A Pair of Batting Gloves

Sunday night was an extremely sad reminder of the business that the game of baseball at this level has become. One of my best friends in our organization called me into the hallway following our double header and told me that he had been released, and I was crushed. This is a guy who I have played with since we both got drafted sharing over 200 games, hundreds of hours on buses, and including portions of 3 different seasons. The stories and memories that he and I have can only be understood in a way that good friends can. I'll remember the way he hustled, the way he believed in himself, and his heart for playing the game the way it is supposed to be played. When a player gets released it's kind of like a death in our baseball 'family.' They fly out the following day and because of how players are from all over the country and the world, many spend the rest of their lives never to cross paths with one another again. The past few days I have thought a lot about how that isn't much different from real life. We don't know the day or hour when either you or loved one is called into the 'manager's office' to be told that your time is up. I had just had dinner with my friend the night before, and had hit with him off a tee that very day...and now he is gone. When I got to my locker the next day, I found several bats and a pair of batting gloves that he had left me. I wore them yesterday in honor of him and to carry on the dream that he had left behind. Isn't that what we are doing here in life, carrying on from the ones who came before? It makes me wonder how will I have lived with the time I was given, what kind of legacy will I leave behind, what will I have left behind besides just a pair of batting gloves...

I'll miss you dear friend!