Baseball-Personal Narrative

Anthony Keith Gwynn, if I were to say his full name like that most people wouldn’t know who I was talking about, but if I were to say Tony Gwynn then it is a whole different story. Yes, I am talking about the Tony Gwynn who played for the San Diego Padres, and later become one of the most decorated baseball players of all time. Yet, just because he was such a successful baseball doesn’t man he never failed. His failures are what made the man so successful, and just like me I failed quite often. The game of baseball is full of failures, one being a persons batting percentage. A good batting average in the MLB is around .333, that would mean that every three times that someone is up to bat

It was the beginning of Spring 2015 and I was in 4th grade. Baseball season was right around the corner and I was shopping for gear. My baseball team, the Alameda All-Stars, was put together by me and my twin brother, Austin, when we asked our friends if they wanted to play with us.

“Unfortunately, Jack, there will not be many opportunities for you this year.” Seconds after being told I had made the varsity baseball team, I did not expect my coach to so bluntly tell me I would be spending more time watching the game than playing it. Our state ranked team had a pitching staff full of Division 1 commitments and future MLB draft picks, and I was being told I did not measure up. The bench became my best friend.

Softball. My favorite sport. It’s not a contact sport so, the chances of me injuring another player are slim to none. Or so i thought….. I was in Traverse City last year with my team for a softball tournament. It was the fifth inning of our morning game, we were down by a few runs and I was on deck. “There is one out,” I thought to myself “I have to get on base.”

When I was younger, I always wanted to be someone famous like a singer, an actress, or even an astronaut. But one day I came across a sport, but this was not just any boring sport to me, it was a sport that I knew I wanted to do for a career or even until I grew old. It might just be a ball and bat to some people but to me it felt more than a sport. It felt like an endless vacation from everything going bad in my life. That sport is softball. But I knew something that felt so wonderful has to have some challenges.

Five minutes after I arrived at my brother’s Babe Ruth Baseball game, I was asked to step in and umpire because the current ump had to leave for an emergency. Having experience umpiring little league games already, I willingly accepted. Not knowing what I was getting into, I returned with my gear on and restarted the game. The first batter stepped in and walloped the first pitch he saw down the left field line. As the ball rolled out of play, the runners continued to sprint around the bases and the play continued. Realizing that the ball went under the fence, I called timeout after the play and met with my partner who agreed with my view. I moved two runners back on the bases, taking away two runs from the hitting team. The team’s fans

Dane Kutnick is in right field , Tanner Smith at first, and Jason VanDenLangenberg is catching. We have played 3 tournaments together, but we already looked like we have been playing together for a long time. We may not have known it yet, but they were going to turn one of the best plays of the year.

My team began to rally back it was bases loaded and I was up with one out. The other team had changed pitchers to try to get them out of this crucial situation. I stepped up to the plate and took a strike the count 0-1, the next pitch came it looked like a small white snowball, and I swung my bat and managed to hit the ball. I began to start praying that I hadn't lost the game by hitting it to one of the fielders that would make the out. The ball kept going and going until it had finally went over the fence to be a grand slam. After it went over, it filled me with so much relief and I made me so relaxed that I thought I was floating on a cloud. It was my first home run ever, and now we were winning 5-4. The crowd began to scream and my dad started running to recieve the ball. We were able to hold them off and win the game 5-4 to advance to the next round. I walked out of the dug out and everyone began to cheer my name, my face was filled with a smile bigger than the sun and earth combined. I was happy but now it was time to see who we would be playing in

It was a scorching 100 degree summer day. It was the start of the 11 year state championship baseball game against Albert Lea, I still remember that game like it was yesterday. It was miserable out we played three games that day before reaching the state championship. When the game started I kind of forgot about how hot it was out. We started fast scoring 2 runs in the top of the 1st inning Dylan and Reno each crossed the plate that inning. Derek took the hill to pitch, he started with 2 strikeouts and a lazy fly ball to left field. Then I was up to start the top of the second inning and I watched the first two pitches pass for balls and then on the third pitch of the at bat I hit a line drive to left field for a single but the next three batters all got out. Tanner got up and said

I play softball. It was All-Stars, and we were in first place at the moment. We had won three games, to London, Circleville, and another team whose name I can’t remember. It was the second to the last game, and our team was watching from some nice shade in the outfield (By the way, it was in the 90’s while we were there. It felt like a sauna!) Everybody was all sprawled out on the shady grass. You could smell sweat and sunblock in the air. We ate Flyers pizza, and candy (probably not a smart choice), and made sure to drink a whole lot of water. Both of the teams we had already beaten multiple times, so I didn 't see the sense of playing them again, but we had to anyways. We listened to the crickets chirping in the pond behind the field, and heard the crack of the bats slamming against the softballs being pitched. The London team ended up winning by one point, which was surprising because they had been

When we got to the stadium my aunt gave me some money so I asked my dad “Can I go get a drink and some popcorn?” He said “Yes.” When I went to the concession stand I got what what I wanted. I came back the game was about to start.

Everyone 's at least broken a bone or injured themselves before right? Well this is one of those tragic stories where I unfortunately injured myself.

For a young baseball player one of the highest goals to achieve is hitting a homerun -for me that was all I wanted. I already achieved most of what I wanted in baseball, and one of my proudest was a no-hitter, but it was no home run. When I first realized how bad I wanted this feat was one night after a practice where all we did was just hit. The majority of my teammates hit at least one homerun that practice, but me I hit the fence but never was able to send one over. The car ride home after the practice was horrible, I was a mess. I told my mom, “ I’m horrible at this game, I get so close everytime and I just can’t hit a ball over the fence.”

Crack! That was the sound echoing off my bat. Down the baseline I went running, turning first base looking to see where the ball was. Sliding into second base, I was safe. I stood up and heard the roar of the crowd. I had just knocked in two RBI (run batted in). From the chalked-up dirt to the fresh cut grass, a softball field is always a place I love to be. No matter where I am in life I can always rely on softball to make me feel better. I started this physical activity in 5th grade. I found out that I love the sport and was exceptional at it. Over the years I’ve gotten stronger, faster, and overall better at softball. Four years into it and I have some great and some painful stories. I’ve learned many things about softball, but one that has stuck out to me and that also applies to life is that it can be fun. However, sometimes things happen and people have got to just keep pushing through it.

My nerves were racing in my stomach to no end. I’m wondering if everything is ok? Will everything be as I planned? I couldn 't stop thinking what might happen. Thoughts were running wild as I thought about my team going on to play without me. I couldn 't figure out why I had to let the team handle the game without me. I had played with them all season and some for a few previous years and when they needed me the most, all I was able to do was watch from a TV. I hated the feeling of helplessness that I had, but at the same time I knew there was nothing I could do about it.