the absolute core of me. A few of them lead to the namesake of my quaint little blog, such as my love for nerdy things, over-the-top action movies, and comic-book heroes always coming through when it matters most. A few of these things I love are tagged all along my facebook profile, from smart-ass comments from my buddies to smiling picture after picture of my girlfriend and I. But one thing that I love and got to spend a great weekend around is the great game of baseball. I spent a long weekend in Boston with a few buddies just soaking in one of the greatest sports cities in America. Boston has sat on the harbor since the very foundation of our country and it feels like baseball has been played there ever since.

I started playing the sport when I was 4, and can still remember my dad handing me my first glove in the garage and telling me, "Son, we're gonna teach you how to play ball today." It's simple. My dad and I stood out in the yard and tossed the ball back and forth until I learned how to move my glove to catch and how to use my arm to actually throw something instead of just flinging a toy across the room like I tended to do during childhood tantrums. It all started as a chance to just spend some time with my dad in the yard and evolved into a lifelong learning experience, a pastime, a chance to get active, and ultimately, a love. People who question me when I tell them my favorite sport is baseball (especially since most of them know how big of an Alabama football fan I am) usually don't recognize the intricacies of the game. It's not slow, it's a chess match. It's not boring, it's about anticipation. It's the most level of playing fields, no running out the clock, no changes of possession, each team HAS to get their chance just as the other team HAS to do all they can to stop them.

We've all seen the "All I really need to know I learned from kindergarten" poems and posters, and the countless variations ever since. Well, I won't say I learned all that I needed, but I can definitely say I learned many lessons from my favorite sport. Some of them are cheesy, but some helped make me who I am today.

Gotta see it before you hit it
Hit the ball before you run
Be aggressive, that's why stolen bases are a stat
Don't be too aggressive, that's why caught stealing is a stat
Sacrifices are always appreciated, although not always capitalized on
Don't forget to stop and stretch
Don't be afraid to use the cut-off man
You will strike out
You will get to bat again

But seriously, playing baseball taught me how to learn from those with experience, how to work hard enough to beat out guys bigger than me, how to make the most of the times I couldn't beat out those bigger guys, and how to share in something bigger than myself with a group of guys close enough to be brothers by season's end. I was even fortunate enough to have my dad as a coach in 7th and 8th grade before making the high school team. I can remember the smiles on his face in the third base box after I'd get a hit or drive in a run, but even more so I remember the rides home with him after games I had two strikeouts, or an error defensively. He was never angry, and that always surprised me coming from a man as competitive as he is. It wasn't ever a moment for anger, it was always a moment for teaching. It was "Now you know what that curveball looked like coming off his hand with 2 strikes" or "Don't let that bad hop get to you, remember to stay down of those grounders."  Thanks to those car rides I was able to face my faculty advisers after every technical presentation of my senior design project. I don't have to fear the negativity when I have the learning experience to look forward too.

I know this has gotten a little more philosophical than a simple "Here's how my trip to Boston was" blog post, but frankly, baseball has always been something very deep to me. Although my favorite team may lose, guess what, there are 161 other games. Although my team may not win a championship during a particular season, guess what, there will still be another season next spring. But when my team does win the game, or win a series, or even win a championship, it makes me happy to the core. It's not because I grew up in the shadow of Fenway park, it's not because I have season Red Sox tickets. No, it is because I know the strategy involved in every single inning, I know the feeling of spending extra time hitting in the batting cage, I know the love it takes to go out and play the great game.

"The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love."
-Bryant Gumbel

And to Poco, here's your challenge: for your next post you can't write out any outline, can't revise and reorganize. Feel free to correct spelling and grammatical errors (but I'm pretty sure English majors don't make any). Just let it all spill out onto the page as it comes to you. Game on!

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