MSBL World Series Champions

Each & every one of us are special. We continue to compete at something long past when reality should have set in. Obviously, we enjoy it. We are sometimes frustrated, or irritated, or stark raving mad. We hate losing, we are critical of ourselves, our teammates, & even our manager. Yet we show up almost every Sunday, We hurt until Wednesday if we are lucky, otherwise longer. We don't HAVE to be here, John doesn't HAVE to be here either. WRONG! We do have to be here.  

You see, every once in while it all clicks. You make a catch or a throw, or you get a hit, or do something within the game. And for that short time it's like you are suspended in a perfect universe. Nothing else matters. There is nothing on earth that replicates THAT flash, that perfection, that essential moment. We all share that regardless of our individual abilities. Other people don't get it, & we can't describe it to them. I wish those moments came every day like they did when I played every day.

Congratulations to the newest Jim Eaton Award recipient, Mike Taylor. What you do every time you play just so you can hobble onto the field is nothing short of remarkable. However, it pales in comparison to what I see you do on the field with your glove, or arm, your bat (occasionally), & your eyes. You see everything on the field. I am lucky, we are all lucky, to have you as a teamate.

You should all raise your glasses, no not your reading glasses, & I will raise mine for a toast. Toast each other as teammates & brothers, brothers who have an inexplicable bond to which only ourselves & others like us are privy. It is special & so are all of you. Play Ball.

 Tom #28