No knock on this kids handwriting, when I was 11 I didn’t have it all together, but to make it a little easier I wanted to type it out for everyone.
Dear Baseball,
I miss you so much. Every day I am hitting and pitching into the net in my garage. Every day I wake up wishing to play with my teammates. What I love about you is the feeling that feeling when my adrenaline starts pumping in my veins when I make a diving catch, step up to the plate and steal a base. It is comforting to know that you will be back. Video Games of you are not as fun as playing you in real life. I’m mad and sad that we can’t play together but, I understand why. Baseball is my favorite sport and here are some reasons why.
-You can play whenever -It is exciting -Never get bored -You don’t have an excuse for losing -It is AMAZING
Now you know why I love you and why I want to keep playing!!
Lve, Nolan (AKA Golden Spike Omaha NE)
A Breakdown
I’m not crying, you are. Don’t think I could have described my love for baseball any better Nolan, but I wanted to give a full breakdown of this heartbreaking letter. Right off the bat, coming in hot, “I miss you so much.” So little said, but so much felt on that one. I think this is really where Nolan brings you in. Let’s keep reading. Nolan has turned into every child to man that still ties up their spikes during this time, hitting and throwing every day. All the major food groups being addressed. Aldo, kudos for this kid for knowing the word adrenaline and using it in the perfect sense. Every player in any sport knows this feeling. You may not be stepping up to the plate or stealing a base, but that adrenaline rush you get when you look in the face of adversity and overcome it. That feeling of pure bliss and joy, the moment we athletes continue to reach. 24 point Scrabble word Nolan, nice. That comforting feeling that sports will be back in our lives, whether that be sooner or later that date is coming and it keeps us sane knowing that eventually we will overcome this. I think we all turned to MLB the Show for our withdrawals, that seemed to come out at the right time. Isn’t it ironic that it makes me to want to go out and play baseball even more? Sad, I know. “I’m mad and sad that we can’t play together but, I understand why,” probably my favorite line that that describes our whole situation. The sports world came to an abrupt halt, and many of us were just not ready for it. Or let me put it better, just didn’t realize how bad the situation had become for it to get to this point. Nolan gets its, but he also adds why baseball is the best sport ever created. I’m biased okay. You can play whenever, ehhh I’ll let this one slide. Clearly Nolan is a grinder that doesn’t care about playing in the snow or rain. It is exciting and you never get bored, again Nolan has never been on game 167 of summer ball somewhere in middle Illinois. Just kidding, those were some of the best times I’ve ever had playing, right again. You don’t have an excuse for losing, absolute veteran point made by Nolan here. And to close it all out, it is AMAZING. With amazing in all caps, there is no better reason to love baseball.
Baseball doesn’t have an address. It is universal, it lives throughout anyone that has ever picked up a baseball. I hope when baseball finally resumes, this letter is posted in every clubhouse for its players to read. To understand what it feels like to be a kid again and fall in love with the game of baseball. It got taken away from us so fast, that it left many of us both a mixture of sad and mad. If there’s a positive out of all this is that we should never take anything in life for granted. It can be taken away all in the blink of an eye, but as Nolan says there’s still hope. Through our resilience, we will see sports again, hopefully very soon. Stay safe everyone and I thank you Nolan for reminding what’s like again to be a little leaguer in love with the game of baseball.
The Washed Up Athlete 