I spread the clay at the plate with my red Nike cleats. I get my first glimpse of my fierce competitor. He’s staring at me with red beady eyes. I have the feeling of the matador, face to face with a raging bull. The feeling of fear begins to overwhelm me, but I stop before I go over the limit. I have to drain all of the fear to even be able to get the bat off my shoulder. To overcome the fear, I try to fill my body with confidence. He gets his sign from the catcher, to see what pitch he wants to hurl my way. He winds up and delivers. A loud smack answers his pitch and the ball rockets over the fence. My teammates smack me on the back for a job well done, for its my first homerun.





Hitting is not the only important part of baseball. Fielding is just as important. Some say that your best offense, is your best defense. There’s nothing like standing on the clay diamond, waiting for a ball to come your way. My anxiety levels go through the roof when I see the small white sphere shredding through the grass towards me. I always have to remember the phrase, “ball first.” It is surprising at the amount of people who attempt to throw a ball without it actually being in their hand. When you hear the loud grunt of the umpire saying out, your team gives you a thumbs up, and settles in for the next pitch.
Hitting and fielding are two of the most important aspects of baseball. You can be a good hitter but if you can’t perform well in the field you may not get an opportunity to play. The object of the game is to score more runs than your opponent so you need to be able to hit well and then play good defense when the other team is up. Teams that only excel at one typically do not perform as well as teams that are good at both. I always work and practice hard at both hitting and fielding to help my team be successful.


I eat, sleep, and breath baseball. Baseball has a very rigorous schedule and it leaves me with little time to do anything else. I have to be committed to this life. I also have to balance enough time to do my school work and getting good grades. This requires a commitment that many people don’t seem to understand. A commitment that only some can make. That commitment is, “ Baseball is the love of my life!’