Story About Baseball

From early one, I was a standout in baseball. From ages 8-13, I made the league’s travel all-star team. Being the only black kid and the only one in public school, I often found myself sometimes out of my comfort zone when it came to hanging out with the team. Generally, the team consisted of the same players and coaches every year, so the faces rarely, if ever, changed. As we got older, things began to change. I eventually found myself on the pitching mound for my respective league teams starting at age 10. Now, not to toot my own horn, but I was hands down one of the better pitcher’s considering that I was younger than many of my fellow peers. By the time I was twelve, I could throw a ball almost 70 mph. At age 13, my team went a whopping 15-1 beating teams by an average margin of

It was very hard to accept that I was not as good as the other players that made the team. But what was also equally frustrating was seeing that the hard work I had put into preparing for tryouts had not paid off. For the first few weeks after being cut I was in a very bad mood. As the team started their season without me, I was missing baseball badly. At this point it became clear that I had two possible options.

Eventually, the tryouts came, and that was the best I’ve ever played baseball before. I threw and caught the ball better than ever. “I have watched all of you

Not making the baseball team was easily the most humiliating thing I experienced. The whole week after I couldn’t even look at a baseball without thinking of how big of a failure I was.

My most memorable baseball experience came not when I was eight, beating several of my friends on the opposing Little League team, not when I was 15, against our cross-town rivals pushing my school team into the JV playoffs, but just a couple weeks ago, marking the first win of the team that I helped coach. It was just the second game of our season, and only an hour and a half long, but it was a representation of the backbreaking work applied by everyone involved. After my ninth grade year playing JV ball, I decided that I needed to focus on my school work, as it was tough to maintain my grades while juggling sports and other extracurricular activities. However, I continued to play club baseball, as my passion for the game never faltered. The trend continued in my junior year, as I needed to drop club baseball in order to keep up with the challenging courses I took. My coach, who I’ve been with since 6th grade, asked me to come back out whenever I was available so I could help prepare some of the younger boys in the program for the upcoming season. One of my core beliefs is that it’s important to give back to those who helped or supported you; the least I could do for all the years that my coach helped me, was to help him back.

During my childhood, I grew up in the town of Randolph, Massachusetts. Most of my childhood memories came to be in this town. Throughout my childhood, I had many memories that I still vividly remember to this day; learning how to ride a bike, graduating kindergarten and learning how to read and write. During my childhood, there were days where I felt unstoppable, but there were also days where everything brought me down. Even during these difficult days, there was always a place that I looked forward going to; the baseball field. I began playing baseball when I was about 7 years old; although some people found the sport tedious, I instantly fell in love with the sport. I may have not been a prodigy at the sport, but it was one of the only

My coach asked who was interested in catching. I immediately raised my hand. I started working with my coach, and staying after games and practices, just to get more practice in. I had my coach tell me tips. I stayed after for 30-45 min a day just to get better. I was really committed to it, and I knew my coaches knew the same, because before I knew it, I was the starting pitcher for the Iowa Falls-Alden Cadets. I was so excited to play, I could hardly sleep the night before my first game as a catcher.

Baseball was my life for as long as I can remember. I loved every second of it. The CRACK of the bat on the ball, the sound of a cheering crowd as your round third base, The feeling of America’s pastime, always gave me the greatest sensation. I practiced all the time. Tossing with my dad, hitting balls of the “T”, trying to make myself better than I was the previous day. I was a first baseman, and for good reason, I never let anything get by me, I wasn’t to shabby at hitting either, and through countless days of execution of these particular set of skills, I made sure I stayed that way. I worked my tail off to become the best of the best. I wanted it more than anyone else. But sometimes we don’t get what we want.

It was a bright sunny day with the weather not scorching hot and a perfect day for baseball. The grass was green and very cold and watery. The first time I hit a homerun I was so amazed especially cause I’m not a big hitter. I was almost up to bat, and I really wanted to redeem myself cause I was walked both times I was up. I really wanted a good game because most of my family was there so I can impress them.

At first, it was very tiring, but later, I started to get the hang of it. That’s when I wanted to be athletic and I strived to be the best player on my team. Everyday, I would run three laps with my dad at the California State Park and it was very strenuous. It wore me down, physically and mentally, and it got to a point, where I couldn’t even run at all. It was a frustrating experience, but in the end it was all worth it. I couldn’t wait to go to the next practice to show the new me. I was very excited and when we did the next stretch, I did it like I was taking out the trash. My coach saw improvement and I got a lot of playing time due to being able to run fast and hit the ball very good. On the last inning, we were down by 1 point and I was determined to keep us alive. I did everything to the best of my ability. I was on third base and my teammate, Jake, was batting. He, unknowingly, hit the ball towards the direction I was in and my first instinct was, we lost… I just lunged for home base as fast as I could and my teammate behind me survived. We both got to the home base and we won the game by 1 point. I won the MVP, but I knew that I didn’t enjoy baseball and decided to play

From the moment I stepped foot in the ballpark I was enchanted. The electric atmosphere gave me a rush, the fans walked around with a type of unsaid companionship simply due to the fact that they were all there for the same reason: to watch the sport they loved. At that moment I was reborn. I fell in love with baseball the same way racing stole my heart. I started little league shortly after and it was a disaster. I had 3 hits the entire season, my teammates would even cringe when they saw my name in the lineup. I had a year until high school and nobody thought I stood a chance of making the team, but I saw the doubters as motivation. I was not going to let my new love slip away from me just like my first. I was determined to succeed at all costs. I worked all throughout the offseason. Finally, tryouts rolled around and to everyone’s surprise I made the Junior Varsity team my freshman year. I spent most games on the bench but I remained determined. That summer I worked even harder than the last and became a starter on JV my sophomore year. I was hooked on baseball and couldn’t be shook. That summer I worked harder than I ever have in my life with a few other teammates. Through baseball and my undying determination I have built some of my closest and meaningful friendships, I lost 50 pounds, and made varsity as a starter my junior year where I had the game winning hit in the final inning to send our team

As the sun hits my face and I breathe in the fresh air, I temporarily forget that I am at a sporting event. But when I open my eyes and look around, I am reminded of all things American. From the national anthem to the international players on the field, all the sights and sounds of a baseball game come together like a slice of Americana pie.

The season finale for The North Dakota Schall’s amateur baseball team was not without a few strikeouts but ended the season on a high note with 5 home runs. The game started off a little rough when Taylor, who was having a good start to wrestling season, struck out early in the 1st inning. Having had trouble with fainting, fatigue, and poor circulation in his hands and feet; Taylor was off to the doctor for some testing and to figure out what was going on. After several tests and a trip to the pediatric cardiologist Taylor was diagnosed with POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). It has been an ongoing battle throughout the season, but with medication, rest, and lots of water and salt he has more good days then bad.

Here I am, school is getting out and all I have to focus on is my first game of district baseball game. They are talking about the game in the office so that everyone is there to watch. I have played in hundreds of baseball games in my lifetime, but not one of them compared to this one. This game is the biggest one of my career. I have been thinking about this game for the last week, yet I have been imagining a game like this since I was a kid playing catch with my dad. Everyone has been talking about it and getting pumped up at school, the entire pep club is going to watch. The players are all nervous, including me. It is my first time ever playing in a district game and I am starting on the bump.

Before New Era, I played on a team from Bradford called the Allegany Mountain Men. We weren't very good at all, we didn't win any tournaments or many games, it was embarrassing. It was pretty much get players and boom we have a team. I played pretty much anywhere like catcher, pitcher infield, and outfield. I don’t know why I played catcher because I'm a lefty, so that didn't make much sense. We went to Cooperstown to play in a tournament with 104 teams. At the tournament I hit two homeruns, and hurt my thumb. We finished 48th, we did a lot better than I thought we would do. After the tournament my dad said, "We need you to get on a better team."