I was recently digging around in my basement and found an box filled with some really old life memorabilia.
A softball signed by a bunch of people I don’t remember took me back to that softball game when I was in my late 20s.
I was not into sports at all growing up. In high school I enjoyed being in the band but didn’t really enjoy the football games we sat through and played at. No basketball, no soccer, I tried high school wrestling but my family didn’t have time or money for that.
After my wife and I moved to Georgia we got involved in a church. One summer they had sign-ups to be on the church softball team. i had never played softball on a team like that, and I wanted to get to know more people, so I signed up. My shift work kept me from a lot of the season but I played a few games.
I had explained to the coach that I had not played ball growing up. He took the time to explain things to me, and put me the outfield during the games. Whenever I was up to bat I tinked the ball and was usually thrown out before I made it to first base.
One game late in the season I went to bat. Everyone in the other team’s outfield came in close to the lines between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd base, laughing about how easy this was going to be. I connected solidly with a pitch and the ball flew over their heads all the way to the fence! I ran as fast as I could and made around to 3rd base. The next batter got a solid hit and I ran and touched home plate. I had scored!
I got a second hit my next at bat. It was solid and went far! I ran as fast as I could and thought I could make it all the way around. The coaches were yelling at me and I thought they were cheering me on when they were actually telling me to stop on 3rd base. I got tagged out before I made it to home base.
We won the game, and our coach had everyone on the team sign the ball. He made a big deal about presenting it to me as the game ball. It was great!
And it was one of my few good sports experiences. Fun!
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