For a girl who begrudgingly endured baseball games (one right after the other) as I was watching next to my dad or grandpa, it sometimes amazes me how much I love baseball. I used to think it was just some grown men, batting around a small white ball and running around the bases, but now after being married since the new millenia to a baseball fanatic (aka enthusiast) and now raising my favorite baseball player, who from very young had an understanding of the strategy of the game far beyond his years (me: what? there is a strategy to batting that little ball around the green grass?), I have grown into a somewhat aware fan.
When our youngest son was little, I remember standing in the check-out line at Aldi with him and his big brother. He, of course, had Cleveland Indians garb on and someone commented on it. His response was something like “if you don’t like the Indians, you can’t live in our house!” Oh my! I suspect he was more right than I was willing to admit that day!
So, spring not only brings the excitement of the Indians’ new season, it brings the joy of watching my favorite player play ball. He has come a long way from the little guy who used to set up a baseball diamond in the living room in front of the television and duplicate and emulate what he saw the Indians doing, including pitching, batting and running the bases! This is the boy who at two-and-a-half years of age played t-ball at the “Y” in town and was disappointed when he learned that there were no balls and strikes and that they had set up little individual diamonds on each base so that the coaches could teach the game on small scale to the other kids. He was trying to turn double plays when there weren’t even any outs. It was an outrage to him that everyone got to bat every inning whether or not we had exceeded three outs.
So fast forward through 14 years of recreational baseball teams, coaches and games to one and-a half years ago when at the end of the rec league scheduled games he said he needed and wanted to play more baseball games. So we did some investigating and he started last year playing for the local high school. It was just what he needed, even though it wore him out. After homeschooling for so long, I wasn’t prepared for being on someone else’s schedule and it was a tough adjustment but so worth the sacrifices as I watched him thrive under better training and the love of playing more games.
Now we are halfway through the schedule for high school baseball and it is going too fast. He has improved so much in strength and skill. Watching this young man play what he loves is so thrilling. So, our lives revolve around the schedule of games dictated by coaches we know and those we don’t know, by the weather – both spring and winter like it’s been this year, and it is so worth it. I absolutely LOVE watching him do what he loves and what he seems to have a real talent for doing.
It’s hard to believe that in another short three weeks, he will have another high school baseball season under his belt and he will be heading to play with his friends on the rec league where he admits there is less pressure. I am well aware that there won’t be very many more seasons before this part of the journey is over and I admit that I dread it. What fun it is watching your child thrive at something they excel at doing. So, as crazy as it is, I am hanging on for the ride! So, see you at the ball park, whether local or Columbus Clippers or Cleveland Indians. It’s for the love of the game!
