After taking the 1st game from the Pinetoppers we lost the next 2. All in all, however, I feel pretty good about the team. A lot of the guys on our team have a lot of talent; it just needs to be refined and that's exactly what this league is for.
This leagues lasts a total of 42 games and apparently the Macon Pinetoppers will be the home team in all 42 of their games so you kind of have to deal with the fact that you'll never really have anyone cheering for you...unless you're me. The Monday game was Camp Day at Luther Williams Field so we had around 100 kids from a Summer camp in attendance. We also just happened to have a 2 hour rain delay before the game started. Seeing my opportunity I grabbed one of our pitchers named Mike Bzozowski (awesome guy...his glove was blessed by the Pope!) and the two of us went up in the stands to hang out with some kids...definitely the best decision I've made all summer. I signed everything from normal stuff like balls, ticket stubs, and hats to things a bit stranger like a Bakugan (I think that's how you spell it...crazy kids) card, a "Go Pinetoppers" poster, and most of the kids' arms. We took picture after picture and really just got to love on some kids and really make their day and maybe their whole week. Every one of them got a high five and a hug and I just hope that I made them feel special and important. If how loud they cheered for me was any indication, I did a good job...such an amazing feeling.
There were two or three things that really stand out in my memory. When we first went up all the kids rushed over but were immediately yelled at by one of their chaperones. She told them in very stern language that the line to meet the ballplayers started with her. We signed her stuff and took pictures with her. 2nd, was the girl who shook my hand and then told me she was never going to wash her hand where I'd touched her. I can remember saying the exact same thing to some of the ballplayers at the New Orleans Zephyrs games when I was their age. I remember how much I looked up to those guys and if these kids looked up to me in that same way then I feel absolutely honored and humbled and just blessed beyond belief to have this ridiculously amazing opportunity. It really puts things into perspective. I may have a bad game or a bad couple of games but it really shouldn't matter. Every day I get to wake up and do something that so many people can only dream of. If that weren't enough I don't just get to play this game, but I get to be somebody's hero. It's what I've always wanted, but I realize now that if I had been given this opportunity when I thought I deserved it I wasn't ready. I may have been ready to compete at that level, but being someone's hero is a huge responsibility. God's timing is perfect and He has matured me to a point where I will definitely make the most of this opportunity. Hopefully, when these kids look at me as a hero they see my hero...my Savior and Lord.
On a side note I finally got a hit in the 6th game. I knew it was just a matter of time, but I would have loved for it to come a little sooner. Now the hit parade can commence.
No comments:
Post a Comment