The once starting pitcher for the lil’ monstars’, is now a right hand reliever for the most winning team in the majors, the New York Yankees. My dream as a kid was to be in the Major League Baseball Association. I am finally here, my big day, my first game in the big times.

We arrived at the Boston airport at 8:00 am for our inner league rivalry match up against the Boston Red Sox. During our two hour practice I was already building up the butterflies in my stomach, wondering if I was going to get the call from the skipper to play in my first ever pro game. Trying to get to sleep the night before the big game is like trying to grip the soap firmly in the shower, hard to do. So with a total of four hours of sleep you could imagine how getting up out of bed was at 6:30 am. Rough start to a big day.

The bus ride to the stadium was very climatic and filled with anxiety. The eagerness of winning that game today was obvious looking in each player’s eyes. As we inched closer and closer to the ball park my breath starting getting shorter and shorter because I was so nervous. There it was.

The stadium glowing with lights, and filled with people really set the mood for our game. When I was walking with the team to the locker room and while I was getting dressed deep down inside I knew today was the day I throw my first pitch.

Finally the game starts and the stadium is packed! Through three innings our starting pitcher threw lights out and going strong so I was thinking if I play it will not be for a while. Same story through five innings as well. The score was four to three going into the top of the ninth and we were winning, that’s when my time came. In the dug out the phone rang and automatically my heart jumped out of my throat I knew what it was about. At first my manager started questioning the call but within seconds he hung up the phone and went on to tell me, “Warm up kid, and get loose”. I felt like a little kid in a candy store, a smile slapped on my face from ear to ear. After a few warm up tosses, I was ready to go and on the mound.

Before I started my motions I had to think of my situation, “If I strike this guy out Boston has to get another run in order to win the game.” I was under some thick pressure. First pitch, strike. Second pitch, strike again. Third pitch, ball. The count was one ball and two strikes. Fourth pitch, strike! I struck him out! This strike out got our team rolling on some momentum and we ended up stopping the Red Sox and winning the game. I could not believe my accomplishment but at the time all I could think of was, “It started with a dream”.