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Playing baseball since I was four years old, once I was made aware of the "Big League", that is almost all I was aware of. Starting off in kindergarten and continuing 'till 8th grade, playing baseball slowly molded to become my life. At one point, my local little league field was my home away from home I was there so much for my game or my sisters or watching a friend play. Free entertainment with pretty good food in the company of plenty of my friends at a pretty nice baseball field, it's all I could ask for. As I grew older, I eventually realized my talent level was nothing superb, and my baseball career was not headed to Dodger Stadium. But this didn't take away my love for the game one bit. I still get a feeling of magic when I'm on the baseball field, and the rush I got when I was up to bat can't be beat. As plenty of you know, my father is also on RootZoo: Coach Ron. He was always a huge baseball fan, and I inherited the love for the game just as much as he had, if not more. My dad was born in New York, and he followed and loved the Mets from their first World Series year till the day he dies. As a child and even now, I was fortunate enough to go to quite a good share of Dodger games living in Los Angeles. When I was barely four years old, my family was at a Dodger-Mets game and my dad was fully decked out in his Mets jersey, and I was wearing full Dodger clothing (I also had plenty of Mets clothing as well, Mets bibs from when I was an infant). My dad put me on his shoulders, and we were on the big screen. Nowadays, I go decked out in Mets apparel and as a pretty big 15 year old, I definitely don't fit on my dads shoulders any more. Every year, we go to every Mets-Dodger game being that both my dad and I are die hard Mets fans. We were also able to score first row seats up until very recently, where we would sit next to Frank McCourt (the owner of the Dodgers.) Sitting in the front row, I've met plenty of my heroes I idolized as a child from Shawn Green (twice) to Mike Piazza (the key to that is stand next to a very attractive girl. He'll come your way). Another thing I can't thank my dad enough for is all his support through out my baseball career. He would take me down to the local batting cages when ever I wanted, and he was always there to play catch with me. My parents and even my grandpa were at every single game I ever played, and would take me to and from the field nearly every day was well. And most importantly, every year I played my dad would happily volunteer to be the coach, and although I never showed him how much I really appreciated it, I do. After realizing some parents weren't there, being there meant a ton. Coaching every game every year is not repayable. As a kid, I would watch baseball games whenever they were on. One of my fondest memories is being called in to watch Mark McGwire break the homerun record in 1998. I remember my dad telling me that I was about to witness history. It was invigorating, even though I was just sitting in my living room. Mark McGwire became one of my favorite players, as was Shawn Green, a Jewish role model for myself. I would also spend my nights at my neighbors' house playing baseball almost every day. He was always a lot better then I was, and the pros could definitely be in his future whether it be NBA or MLB. He would try and give me some tips, and I always remember being over on his front lawn. His dad was a pro baseball player, but he got hurt and his career ended in the minors. I was also very lucky in that I had a neighbor my age that played baseball, as well as a whole block of other kids who played. I also began collecting baseball cards of my favorite players and players I had never heard of. On one of my trips to New York, the family took a detour to Cooperstown, which very well may be heaven. That was one of the best weekends for me in that small, cold town. Baseball is life there, it really is. Every store is devoted to baseball, and every person has baseball on their minds 24/7. That also changed the way I felt about the game, and being in that small old fashioned town really took me back in time. It made me think of my heroes who played before this game was a business, like Hank Greenberg and Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb... In 2005, my last year in little league; I had a pretty good year. Our team won the Championship and went on to the Tournament of Champions from all over the city. How our team won the Championship was one of the proudest moments for me though, because I was actually a hero for once. I was the starting left fielder, and the Championship game was in the top of 11th inning. There was a runner on third with two outs, score tied 7-7. Their best hitter was up to bat, and on the first pitch he smashes one to the left field. All in a split second, I begin charging the ball that appears that it will land right before my glove. The momentum of it all takes me into a horseshoe slide and with the unintentionally, perfectly timed slide I cradle the ball for the final out. And if you thought the stands were impressed, you'd have to see me. We won the game in the bottom of the eleventh. Later, in the Tournament of Champions, I became a hero again when in extra innings I doubled in a run to retie the game. We ended up losing that game off a walk off grand slam. Still feel the sting of that one occasionally. After the All Star teams were announced at the Closing Day picnic, my dad was asked to coach the annual 12 year old Classic Team. This team was a team of the 12 year olds who didn't make the All Star team and we played against the rival league Del Rey. The winner of the three game series went on to play in a tournament. And this tournament was hosted at...Dodger Stadium. A dream comes true. How often had we all dreamed of playing at Dodger Stadium...? My dad designated me the starting first basemen, and I realized we had a pretty good team. Three of the players had made the All Star team the year before, and the others did have some decent talent. We went on to win our first game 7-6, and then our second game we tackled them 18-11. Having already won the series, we pitched 5 pitchers in 6 innings in our third game, but we lost 7-6. But it was off to Dodger Stadium we went, and off to live in my dream land. Pulling into the parking lot of Dodger Stadium I had pulled into so many times before, it was surreal. I always get a tingly feeling, but now I was numb. I played with my batting glove, putting it on and taking it off to stay calm. This was insane...Seeing the gigantic murals of all the Dodger greats gave me goose bumps. We went into the stadium, and then team by team we were announced. "Westchester Reds" were called, and we ran onto the field. That was by far the coolest grass I've ever felt. Once all the teams were called, we heard a speech from Dodger legend Ron Cey. After meeting him, we took our spots in the rotation. One team got a quick tour of Dodger Stadium, one team watched the current team in the stands, one team warmed up in the Dodgers bullpen and batting cage, one team watched from the luxury box, and the final team was the team at bat. Having done all of those, it felt like I was in the big leagues. Walking up to the plate was one of the greatest moments of my life. I heard the Dodger announcer say "Now up-up-up-up, for the Reds-eds-eds-eds, number twenty-wenty-wenty-wenty-wenty, Bryan-yan-yan-yan Kalbrosky-sky-sky-sky." I owned the world at this point, ladies and gentlemen. A photographer took my picture, and as I was walking to the plate I noticed at least a dozen camera guys filming me for all sorts of TV stations like Fox and FSN. I had three pitches. The first one I fouled back behind me. The second one I lined and it hit the pitching fence. The third one I lined right at the pitchers head. And the fourth one I hit just past second base for a blooper into the outfield. I got a total score of nine, which was about average. Quite honestly, I could care less how I did despite being extremely competitive. If I didn't get any points, I would have been ecstatic. Fielding for our teammates, my dad was playing at his home: first base. I take after my dad in that sense, first base is my most comfortable position. He let me play first base on Dodger Stadium ground, and it didn't feel real. After our team hit, we played catch in the outfield in what could have been a few minutes or a few days. During the midst of this, though, a man called over my dad and asked if he was the coach. After telling he was, the man introduced himself as a reporter for Fox Sports Net. He interviewed my dad, and my dad introduced me to the guy. In an attempt to talk, all I could say was, "This is the coolest thing I've ever done, just walking into Dodger Stadium, seeing this. It's just so cool. To be on the field, I'm just, I'm, I'm speechless." Later when we watched this on FSN, I looked over to my dad and I noticed he was crying. I had written an article in my local paper about the whole experience and it was published, and I read it again this morning. I felt like my dad, but I swelled up as well. Will I ever be back on that field? It's not very likely. But man could I try, whether it be as a General Manager or a Coach or a reporter, I don't know. But man could I try... After seeing a few games in 2006 at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers and Mets met in Los Angeles for the NLDS, and we snagged third row seats. That night has got to be one of the most exciting of my life, making friends with this Met fan sitting next to us partying with him and his crew the entire game. When the Mets got the final out of a close game to win the series, I lost it. Besides the Kobe 81 game, it was by far my favorite sporting event. Dodger Stadium has had a different feel to it since I played there. Unfortunately the Mets lost in the NLCS in Game 7 of one helluva series. My last year of baseball was nothing too special for me after little league, because the day of the draft I sprained my ankle ice skating in New York on a trip with some of my friends. Please take my advice: if you don't know how to ice skate...don't. It ruined my entire season and I sat out half the season. The other half, I was still getting the hang of the new field and new rules and faster pitchers, and I had a very bad season. And my coach was a drunken college kid...I planned on playing high school ball this year, but I was sick the day of try outs. I'm okay with that though, because I have seven classes and if I was on the team I'd have to miss an hour and a half of practice if I wanted to go to 7th period, and I'd have to miss 7th period if I wanted to go to practice. Besides, I wouldn't get home till seven and I'd have no time for any social life or homework. I think I'll try out next year though, because I love baseball too much to not play it. I feel naked this year not playing baseball. However, my sister Emily (softballgrl31 on rootzoo.com) is still playing. Since she was little, she's always been somewhat of a softball prodigy...This girl is good. At first, she was a catcher and she was pretty talented. When she was in the minors, I'm pretty sure she got second place all four years. This is her first year in the majors this year, an in her first game she got the game ball for three beautiful hits. Her second game, on Sunday, really impressed me. She pitched the entire game and it was possibly the best I've ever seen her throw. As a rookie, she shut the entire team out 10-0 and struck out 6 in four innings (it was a mercy). I really enjoy playing catch with her in my back yard when I can, because she really impresses me. Despite our age difference, she tries to be as competitive as she can with me and she can't always compete with me. But she does a damn good job. I've heard people say things about her future in softball like "scholarship" and it gives me goosebumps. Baseball has been my life, and I feel at peace thinking about it. This time of year is always magical for me because I know baseball season is about to start...my favorite time of the year. Whether or not baseball becomes my job, baseball will always be part of my life and it always has been. Baseball holds a special place in my heart, and it's a very sentimental thing to me. ----------
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