BASEBALL UPDATE

I'm heading to second base after knocking a double

My son scoring from third

Team high fives after yet another Brew Crew victory

A few months ago I wrote a post titled CHALLENGE YOURSELF.  The post discussed that the way I stay motivated to workout, eat right and stay physically focused is to play baseball.  Well, because I baited you with that post, it is time for me to man up and post the results.  The pressure has been on this season because I knew that in fairness I'd have to share my stats and if I had stunk it up, you may well have booed me.  Our team the Brew Crew just wrapped up the 2012 regular season with a 8 win 2 loss record winning the league title.  This is excellent baseball played with wood bats.  Our team is made up of a mix of current and former college players and a few holdovers like me.  We are stacked with pitching and have had eight different players take to the mound this season.

To give you a bit of an insight to the type of competition we confront, last Friday night the pitcher we faced just got released after three years in the minor leagues having reached Double A.  He pitched five innings against us and left the game up 4 - 2, but we got to his replacement and won the game 7 - 4.  Then Monday night we faced a pitcher who just completed his college eligibility at a Division I school.  It was a tight contest with the Crew coming out on top 2 - 1.  Fun stuff!

So how did I hold up this season as the 52 year old guy playing with the 21 year old kids?  I went 7 - 16 for a .437 batting average with 1 double, 3 walks, 7 RBI's, 2 strike outs, a .500 slugging percentage, a .526 on base percentage, and an OPS of 1.026.  I fielded all of my chances in the outfield cleanly while usually battling the wicked evening sun (love those 6 PM start times).

While I am happy with the stats, contributing to a team and helping the team be successful is what it is all about.  This season I got to play with my 24 year old son who just wrapped up his college baseball career.  He will soon be heading back east to graduate school so this could very possibly be the last time we play together.  Who gets to play on a competitive team with their son?  How lucky am I?  What great memories.

So here is a restatement of a TIP FROM A MAN... figure out what is YOUR baseball.  Figure out what gets you excited and drives you to stay young.  Figure out what you look forward to.  Figure out what connects you to other people where the goal is more of a group success than just a personal success.  For me it is baseball.  I love golf.  I love to ride horses.  I love to ski.  But I LIVE to play baseball.  Without a doubt the clock is ticking on me.  How much longer I can continue to play at a high level no one knows.  I certainly am not going to hang on and drag the team down that's for sure.  But I am going to fight to continue to be competitive and I hope you do as well!

Enjoy life!