Well the Cardinals won their 11th World Series on Friday. I watched all of the games (as best as one can with one TV and no DVR). I was confident during the entire series that the Cardinals could win the World Series. I watched as Pujols hit 3 homeruns in one game, and David Freese hitting a two run triple in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game in Game 6. I saw Lance Berkman tie Game 6 in the bottom of the 10. Then I saw David Freese hit the game winning homerun in the bottom of the 11th inning. Game 6 was an emotional roller coaster for me. Emily could not stay in the same room as me because I was upset at the Cardinals at the beginning of the game and I was being snappy and rude to her so she went into the bedroom to study. I watched the rest of the game and at 11pm I was clapping loud, yelling, cheering, etc. My neighbors probably hate us but since the World Series is over I should be okay for another year. Game 7 started off sloppy but slowly turned into a good game with the Cardinals pulling out on top.I feel for the Rangers though. Having played baseball for several years I have had those games where we were one out, or one strike away from winning and losing the game. I can only remember a handful of games from my playing days. All of those games though were either emotional highs or emotional lows. Some of the games that I remember is when someone on my team threw either a perfect game or a no hitter. I remember I caught the final out of that game. My dad was the coach and it was a fun game to be play. I remember my freshman year of high school during the school year. I remember hitting the smack out of the ball. I cannot remember how many triples I hit but I know I hit several. I also did not strike out at all during the high school season. That summer was one of my favorites when I played. I remember playing in Wichita and having some great plays at first base and also losing in the bottom of the 7th to a great team. We were up by one and the pitcher gave up a walk off hit which knocked us out of the tournament.
The next year I remember playing against my little brother, Wes. I was on the 16 and under "Major" team and Wes was on the 16 and under team just below the "Major" team. We were both playing for Old Ballgame and we played each other a couple of times during that year. The hardest one though was when we were playing for the Kansas State Championship and Wes and I played against each other. It was hard because I had friends on both teams and it was hard to play against them. I did not start that game but I did come in later and made a difference for my team. My team did go on and win but it was hard because I saw the emotion on my little brother, and how my parents were conflicted. My dad was one of the coaches for Wes's team and my mom sat right in the middle and cheered for both. They wanted to be happy for me, but also feel bad for Wes. I cannot imagine how my parents felt.
After that season I did not want to play against Wes ever again. The next year I got my wish...Wes and I were on the same team. I loved that year of baseball. I remember playing at the Kansas State Tournament and Wes and I would bat one, two. One of us would get on base and the other would drive them in. Wes and I carried our team through the State Tournament but we were not able to defend our title. We then went on to the World Series in Oklahoma. I did not play a single game until our final game. I played the final three outs in the field, and after that game I hung up my cleats on the most sour note. I felt betrayed, hurt, my confidence was shaken. I could not understand why I did not play a game, why the coach never game me a chance after I had proven myself all year. I was so mad and angry for so long about that last tournament, but I slowly got over it and I cannot imagine how hard it was for my coach to please everyone.
My last games were when I was at BYU-Idaho from January - August 2005. I played baseball during that summer, but again I did not play much but I was okay because I was out there playing baseball and I loved every minute of that season. Last year my dad, Wes, Seth, and I all went down into the batting cage underneath the baseball field at BYU and I was able to hit again for the first time in 5 years. And not to brag I did amazing ha ha. This past September I was able to play catch with my dad for the first time in probably 6 years. That meant a lot to me because I love this game and my dad was my coach for several years. He taught me how to love the game and how to think smart while I played. So playing catch with him this past September was amazing to me.
Sorry for the rambling but I had a lot of thoughts when I watched the Rangers Cardinals series. I felt for the Cardinals because I have won those kind of games but I also felt for the Rangers because I have had those tough losses. Again I love baseball and go see Moneyball one of the best baseball games out there. I cannot wait for April when the baseball season starts up again.
