Endgame

Hey Everyone!

I have taken some time to think about what I want to write about for this final entry. It has been a very exciting and emotional summer with lots of experiences that are too many to list and recite here. I must honestly say that I am at a loss for words when it comes to this.

This journey started back on that cold February day at PK Park with the Ducks Home Opener. It traversed Tacoma on the Northwest BRT before venturing onto the NL Central and Pittsburgh, Chicago, and St. Louis. After a short break, it was the unique trip to the Triple-A All-Star Game. Two weeks later, it was off to North Carolina which spanned five days. In the middle of August was the trip to Canada. A few weeks later was San Francisco and to top it off was Seattle. And then all the trips to Portland and the games here in Eugene. All in all, 50 games in 13 different cities. I traveled thousands of miles by plane, train, automobile, bike, and by foot. And, I probably spent more money than I should have.

All the experiences that I had are incredible. Be it drinks at the Budwesier Brewery, a trip to Cameron Indoor, bike ride in Stanley Park, Crissy Field beach, thrown fish in Pike Place Market, riding buses in Tacoma, going to Obama's house, driving the freeways in North Carolina, going to Shanksville, or the last games at Civic, I can say that I have had a baseball season that probably nobody in this world has ever had. All these memories sort of make a feeling of contentment inside. I accomplished everything I wanted to, and then some.

But it is also the memories that have cast a pall on all this. I lost a place this summer that had been a large part of my life. The whole Civic Stadium saga that was this summer made me view my life in a whole different picture. I see the game of baseball in a different light now. I have seen what can happen when money, greed, and corruption invade this sport. But the memories I have at that place can never be influenced by those things. My memories are inside and they can't take those away from me. I have learned to treasure the memories and the places where we feel comfortable. I have learned to soak in every minute of every day, because they won't ever come back again. Mark my words, baseball will never be the same in this community. Eugene has lost a treasure that may not come back again.

This game did a lot to help my psyche and help keep me on an even keel. With all those experiences, I had trouble in my life this summer, and it was this game of baseball that was always there. My life went through so many ups and downs, but baseball was always there. Be it problems with women, my families financial and legal situation, or my future, baseball was always there. I can't help but remember that line from Field of Dreams:

"America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again."

This blog was an excellent idea. A lot of people read it with some regularity and I enjoyed keeping all of you informed of what was going on. It added another dimension to BRTs and made me pay attention more to my surroundings and settings. My discovery of Twitter was also good for more instantaneous updates. I could send updates from the games themselves as they were actually happening. It was really cool to have that type of thing at my disposal. I'm going to keep this blog open for updates. Some stuff may change and come up, so I will try and throw in an update here and there.

So, what's next for me? That is a good question. I'm joining the Peace Corps next year, but I am unsure as to the exact date of my deployment. They have told me June, but it really is a shot in the dark. During this off-season, I plan on staying here at my home in Creswell and engaging in some volunteer activities while trying to find a menial day job. If I'm successful in that endeavour, I will save every penny for some BRTs next year before I deploy, if I'm still in the states during baseball season. Just thinking aloud, going to a game at Fenway Park in Boston is paramount. I've been to Wrigley and the old Yankee Stadium, so Fenway would complete the trifecta of those old ballparks. I have also expressed some interest in maybe flying down to Arizona and seeing some spring training games. That would be a great way to get some games in early in the year. Finally, I would love to take a trip down to Southern California. I have a lot of friends that live down there that I would love to see, not to mention the great baseball down there.

If I get deployed before baseball season, there may be a strong possibility that I have seen my last baseball game for a long time. If that be the case, I know for a fact that I made the most out of this whole season and Baseball Extravaganza 2009. This was a season that I will never, ever forget.

So, for the last time...

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)