Happy Fathers Day to all of the great Dads out there. For as much as today is a celebration about Dads, I also wanted to briefly touch on how I feel that Baseball and Fatherhood are forever linked together in my life.
I am a proud Father of two children. I have a 12 year old son and a 3 1/2 year-old daughter. My son despises baseball and is a soccer player That is OK with me; I fully support his soccer ways even though I don’t understand the game nearly as much as I do other sports. My daughter sometimes asks me to play baseball with her and I’ll pitch her a large bouncy ball underhand that she will then smack with a random toy or stick. Hey, it all has to start somewhere right? This past week during one of my softball games I looked over to the stands and saw my daughter there watching me with my wife. Instantly my effort and energy level went up 100 percent. I don’t think my daughter really knew what she was watching, just that her daddy was playing baseball.
Some of my fondest memories of my Father stem from baseball, and we can always fall back on it no matter what. The one sport that I can honestly say was in my blood was baseball. Going to Comerica Park or Tigers Stadium with my family was a staple of my childhood and we still frequent as many games as possible. I have seen some very special moments while at baseball games with my father, most notably the day that Doug Fister struck out nine Kansas City Royals players in a row a couple years ago. I even have a photo of my Dad and I from that very special moment. I hope that as a father, I can share a moment like that with my children at some point in their lives.
My Dad was and still is, a pretty darn good softball/baseball player. I still get the chance to play with him on the field at least once a week. There is just something special about being able to share such a simple game with your father. This past week we had a very special moment as my softball team usually rotates some positions every once in a while or when a game is out of reach. I naturally play third base, but got asked to play first base for an inning. I look out to the other side of the infield and my Dad was manning shortstop and my little brother was at my normal position, third base. I know that probably doesn’t mean much to the average person reading this, but to me it meant the world to be on the same infield with my Dad and Brother, even if it was only for an inning in a simple game. It was just a very cool moment.
I remember a couple years ago when I hit my first home run in softball. Yeah, not that big of a deal I know, but I remember getting on the phone mid game to call my Dad and tell him, although he didn’t answer because he was mowing the lawn. I wanted my Dad to be the first to know of my silly achievement. My Dad has always been there to pick me up, whether its after a bad play made in the field or a bad decision made in life. He has always been there. Much like baseball has always been a part of my life, thanks to my Dad of course.
So Happy Fathers Day to my Dad, and all the fathers that may be reading this, I hope you all have a great day and spend it with your children. I am looking forward to being at church with my Father in the morning, watching my Son play in his soccer game after, and of course watching a little baseball to end the day. That is exactly how I want to spend my Fathers day.
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