We had our first game at our field yesterday although we were the visitors. We played the other local Hamburg team and they were the home team. It was freezing cold out, but it didn’t matter. If you couldn’t see your breath or frost on the field it sure felt like it. I used to worry about where I was playing, what level it was, who was the competition and whatever else I could clutter my mind with. None of that mattered, not today. It was like opening day. We were at the field early, the music starts and the field is being chalked and I think to myself there’s no place I’d rather be. It didn’t matter where or what or how, the only thing that mattered was, I was standing on a baseball field.
We split, the same as we did the first series. In the first series I hit a homerun, which I don’t do very often so that was kind of exciting because it was different. I don’t know what the big deal is with homeruns, they are over as soon as they are hit. I’d much rather watch a triple or a stolen base, but everyone likes to see the long ball. So this series I played well but nothing different.
What was different was the end of the game. Both teams line up at the opposite corners like a boxing match and meet in the middle of the field. Much different from what I am used to. Usually we meet at home plate. This time, as last weekend the players stop in the middle of the field and clap for the fans. Can you believe that? I’ve never heard of anything like this, how great is that?
Fans really make it worthwhile, they make it possible. From the kids to wives, girlfriends and family; I’ve played with many guys that had to stop because of their family, here it seems as though they play for them. That appreciation for the fans is really something to see.
Recently I was a fan sitting there in the freezing cold. It’s easier to play than to sit or watch, I can tell you that. You have a different mindset. You are focused on the game not the cold. All those games my mom and other family members sat in the stands freezing means much more to me now than it ever did.
Fans can never be thanked enough. I have a friend I met my first year in college, he’s from Japan and lives there now and he still follows everything I do with baseball. That means a lot to me. Thanks to my fans, to my family and friends that watch for results on the internet, that ask and talk, and hope. Those little things mean more than words could say.
