With the majority of kids back in school and occupied with fall activities such as football practice and after-school associations, the old baseball field in Calvert once again lies dormant. My personal plan had been to continue practicing with consistency to build a program, but it seems the interest has simply faded. It’s not the ending I would have wanted but at the same time, I celebrate what we were given. The community of Calvert shared a summer of baseball.
In the movie Moneyball (Miller, 2011), Jonah Hill playing the character Peter Brand shows Brad Pit playing the character Billy Beane a video of a batter that didn’t realize he hit a home run when the ball went over the fence. The player didn’t see the ball go over the fence. The metaphor suggested that Billy Beane’s attempt to bring success to the Oakland A’s was a home run, despite the fact they didn’t end up winning the World Series. Like the movie representation of Billy Beane, I sense that failure in myself. I see a summer of baseball that I hoped would continue and grow into a program but fizzled out with the approach of fall. That to me is disappointing and I wonder if it was just me that let the ball drop. I consider how hot it was and find reasons to question whether kids these days have any amount of perseverance when they find that baseball is not an easy game.
Yet I also heed the warning of being too critical. When I take a step back, I realize that something larger did happen. What took place on an abandoned field in Calvert this summer was kind of a miracle. We had kids who had never played before come out of their air-conditioned houses to spend afternoons in the scorching heat with a guy from the other side of the tracks they had never met. They kept coming and playing all summer. And the town of Calvert rallied behind them. Yes, I wish baseball would continue in Calvert all year long and I feel a loss with it fading away like the changing seasons but I also did witness a change in people, which was the ultimate goal of the project. This summer, I experienced people from two different sides of the train tracks come together to play, talk, and support the game of baseball. Equipment was gathered, new items were purchased, ice, water, and sports drinks were supplied, and the media got wind of our story. They showcased this success story on television.
No, there were no world issues that were solved but I did see a door begin to be opened when before was only a solid brick wall. This summer was a story of baseball, for certain. But more than that, it was a story of a community. Sometimes the change is obvious for everyone to see. Other times, the change is much more subtle. The defining moment for me came in the form of a string of text messages, sent from a group of players with whom I had spent the summer. I hadn’t seen them in a month as they were heavily involved in their school activities and baseball had fallen by the wayside. I thought perhaps I was forgotten. But here was proof I was not. In order, the messages read:
Antonio - Happy birthday
Cohan - Happy birthday Andrew (cake emoji)
DJ - happy bday
Gio - Happy birthday Andrew (smiling frog emoji)
Billy - Happy birthday Andrew (party emoji)
Then they invited me to watch their upcoming six-man football game at the school. The messages came from out of the blue yet solidified the fact that our project had indeed been a success. A few months prior, I didn’t have one single contact on that side of town. Now, I had several friends for life. It happened because of baseball.
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