"The only sport where you can do something about yesterday, today"

I don't really have a specific place of solace, but if anybody truly knows me they know I find peace in the game of baseball. I don't really know when my love of the game began, but I do know it must have been a quick development. My earliest memory of playing is in my uncle's front lawn around Easter time in the mist of a humid Virginia day. I remember my first Yankee shirt I got was from my grandpa for Christmas in 2003-I credit him for  making me a Yankee fan. It was also 2003 that I can sort of recall watching a MLB game, watching as my mom's favorite team gave up a homerun to Aaron Boone (picture above) sending the Yankees to the World Series. I didn't care though. But, over the course of the 2004 season, I became a fan. I watched Derek Jeter fly into the stands to catch a foul ball, and then saw a John Flaherty double to win the game 10 innings later (against the Red Sox). It amazed me, the sacrifice for a ball, the sheer excitement of listening to the announcers go crazy and seeing the dog pile at home plate. I also watched A-Rod slam into the Red Sox catcher, leading to a full-on brawl in the infield. That summer my cousin and I also started a new tradition-we went to our grandparents to watch the all-star game and sleepover. And, for me, nothing beats the MLB all-star game. 2004 was sort of a clashing year of generations for baseball, the generation of the 90's was fading, and a new generation lead by stars such as Albert Pujols and Ichiro was taking over. That all-star game tradition still continues today, almost 10 years later. We always make room for it, and when we can't we record it and watch it at another gathering. Watching the game just has a soothing effect on me, I don't know how or why. But when I'm going through the rough patch or I'm in a bad mood, I can sit down a watch the game, play it on a video game system, or go outside and toss a ball to myself. I remember last year I was really upset about something, and I was texting one of my friends about it. I remember specifically saying to her "The Yankees better be on when I get home." Most people I talk to hate the sport, they say its too slow and boring. But I say its not, not if you appreciate the game. The number of outcomes of one pitch are fanamonal, not to mention the possible outcomes before a pitch can even be thrown. The game runs at the perfect pace for what needs to take place. And its unique in so many ways, that it can hardly be compared to the other major sports on the continent. One of these is that you can't lose until you actually lose, meaning there is no clock to run out, you can knee the ball. Two years ago I watched a team be one strike away from losing the world series and win it the next day. One time with one out left a Yankee hit a routine pop-fly that ending up falling out of the fielders glove, and the Yankees won. While the time for me to play the game is waining, I know that I'll still be involved with it and one day hope to find a job in it. There is nothing more exciting, mystifying, and calming for me. Its the greatest game in the world, and like someone once said-its the only sport where you can do something about yesterday, tomorrow, sometimes being forgiving, while sometimes causing you extreme frustration. And there is truly nothing more exciting then watching a ball fly out of the park, and listening to the call of the broadcaster: "This is Boone's first at bat of the game-ITS A FLY BALL DEEP TO LEFT, THERE IT GOES AND THE YANKEES ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES..."