Friday, February 27, 2015

Baseball Will Break Your Heart....


Dear Tyler,

I came across a quote today that I felt was appropriate to share with you….

“It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, you rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then, just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.” -A. Bartlett Giamatti

Bart Giamatti was accurate. Baseball will break your heart. But the Commissioner was only talking about the heartbreak a fan feels upon the finish of a single season. For you, a ballplayer, heartbreak is inevitable, and the more you love the game, the worse the pain will be.

I remember when you felt baseball was the most important thing in life. Not one of the most important things, the most important thing. At twelve years old, you fancied yourself as a pretty good ballplayer. You were the star pitcher for your team, and you weren’t too bad at the plate.   Your fastball was decent and you were known for “threading a needle” with your location even at a young age.  Your hitting was consistent, with enough power to (on rare occasions) get the ball over the fence. I remember you wanting to go to practice an hour early because there was nothing else you’d rather be doing. Playing ball was so important to you that we scheduled family vacations around your baseball schedule…..and that was okay!

I remember you being anxious about how high school ball tryouts.  After all, you hadn’t played with your Shenango classmates since you were nine years old.  You worried about if you would get the chance to pitch or if you’d be on the bench most of the season.  You knew that at this level, the game was faster and the competition more intense.  As it turns out, you held your own during your high school years and became a top-notch pitcher in the county. 

You did well on your summer ball teams too.  It was sad when you decided to stop traveling with the Cleveland team, but it all worked out.  You made new friends in Youngstown and you rose to the level of play that was expected in that league. Baseball life was good!

Now you are faced with a new level of play.  Collegiate baseball is far different than you, than we, expected.  You are dealing with a tough- in-your-face style of coaching that you aren’t used to.  You are learning how it feels to be a “little fish in a big pond”.  You are trying to adapt to being a freshman reliever who will see limited innings as opposed to being on the field every inning of every game.  You have, unfortunately, already witnessed heartbreak with players who quit or were cut. 

Baseball will break your heart…..


 
I hear it in your voice sometimes when you call.  That sound of defeat.  That sound of feeling as though you are getting passed over by the game you love so dearly.  I can’t imagine how hard it is for you.  All I know is that I want to fix it, to make it better.  To help bring back that love of the game you once had.  I know it’s still there.  More importantly, I don’t want baseball to break your heart. 

But unless something changes, that's not going to happen. I keep telling you to have a good attitude, to just go out and enjoy playing ball and to make the best of the chances you get. But deep down, I know how hard it is for you. 

I know that the game will tell you when your fastball isn't fast enough; you aren’t hitting your corners well enough; your fielding not good enough. Unfortunately, even a very good ballplayer spend most of his last season on the bench. If he doesn't, he quit playing too soon. I know that sooner or later, your season on the bench will come, and the game will ask you to leave.  Your heart will be broken, as will mine. 

Keep in mind though, Tyler, that even the greatest players are not immune. I think of Tony Gwynn, one of the greatest hitters of all time. I think of him at age 40, with a place in the Hall of Fame locked in, squeezing out one last season on bad knees; still able to hit, but no longer able to run well enough to play regularly. Spending one last season on the bench, watching his younger teammates play a young man's game.

Baseball will break your heart….

Remember, for all the joy there is in playing baseball as a twelve-year-old, for any kid who really loves the game, there is heartbreak ahead. That's how it goes when you love the game as much as you do.  You can hang on for as long as you want, and I hope it’s at least for a few more years, but baseball will eventually break your heart.

Why?  Because God created the sport with twelve-year-old boys in mind.  And the older you get, the less the game really wants you. Sooner or later, the bat is no longer quick enough, the fastball is no longer overpowering enough, the legs no longer fast enough and the hole in the needle you thread your pitches through gets smaller. 

I love watching you play. You play the game with passion and intensity. I’ve seen you stomp your foot in frustration when you or a teammate make an error, and I’ve seen you celebrate wildly when a run is scored for your team.  But as much as I enjoy watching you play and as much as I’m anticipating the start of this season, I can’t help but to feel a sense of sadness.  Sadness because I know you love the game and you love to pitch and that means that someday your heart will be broken. 

But it's worth it, Tyler. The joy of the crack of the bat, the excitement of striking out the opponent’s big hitter, the pleasure of hitting the corner with a good fastball, the satisfying teamwork of a well-executed double play, the fun of being part of a team, all make the unavoidable heartbreak worthwhile.
One of the best things to keep in mind, Tyler, is that the game will let you come back. Come back to a pickup game on a summer afternoon. Come back to sitting around the television with your kids late at night (when you know they should already be in bed), watching a team claw back from a three-run deficit in the ninth, and feeling that, for just that moment, whether that team succeeds or not is the most important thing in your world. Come back to the joy of teaching a child how to swing a bat or how to make the throw to first. Come back, most of all, to the memories of when you were a ballplayer, with an impossible dream that you didn't want to let die.

For now, though, enjoy the game, Tyler.  Love it like you did when you were that twelve-year-old boy standing tall and proud on the mound.  Being the “little fish” isn’t easy, but you will grow to be the “big fish” again.  I know you will. 

Have Fun…..do your best…and enjoy your freshman season! Go Redhawks!


Love,
Mom


Sunday, February 15, 2015

Always Put Your Best (Digital) Footprint Foward.......


In light of recent events in my life, it made me ponder about my son and the digital age.  I have spent countless hours preaching to him about his “digital footprint”.  Telling him teachers, coaches, and future bosses all creep social media sites to see what they can find out.  Moms aren't they only creepers out there.  I've told him numerous times, “Be sure your brain is awake and ready before your mouth or fingers move”. 

Your digital footprint paints a picture of who you are.

So now I wonder if he and other young adults understand what a permanent digital footprint is. Do they get that once they post something on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, SnapChat, Instagram etc., it lives in cyberspace forever. This includes text messages on their phones and other types of communication.

Every day, whether we want to or not, most of us add to a growing portrayal of who we are online; a visual rendering that is probably more public than we believe. This portrait helps companies target content at specific markets and consumers, helps employers look into your background, and helps advertisers track your movements across multiple websites. Whatever you do online, you might be leaving digital footprints behind.

I honestly don’t think people realize the level that this can hurt them if they abuse it.  Whether you're a pop icon, a college freshman, or a middle age adult, no one's immune from public scrutiny. A status update or 140 characters Tweet can be enough to seriously offend others, and ruin your reputation.

With presumably every teenager active these days on social media, it is important that they understand what is appropriate and inappropriate for them to be posting on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  They all need to follow the philosophy of "Pause Before You Post".  For high school athletes that want to play at the next level, they should never let a 140 character tweet cost them a chance to play or a scholarship.

It’s not only teenagers wanting to play college sports that need to think about their digital footprint.  Adults do as well.  It’s easy to be hurtful from behind a computer screen.  It’s easy to post insensitive comments anonymously. 

But are the comments really anonymous when posted online? Can the posts be traced by using an IP address or anything like that to find out who made the posts? The answer is yes.  Teenagers, as well as adults, need to keep in mind that there is hardly any anonymity online. It is safe to say that a person should not write online what they will regret later.


Bottom line is that many of us are sharing and publishing online.  We need to remember that with each post, status and photo we are contributing to our personal brand.  Wouldn't it makes sense to always put our best foot(print) forward?