Baseball is Life

I can remember when I was seven years old I went to a Giants and Dodgers game, I was as close to hell as I ever hope to get, Dodger Stadium.  In that game in 1992 a pitcher named Kevin Gross did the unthinkable to my Giants, he threw what is known in the biz as a no-no.  I was the only person in the stadium crying tears of anger and sadness as I walked out with my Dad who was wearing a Dodgers hat.

That same year on my way home from visiting my aunt and uncle in San Mateo I cried as news broke that the Giants were going to be moved to Tampa Bay.  They ended up staying.

A year later I was at Candlestick park sitting in terrible seats when chants began to ring out, first it was "BEAT LA" then an inning later it turned to, "DODGERS SUCK."

When I was ten I went to a game for my neighbors birthday, I got to run the bases at 3COM park at Candlestick Point.

In 2000 I went with my Dad sat 13 rows behind home plate and watched the fifth game ever played at AT&T Park as Barry Bonds faced off against Randy Johnson.

My Dad slipped into a coma that night he never woke from hours after Bonds broke the all time home run record of 755, he ended with 762.

I took Sarah on our first date to watch the Giants get beat by the Twins.

I took Cooper to his first game at four weeks, and Micah to his first at five weeks, it happened to be game three of the NLCS where Matt Cain shut down the Philadelphia Phillies.

I watched the Giants win their first World Series in 56 year with four generations of fans, the youngest being less than two months old and the oldest being in their 70's.

I watch baseball because I love the game.  I love situations, I love the grass, I love that the game that was invented over 150 years ago has remained largely unchanged, I love that no matter what happens in life, baseball will be there.  The history is rich, the stories have been written since the 1880's.

There is just enough time in baseball to see tragedy and triumph coming at you like a freight train.
There is enough time in life to have no clue what is going to happen.

Baseball, like any other hobby or sport that people love to revel in and waste time on, is great for enriching your life, but terrible for turning it into your life.  There was a successful t-shirt that said, "Baseball is life" I had one, I wore it with me blue and white striped denim shorts in the early 90's.  That shirt is not only wrong, it's sad.

Life is bigger than that, it is more important than that.  We've been entrusted to pass on a message that is better than tracking a team.  What have you dedicated your life to?