For some of us already, we worked for countless amount of years, months, days, and minutes to perfect the art of the performance.
Since I was a little kid, my dream was to, one day, become a professional baseball player.
It started unconsciously when my mother first started to take me to a baseball clinic once a week on a Sunday, where I would spend 6 hours on a baseball field practicing with other kids. This would continue for every year from the age of 5 to when I was 12; 6 years my mother and father would take turns me to this clinic and devoted there time for me to do this.
Honestly, I didn't this thing so-called baseball at first. I was dragged into it. I might have played catch a hand full of times with my father before this. But it wasn't after I joined my first little league team that I really started to fall in love with the game.
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| Smiling for the camera at the baseball clinic in Palos Verdes, Cali. |
As I grew up playing baseball, stats and ratios were implied in the game as the years went.
During the freshmen year of high school, I remember when a coach told the whole team...
"Only about 1 in every 5 go onto play college ball after high school. 1 in every 50 get drafted from high school and college. And 1 in every 200 make it to the Show."
The ratio might be off but, he told us something like that.
In the four years of my high school, I would say I spent more time on the baseball field or doing something with baseball than I did in my living room. Unlike most people, I had nothing else but this game (I was in band, but didn't really take it seriously. Probably wouldn't have been so mediocre if i did).
After high school and in retrospect, I was probably an average or maybe even below average player if I compared myself to my teammates. But I know I always gave it my best, 110% as my buddy would put it. However, hard work didn't give me an opportunity to play anywhere out of high school.
Then, from making phone calls and to talking to people I have met throughout the years, I was fortunate to be able to play in college for 5 years.
A lot of sacrifices were made but, those five years, I say were the best days of my life.
After I got done playing, and again, I wasn't the best on the team, but I still had an itch to play and still do. I still work out like I would be ready to play in a game the next day and be better than everyone else out there. But I know, in fact, that in reality there are others better than me.
But that part of me that wants to play is still saying, "Take a chance. Try asking around and go for it if it comes to you. It doesn't hurt to try. You're still young. Go for it."
That means I would have to sacrifice the part time job I have right now, which my mother wasn't really happy about if I did have an opportunity to play (on the other hand, my father is up for it).
Then after a couple of days of thinking it through if I do want to really try to look for somewhere to play or not, my strength and conditioning coach posted an article on Facebook, which caught my attention ( http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sportingscene/2013/10/why-i-quit-major-league-baseball.html?mobify=0 ).
After reading this article, it made me think a little more.
This guy was a first round pick in 2006, spent 6 years in the minor leagues until he got brought up the big stage and quit after 45 games. Who would do that?!
He does have his reason behind why he ended his career as a professional athlete, but some people would give up their right nut to play in the Show.
But as I mentioned, this made me think a little more. Playing baseball (varies in other sports) only gets you so far in life, a person that gets brought up at the age of 20 or 21, might have a 20 year career, but after that, essentially, their career is over They can work within the sports world (They probably a lot of connections with A LOT of places anyways) but their playing career was short lived.
Making a life long decision are difficult at times. I bet Adrian Cardenas was going through a roller coaster of emotions making this decision, even though it seemed like it was a simple decision he decided to make.
For me, if I did get a chance to play, I don't know what I would want to do: Find a job or play.
Big stage or not, making decisions aren't going to be easy. But taking a chance at sometime might make it worth it.
Do what you love and not what other people want you to do; don't let others write your story for you...
Jun
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