Nick Adenhart pitched the game of his life last night. He had only been in four major league games prior to this one, with one start to his credit. At the end of his first full game last season, his ERA was over 9. Not really what one would hope for in a potential major leaguer.
He worked all summer on his game. He watched some of the greats, watched his heroes. Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens... he studied them and he practiced. He was determined to live up to his potential, he was determined to be more than he had proved himself to be.
Before last night's game he found himself the #7 man in the Angels starting rotation. He was the number 7 man, but due to the top three guys being on the disabled list, he found himself starting the third game of the season. It was time for him to redeem himself.
He pitched 6 scoreless innings before leaving to a standing ovation. He literally pitched the game of his career. As soon as the game was over sports writers were saying that he had made his bones, he had found his place in the major leagues, shown what he was made of. 4 hours after that he was killed by a drunk driver. A drunk already driving on a suspended license since 05'. It's a waste.
I haven't been blogging lately, I have wanted to, but it seems that there has always been something else that has been in the way. There is always something that is more important. Only... there isn't.
Reading the comments of everyone around the Majors today, there was an echoed sentiment. Life is short, baseball is a game, and it is a lot more than a game. It is a family, it is a community, and it is a passion. More than anything it is a symbol.
It is something that these guys do because they love, it is something that they pour their heart and their soul into. I feel that my life is really similar to that. I don't have some glamorous job, I don't do something that is admired and envied by millions, but I have that same passion. I have that same drive, and it something that I need to cherish in the same light.
Nick Adenhart isn't the same as a best friend, but the feeling of knowing that he passed before his time is the same as losing one. I have been in that situation already, and I know how it feels. This isn't as close to home, but you still have that feeling of loss, of disappointment, of waste.
I don't want my life to be that same waste, I don't want to live life with that same potential for waste.
So here is another blog entry, I promise to have more of these, and more frequently. After all, I spend the whole day thinking up stuff, if I don't write that down, that is wasteful. Right?
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