It's been about a year since my baseball career ended. It didn't end exactly how I would've liked for it to, but we can't always control those things. I still remember that last game like it was yesterday. After the final out was made, it hit me. I wouldn't play baseball again. I wasn't going to play with the guys I'd played with for the past 10 years. That was it. After that final out, the first person I saw was our pitching coach, who had been a close family friend for many years. He was like an older brother to me. I saw him and he saw me, and then I got emotional. He had already gone through what I was going through at that moment, so it would've made sense for him to not be that emotional. Except he was; he knew this was it for me and the other seniors. Next, I looked out on the field to see one of my best friends, who was kneeling by first base, just as emotional as I was. After we went through and shook hands with the other team, there was nothing but raw emotion. We had poured our hearts into the game we loved only to have it end so abruptly.
Looking back on my baseball career, I don't have any regrets. The only thing I'd do differently is work harder to pursue and reach more of my goals. Baseball was good to me. I knew my career was going to come to an end in high school. I came to terms with it at the beginning of my senior season.
Growing up, I didn't love anything more than baseball. It was my passion, and still is today. There was nothing like going to the batting cage with your teammates and hitting for hours or going to the softball diamonds and having home run derbies. The friendships that baseball gave me are unlike any other. Some of my best friends were made through baseball.
One thing I noticed in the past year was that I can appreciate the game so much more. I can see way more hidden aspects of the game now. I can turn on a game on television and just appreciate the strategic aspect of it all. I can watch highlights of Noah Syndergaard and love how he paints corners with a 98 mile-per-hour fastball. Or I can see Giancarlo Stanton hit a mammoth home run and notice how quickly his hands got through the strike zone. These sound simple, but while I was actually playing baseball, I couldn't really notice and appreciate these types of things.
In the past year, I've made a lot of strides toward my academics and future career. Even though that's a great thing, I still wish I could be on the pitching mound thinking about how to pitch to a certain hitter. Of course I'm going to miss playing baseball for the rest of my life, but I've come to terms with the fact that my playing days are over. I'm content with that fact. At least I have baseball I can watch on television all spring, summer and fall. I miss the friendships, the camaraderie and the mental aspect of baseball.
Lastly, I'd like to say thank you to the game of baseball. It made me the person I am today, and I wouldn't trade that for the world.
