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Jenn's Blog: Listen to your Mother: A Letter to the Baseball Players of 2020

03/25/2020, 3:45pm EDT
By Jenn Skinner

Dear 2020 Baseball Player,

I'd like to be so bold as to speak for all of your mamas today. We - who are your biggest fans and sometimes your harshest critics. We - who have to use all of our mental fortitude to will our bodies to sit still in the bleachers when you get hurt out there on the field; whether physically or emotionally. We - whose every instinct tells us we need to hop the fence and run across the diamond to get to you. We - whose every bone aches to wrap you up and kiss your forehead and tell you everything will be okay.

We see you.

We see you hurting. And some of us can't necessarily tell you that you'll get 'em next time. We can't whisper through the chain link fence, "Next play, bud, next play."

We want you to know that even though there are so many losses right now - so many tragic casualties in the wake of this crisis in our country - you are allowed to grieve this loss. Whether you are a 12 year old Little Leaguer, an 18 year old high school senior, a college player, a coach, or a granddad whose bleacher seat will stay put in the car's trunk for the season, we see you and we are grieving with you. As I recently read, there is no reason to play "Hardship Olympics" during this time of loss. There are no winners here.

You have suffered a loss. And we know well that you don't like to lose. You have experienced losses before on the field. The time you were tied and the walk-off hit brought your opponent home to win the game. The time you struck out looking with your teammate standing on 3rd, all set to have you knock him in. The time you misjudged the throw or the time the tag came down on your foot just before it hit the plate.

But this is different. This was over before it started. The final inning was left out there to dangle for awhile and then it disappeared in an instant. You weren't even able to try, to give it everything you've got, to show yourself that all the hard work you put in during the off-season would pay off. You had barely broken in your new cleats and the plug was pulled.

We are so sorry.

But, listen to your mother now, Son.

You are more than this. You are more than the unlucky kid who happened to be a senior or a 12 year old Little Leaguer in the Spring of 2020. You are more than a player, more than a teammate, more than a position on a field.

And yet, your mama would like to remind you that you should never dismiss these roles that you have played for all these years as something you will have to leave in the past. These parts you have played in the story of your sport -  the clutch player, the leader, the hustler, the sub at the ready, the star who everyone always counted on? These traits that have made you a good teammate are the same that will make you a good human.

These skills you have learned, these adjustments you've made, these early mornings and late nights, these injuries suffered and the stamina and focus it took to come back from them? These errors and web gems? These strike outs and base hits?

They have formed in you all the parts of the man you have been created to be far beyond the baseball diamond.

Did you imagine that your parents signed you up to play all those years ago, that we drove you all over kingdom-come, spent all that money on equipment and lessons, and sweated our tails off in metal bleachers just because we wanted to see you connect a bat with a ball?

No sir. We did not.

We did that because we knew that the lessons you learned in this sport and the relationships that you formed would carry you through the whole of your lives.

When you were a little T-Baller with a helmet that wobbled on your head, we could not imagine all the things the world would throw at you. We certainly could not have imagined this. We supported your years in this sport because we knew it would teach you that when things got tough you were to adjust your grip, stand in the box, keep your feet, and stare down every nasty curve ball the world could throw.

Whether you return to the field one day or not, you have been offered an opportunity. It is one you did not want and certainly one you did not deserve. But it's here. And so are you.

Your team is made up of more than your "bros" now. Your teammates are every one of your country's citizens now - the strong and the weak, the athletic and the fragile, the old and the young, the capable and the vulnerable. You have an opportunity now to take on your role and make them all grateful that you are a part of their team. And you will be able to look back and be proud of what you sacrificed for them.

Your teammates, your coaches, your parents, and your fans are waiting to see what you can do. Now that circumstances are very difficult and the opponent is very formidable, show them what you learned as a baseball player. Show them you can take it on the chin and get back up to kick the dirt off of your cleats. Show them that you can overcome this disappointment because it is the best for your team even though it's hard and even though it hurts.

Whatever your future holds, rest in the knowledge that you've been practicing for this all along. You've got this, Kiddo. We are watching. Batter up.

Love,

Your Biggest Fan

photo credit: https://sentrysportslighting.com/panorama-of-empty-baseball-field-at-night-from-behind-home-pate/

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