So You Wanna Play Professional Baseball?

For the first time in the past six months, I woke up this morning and it was February 3 (there is a joke in this business that every day is Groundhog Day [February 2]).  This was the first time I did not have to think about how to pitch an opposing hitter, or what to look for from an opposing pitcher.  The biggest concern I have is how to get everything to fit in my car to make the long drive home to Tampa.  In the coming weeks, it is unlikely I will watch much baseball until the post-season.  When the season ends, the only thing players want to do is nothing.

I cannot make an accurate guess of the miles I have amassed this season by car, bus, and plane.  This journey began with a flight from Tampa to Tempe for spring training March 1 and will be concluding with a 1,300-mile drive back to Tampa in a few days.  Things could not have gotten off to a rockier start out of spring training with our connection in Dallas being cancelled, resulting in the team being put up at a Radisson, then flying out the next day to Chicago, only so we could bus four hours west just to get to our home city for the season. 

As a brief summary, I have bussed across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin.  I have flown to Tampa from Chicago to get my car and drive it 1,300 miles north during the All-Star break.  I have also flown to San Jose (to play with Rancho), Tempe (after being placed on the disabled list by Rancho), and back to Cedar Rapids (after being activated from the disabled list).

I have endured, snow, sleet, freezing rain, game-time temperatures in the thirties (wind chills below that), and playing with the four layers of clothing needed to deal with such conditions.  I have played on days where it was so cold I could see my breath and days it was so hot I sweat through my jersey before the first inning.  I have dealt with two-hour rain delays, tornadoes, and a flood.

While I had the misfortune of seeing a city ravaged by Mother Nature, I was able to see a city unite and rebuild.  I was able to see a community unify and support each other through times of need.  I was able to play for an organization and a team that was able to reach out in the community to make a difference in the lives of so many that were affected by this tragedy.

I have been elated in amazing and improbable victories and been crushed in heartbreaking defeats.  I have seen players, but more importantly great friends, come and go.  I have lost four roommates and seen three players released.  The emotional highs and lows of this season outdo the biggest rollercoaster you could ever build.

The last six months have passed at a blur, and it would take me days just to begin to recollect all of the memories and knowledge I have amassed during this time.  What began back on March 1 has finally ended.  I am mentally and physically exhausted and in need of major decompression.  There are things that I did well this season, and there are things that I could have done better.  Rest and reflection is the next step from here, followed by the intensive off-season training regimen to prepare myself to do it all again next season.

Several people have questioned why I put myself through this lifestyle when it appears that I could take my Bachelor’s and almost Master’s Degrees and go get a lucrative job in corporate America.  I stick around because I love to play the game.  I love the challenge that every day presents and how you never know what the next baseball discovery you will uncover.  I stay in the game to experience the moment I did when we defeated Clinton in the divisional semifinals Thursday night.  The excitement that our team shared that night with each other and with our devoted fans that made the trip is something I will never forget.  This was the first playoff series Cedar Rapids had won since 2000, and it was amazing to see the energy of the team and the fans after winning that series. 

As I have said from the beginning, it is every little boy’s dream to play professional baseball.  Yes, baseball is a fun game to play, especially when you are growing up.  But, when that decision is made to seriously pursue that dream and do everything in your power to make it, the only thing that is going to stop you from playing is your body telling you you cannot continue, or all thirty professional baseball organizations telling you that you are not good enough and cannot continue to play.

Once someone has vested a certain amount of time and resources into something, it makes walking away impossible.  A few weeks ago, we were told that ‘Every day you spend not working on one aspect of this game, you slip one day farther away from making it to the top.’  While I only recently heard this, I realize that I have had this attitude ever since I made the commitment to chasing my dream of playing professional baseball.  This is not to say that you cannot take any off-days, but the biggest thing I could advise anyone is that I was able to become the player I am through hard work when no one was watching.  I was not blessed with much God-given ability like the players I have always been playing with.  I do not have the speed, arm strength, or power that some of the other players have.  However, I have a work ethic and the knowledge to work on only the things I can control, and get the most out of the ability I was blessed with.

This journey has always come down to making sacrifices and dedicating myself to becoming the best player possible.  I played with many players growing up who had more talent than I did, and everyone thought those would be the players that would be playing professionally one day. Of those teams I have been with, I am the only player still playing today in affiliated professional baseball.  So, it really comes down to making a commitment to yourself that you are going to put the effort into achieving whatever your goals are.  Some people realize along the way that it is not what they really want to do, and that is fine, but if you really want it, give it everything you have.  You have to put your energies into the things you can control.

In closing, I thank everyone again for keeping  up with this blog this season and everyone who has given me words of encouragement and support.  I will conclude this season’s entries with a quote I have hanging in my room and it is one that I feel everyone can find validity in: “For those who dream, there is no such word as impossible.”

Thank You

We began the playoffs with a compelling 3-0 victory over our divisional rival Clinton last night, the type of start we were looking for.  While we drew a small crowd of 1,000, you could tell everyone was into the game.  At times, I was convinced that the crowd was louder than some of the 3,000-fan nights we grew accustomed to during the summer.  However, with it being a school night in the middle of the week, the crowd was about what we were expecting.

We are more than grateful for those fans that took the time to show up last night, as well as those who listened to the game on the radio or read the recap in today’s paper.  I felt it necessary to take the time to thank many people for this past season, from those who made it possible both on the field and off.  While this will not be my last post of the season, I wanted to do this sooner rather than later.

First, I thank my parents, brother, sister, and extended family for all of their support and the interest they have expressed throughout this season and in my career.  I thank all of my friends from home, Rochester, Tampa, Tempe, Rancho, and everyone else I have met along the way who have checked in with me along the way this season to see how things were going.  I thank my host families for their support and interest during the season, as well as providing me with a place to live and some meals along the way.    

With regard to the blog, I have to thank Amy Gunnells, the sports editor at one of my hometown newspapers, The Independent, for getting me started with the idea of keeping this journal.  I also thank Jeff Johnson with The Gazette, for providing my blog a local distribution medium, by linking to it on their website, as well as through a special interest article he wrote during the season.  Stephen Smith with futureangels.com has also been key in the publicity of this blog, and I thank him for all of his help.  I also want to thank Anita Tsuchiya, who has aided in increasing my readership by writing about my blog in hers (which can be found here: The Sporkball Journals).  Another person who has been a big help to me with this blog is Erin Gallagher, who has let me bounce ideas off her all season and provided me valuable feedback along the way.  I thank all of the readers for keeping up with the blog and the teams I have played with, especially those who have taken the time to comment and ask questions.  This blog’s readership has far surpassed what I envisioned it to be, and I am truly grateful for the interest.

For the on-field side of things, I thank Jack Roeder and all of the front office staff for providing the Kernels with the opportunity to play in Cedar Rapids and all of the great things they have done for us during the season.  Jesse Roeder and the entire grounds crew have allowed us to play on one of the best fields in the league, even when the weather was unfavorable, especially toward the beginning of the season.  I thank Sonya Masse and the pep crew she led during the season to keep our fans involved during the game, as well as organizing all of the community events we were able to assist with all season.  Our radio broadcaster, John Rodgers, has been great all season with his enthusiasm for the team, even when things were bleak, and his radio and community work is greatly appreciated.  We would not have been able to get anywhere without our bus driver, Jim Willenbring, and his support on the road is matched by few.

Finally, I thank the fans, the city of Cedar Rapids, and all of its surrounding communities.  Without you, there is no baseball.  The entire team understands the hardship that you have endured with the floods this year and we cannot express how thankful we were to see your continued support this season, even during the trying times, when we know that you had many more important things to attend to than baseball games.  Even though we will be leaving shortly, our thoughts will be with you, pulling for you to overcome this detestation and become even stronger than before.  Words cannot express how thankful we are for your support this season, and we know that you will continue to offer this to the future teams of Cedar Rapids.

My apologies if I neglected to specifically mention certain individuals, but just know that your support and interest has been greatly appreciated.  I thank everyone who has taken part in my 2008 season.