For The Love Of The Game - Baseball

As a kid, I grew up tossing the baseball in the backyard.  I played tee ball, but was too scared to play in the little leagues until I was in middle school.  I actually only played one season of youth baseball.  It was a great year.  I was a pitcher, playing for the Mariners at Shorty Howell Park.  I threw harder than most of the kids, and before I knew it, I was pitching in every game, and started the 1994 All-Star game.  What a year it was!

My season started off rough.  I hit a batter in the leg, I gave up a grand slam, and I didn't last a single inning.  I batted clean up and went 0-4.  I fractured my ankle twice thanks to a slide into third and a line drive up the middle.  But, after practicing and practicing, I turned it around.  I settled down, struck out batter after batter, starting piling up some wins, and started making a name for myself.  Before I knew it, I was trying on my All Star jersey, wearing number 4.  I was my favorite number, 26, during the season.  My best outing was against the Marlins, which I struck out 5 batters in two innings and got the win in relief.  My longest outing - 6 innings versus the Rockies.

This is our All-Star game in Forsyth County, Georgia.  I started the game, which was against Mountain Park.  I pitched three solid innings, leaving with our team in the lead 2-1.  We ended up losing that game 21-7.  Still, it was an awesome experience that I will never ever forget.  I remember warming up, not throwing very hard.  The catcher asked me what I was doing, and if that was all I had.  I told him to be ready for what I had coming.  I pitched in our next game against Rockdale County, which we also lost.  I came in as a relief pitcher, and though I did not fare as well, I truly enjoyed the experience and will cherish it always.

My love for the game of baseball translated into a passion for church league softball.  Here I am in 1996 getting ready to head down to Norcross, Georgia to take on our opponent.  I always looked forward to playing softball for a number of reasons.  All my friends played, which made it a lot of fun, plus I was a pretty decent player.  I tended to play left field or occassionally at 2nd Base.  As a team, we weren't all that great.  We only went 4-12 or something similar to that, but we always had a great time and enjoyed the camaradere.

I continued to enjoy playing softball in college.  We always had an intramural team.  From the Fighting Squids of 9th Dana, to the Renobs and Down South Players - I always loved playing the game.  I almost always hit clean-up or second in the lineup.  I played Center Field or Left Field.  My knees gave me problems and so did the muscles in my arms, but I always played through the pain.  I just couldn't stay away.  This is our softball team from Senior Year in college. While I try to remember everyone's name, it is difficult.  By the way, we lost that game.  The scoreboard tells the story of our title hopes that year.  Our sophomore year team was the best, we almost won it all.

Top: Andrew See, Warren Brown, (unknown), Trick, James Garner, and Ian Cooper Bottom: Bart Milner, Davin Millholland, Joe Psaila, (unknown) Ian, and Blake Fuller.