[RE] Deportes

"The biggest influence of my life would have to be sports and now that I am done playing competitive sports, I am starting to think about all the great times I've had."

 This was taken from Jon M's post "Looking back".  I can relate very closely to Jon as we both were involved in Alameda sports in our earlier years.  I however was involved with Alameda baseball.  Alameda baseball has had such a profound effect on myself as an individual ever since I joined single A ball.  I hadn't played tee-ball or coach pitch league, and this was my first year, but already I had began to assimilate into the Alameda baseball culture.  People who are involved in Alameda Baseball all know each other and keep tabs on who's doing what, and often times become friends in the process.  It's all a big network of parents, coaches, kids, managers, and supporters who socialize both on and off the field.

There are so many good memories that I have thanks to baseball, it is hard to fathom.  I was introduced to a large number of kids my age who also liked to play competitive sports.  The Alameda sports organizations created ideal groups from which kids would group up with friends with similar interests and athletic lifestyles.  In middle school, I had become especially close with players from the Alameda Buena Vista Basketball team, some of which I didn't look to favorably upon in Elementary school.  However, they have become my closest friends through middle and high school, and I am thankful that I have them in my life. 

Baseball has also taken me places.  I've been all over California and Illinois thanks to baseball, and would have been to Japan and Mexico as well if it weren't for crime rates or natural disasters.  Baseball has opened my eyes to a world of teamwork, a sense of community, and of course charity.  I had been sponsored by Alameda Baseball to go to play in Illinois, and I always had numerous supporters behind me (coaches, players' parents, Alameda baseball managers, etc.) that have always encouraged me and remembered me by name.  

Pertaining to memorable games, it seems like the highlights of my baseball career have been quite eventful in all respects.  Some of my most memorable games included getting nailed in the face by pitchers, hitting 2 grandslams (one was an inside the parker) in one game, hitting my first homerun, game winning hits, game winning plays, and also seeing other people get better and achieving goals in games as well.  See, that's the thing about baseball, you thrive on other people's success...and that's what makes the game so great.  

All in all, baseball truly has made me into the person I am today, and I am grateful that I grew up in a baseball-oriented city with so many great people.