Spring is in the air and that means the weather is starting to become warmer and the trees and plants are beginning to look beautiful as God made them. The warmer weather also signals the time where the baseball season starts and that is a great thing for this guy. Baseball has been one of my many passions since I came to learn about it when I was 6 years old. I used to always want to get the paper and flip straight to the sports page, more specifically the baseball section. The box scores and game recaps were things of great reading while I was growing up. Living in Atlanta, the team I have always rooted for has been the Atlanta Braves. Through the nineties, they pretty much were winning the division with amazing pitching from players like John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. With 14 National league titles and a World Championship won during the ninties, the Braves made themselves a team of force to reckon with. My favorite game to watch is a pitching duel between two great pitchers. I got to witness this and still love watching replays of it from the 1991 World Series Game 7 between John Smoltz and Jack Morris. The Braves lost the game, but it was an amazing game and baseball at its best!
As some one who has Tourette Syndrome, playing sports was something that helped to relieve me of stress and take the focus off of tics. I still remember having tics that made it difficult when I was running as well as fielding when I was playing on defense. I pretty much played in the outfield and the tics drove me crazy while standing out there by myself for long periods of time. I also seemed to have this anxiety feeling whenever I was fielding and wanted the ball to go anywhere but where I was because of the fear that I would do something that would hurt the momentum that our team had or make the other team pound us even more with hits and runs. Even though I had this feeling, I still wanted to do well and help my team as much as possible to win the game. That competitive spirit still stood within me even though I had thoughts that would make me think otherwise. For anyone who is unsure how they will perform or that they are not doing what they could, stick with what you love and know that hard work does pay off when you strive to succeed.
Growing up I played baseball from the ages of 7 to 15 in a church league. My best year in the church league was my last one where we won the championship and during the season I had one game where I was hit by a pitch and then the next at bat got my very first triple. It was an amazing feeling and a great accomplishment that I felt at that time. I still continue to play, but usually it is whenever I can find time to grab a mitt or bat. The smell of the freshly cut grass at the beginning of the spring and each game is a memory that is etched in my mind since I started playing. Peanuts and cracker jacks are essentials at the ballpark as well as hearing the umpire yell, "You're Out!" after the batter gets three strikes. Even though, there are players that have used steroids and other enhancement drugs to increase their performance, I still feel that this sport is one of the best when it is at its purest form. Nothing beats standing in a box looking at a pitcher and knowing that one pitch could change the complete outcome of the game.
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