Finally on the diamond again

I have finally played in a Braves game. We won 10-3 over Eagle Lake Wednesday night. Kelvin pitched, but didn’t have his best stuff. And he was afflicted with “the old.” 

Eagle Lake had their biggest threat in the first after a couple errors allowed them to load the bases. Kelvin kept it to one and then we scored seven runs over the first two-ish innings. 

Chris got a single on a ball he was trying to hit over the fence. The ball bounced in the hole between first and second for a hit. 

A new Brave was welcomed to the team. Stay tuned for more info on him. 

Oh, and I got to bat in the eighth inning. 

I had forgotten how much I loved playing baseball. I guess you could say after high school I did the opposite of exposure therapy with baseball. Well, not exactly, I coached and umpired all summer when I was age 19-21. 

But the playing part, I avoided that like the plague because there was nowhere I could play. Or so I thought. 

The rust from not playing for six years is still very much there–but I had no trouble remembering how to walk to a batter’s box and swing. 

The first pitch was at my knees over the center of the plate. 

I could have swung, but I really didn’t want to risk rolling over in my first at-bat. 

Second pitch was up and away and, well, I like pitches up in the zone and I like hitting the ball the other way. So I whiffed at that. 

Down 0-2 the pitcher tried to throw the same pitch twice more but I laid off. With the count even at 2-2….

I should end the story there, but I’ll punish myself. The pitcher threw a curveball, which I forgot a pitcher could do. And, well, I picked up that it was a curveball, but I was sitting on a fastball so, my brain malfunctioned.

When the game was over I was happy to learn my dad came to the game. He asked me before the game if there was a chance I could play and I thought there was so I told him that. And, well, I’ll just copy and paste the loving message I opened from my dad after the game:

“Never take strike three looking. At least I was here to see it.” 

Blake Nelson, the manager, got a really good laugh about that. 

During my high school career I only struck out looking one time. I also finished with the second best batting average. But who's bragging.. Oh me. 

Driving home from the game several thoughts occurred to me. I really, really love playing baseball. Being on the diamond, in a dugout or watching the game from the stands is simply intoxicating. Baseball has been a big part of my life and to basically have gone without it for this past half decade was a, I’d almost call it a mistake. Except, I believe my life experiences during that time have been worth it. If I had spent those summers playing ball, I would have prioritized baseball as I had every other year of my life. I would have missed out on some incredible friendships I’ve developed and some unforgettable experiences. That said, I get to experience all of that with my new teammates.

The team is large this year, as is the amount of rust I have to shake off. I don’t know how much I’ll play, but I do know this. I’ll love every minute of it.