Your Life's Footprint

The greatest legacy is that which benefits the widest number of people for the longest period without limit to value.  Cat Stevens

Baseball lost a great man today. Gary Carter succumbed to brain cancer at the age of 57. Best remembered for his contributions to the 1986 New York Mets and their World Series championship, he was a leader. But that is not why I write today. I write not to eulogize him. Instead I write because I am thinking of the legacy of life and the footprint we leave during our time on this terra firma.

Gary Carter had no impact on my life. However there are those that he did impact - friends, family, and teammates alike.

It can be quite humbling to think of one's impact on the world. Who will remember you when you are gone? What will they say? Some will have more influence on other people's lives than others, but no one leaves this world without making some sort of impact. To be a leader is to not only get people to follow you, but to understand the impact you have. You may not be aware of it, but it is happening. And this impact can last long after your respective lives have charted different courses. And this was the impact of Gary Carter. He was a man who did not participate in the wild living of his teammates, but instead walked the straight and narrow. It was years after that many of his teammates realized he was a man ahead of his time. They looked back fondly on the time they spent with him and realized the impact he had on their lives.

Three years ago I was blessed with the opportunity to begin coaching baseball. It was, in fact, my main motivation for beginning this blog. I've documented what I've learned a long the way and some of the experiences I've had. I've had the chance to teach and learn all at once. It can be somewhat humbling knowing that years down the road something I said or did may be remembered by one of the kids. I have no way of knowing if it will positively impact their lives the way Gary Carter did with the people he shared his life with, but I can only hope.

I Am Baseball

biding my time

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops.

                                                      A. Bartlett Giamatti ~ The Green Fields of The Mind

With the dust settled on the 2010 baseball season I have struggled to add purpose and meaning to my life. Much like banging your head against a wall, it hurts not to have baseball around. All this talk of free agents, arbitration, and winter meetings is doing little for me. All talk. No action. It is not disguising the fact that there are still over 3 months until it begins all over again. Alas, life goes on. Or so I'm told. I must do something to  bide my time. Give me a moment to think about this...

OK. My thinking grenades are used up. This off-season I could:

1. Grow A Mo. 
In the spirit of MOvember I could grow a moustache. Like this man, Rollie Fingers.
Ya, no. While I am all for supporting charitable causes, my stache would indeed be trash.

 2. Learn to do The Dougie
Ya, still no.



3. Run. 
OK, getting warmer. I like to do this. It hurts, but I like it. We might be on to something.

4. Eat food. 
Warmer still. I like to do this. A. Lot.




5. Come up with my own cologne. 
It worked for Gustavo Chacin.

6. Blog more. 


7. Pen a Sonnet. HUH?!


Only 7 things to do over the next 3 months. It's going to be a long off-season.






  

World Series Pumpkins

This is something I started a few years ago - Carving pumpkins of the teams that are in the World Series for Halloween.
Here is the collection to date...

 2011
St Louis Cardinals vs Texas Rangers











2010 World Series
San Francisco Giants vs Texas Rangers

2009 World Series
New York Yankees vs Philadelphia Phillies

2008 World Series
Tampa Bay Rays vs Philadelphia Phillies

2007 World Series
Boston Red Sox vs Colorado Rockies

2006 World Series
St Louis Cardinals

come to my window

Some months ago when I started this blogging experience I wasn't totally sure what I was getting into. I saw it more as a diary of the team I coached this past summer with tidbits of my personal experiences in baseball intertwined. The stories came easily because there was so much we did together and accomplished as a team. But alas, that chapter of our lives is now complete. I knew it would be limited in scope, but didn't care - these boys had a story that deserved to be told. I wanted it to not only be readable but relatable. I wanted you, the reader, to in some way, feel like you were a part of the team.

As best I could I wanted to stay away from reporting on events within the broader game of baseball if they had no connection to me. This is your window into my life. You might be saying though, that the blinds on said window seem only half rolled up because when you look through it all you see is a room full of baseballs. There has to be more to me. I can assure you that I do have other interests. I like stuff and I do things.

Soon enough, this window will become a frosty pane of glass with the coming winter months. Other than longing for the beginning of spring training the stories of me and baseball will be largely dried up. Frozen over if you will. Where I go from here I'm not too sure (I've come full circle). Baseball will always be a part of my life, that is for certain. It has been said that there is always a story you just have to look for it. While that may be true, I'm not looking for just a story. I'm looking for a story about me to you.

baseball is love

The other sports are just sports. Baseball is a love.

Those that know me know that there are very few things in this life that I do at a high rate of speed. Some years ago there was a hurricane named Hurricane Nate to which a friend replied, "Don't you mean Glacier Nate?" Touche.

Baseball, of course, is not a game of speed. It is a game of nuances and the unseen. To sit and simply watch is to miss the point. It is a game to be absorbed and appreciated under the glare of the summer sun. Kids play it and adults who still wish they were kids play it.

Growing up, I can remember pouring over the stats in the Saturday paper until I had most of them memorized. And Sundays were for popcorn and scoring the Blue Jay game on TV. These days I drive by parks at night and see them lit up and, like a moth to a flame, I rubberneck. Baseball stadiums are my Disney World.

I have been to the cathedrals of the sport - Cooperstown, Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium, and Fenway Park - and didn't care if I ever came back. I walk out of the tunnel to my seat be it right next to the action or off in the far reaches of the park and stand in awe. Field of Dreams, my favourite movie, so eloquently represents this. Undeterred by all those around him who suggest he is certifiably nuts, Kevin Costner watches a cornfield full of his heroes play a game no one else sees. And that's what keeps me coming back for more. Whether it's a professional who makes you say, "how'd they do that?" or the Little Leaguer standing on first who just drove in the winning run and you're smiling right along with them. Each time it's something new.

Everybody has their passions - mine just happens to be a game.

we are family

Coming from an average sized family as I did, fielding an entire baseball team proved to be very difficult. My mom, as wonderful as she is, was never quite able to master the art of playing pitcher, catcher, and fielding all four infield spots at the same time while my dad, my brother and I roamed the outfield.

Fast forward to the summer of 2010 and I have been able to fill in the glaring holes in my familial defense with 12 new recruits. And as if by some divine Octomomian intervention they all happen to be 11 or 12 yrs old. Add 5 coaches into that mix and we are indeed one big family. We are a family brought together by our love of the sport and desire to accomplish something special this summer.

My newest family members are:
Simon Ranger #3
Matthew Grabstas #5
Liam Gallagher #11
Ben Miller #14
Adam Delfabbro #19
Brandon Chong #25
Justin Mignardi #27
Anthony Marzanek #33
Riley Gray #34
Mark Szostak #77
Caleb Radley #94
Justin Stephenson #98
Dave Whalen C
Andrew Thompson C
Mike Furdal C
Bill Gallagher C

on the road to the canadians

Consider this my first foray into the online world of self disclosure. Bear with me as I figure out this new method of spilling my brand of general nonsense.

For those not in the know I heart baseball - a lot. My playing days are over and I've since turned to coaching. I am an assistant coach of the Ancaster Cardinals that is hosting the Canadian Little League Championships in August. My intent is to use this as part update, part blog, part diary, and part whatever else I decide to tell you as our team of parents, coaches, and 12 incredibly talented boys journey along the road to this once in a lifetime tournament.

If they made baseball advent calendars I would probably have one for this.