Love/Hate and big brother influences

I played baseball before I found my true love, soccer. I played baseball because my older brother Larry loved the game of baseball, and like most younger brothers - we follow in the path of our older brothers.

I don't remember seeing him play, but the stories are legendary. Larry pitched a no-hitter... Larry was also a hitter... and a great fielder.

Larry coached me. He taught me how to field - and field well. Pop flies, grounders... if a ball was anywhere near me, I could field it cleanly with style and grace. That is the part of the game that I loved. What I couldn't do was hit the freakin' ball. Never got the hang of that... and that's what I hated. Thus the love/hate relationship.

I remember this year. I played catcher. I'm not sure why I played catcher. I hated everything about it. I hated having to be so close to a guy swinging a bat. I used to back up really far and the umpire would have to tell me to move up closer to the plate. (Did he realize??? That guy was really swinging a bat... HELLO!!!!)

Growing up really reminded me of the movie "The Sandlot" - when we weren't playing organized ball we were in Bobby's back yard playing wiffle ball, kickball, baseball with a tennis ball.

There's a comedian that talks about baseball and growing up. One of the things that he says is - "When your kid and playing with your friends, all is good. The only time you start getting anxious and crying when you lose is when the put the uniform on and your parents start watching."

I can identify with that. I was the king of outdoor baseball. Organized... the wiff (strike out) king.

Baseball. The game I love to hate.