To be honest, it is because of posts like playbaseball's that I keep returning to this site.
We can never read too many of them...such a great experience this game provides, just starting as a player or in the middle, or near the end.
One of the neat things I like about going to son's college games is talking to the alumni players and parents that are either in their pursuit of MILB or have hung up their cleats for one reason or another (their choice or club's choice or never got the chance at the next level.) All of them look back at their accomplishments, and most of their memories are not about the baseball, it is about the people along the way.
Nick sounds like one of those guys you would want to run into along the way.