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Im sure this has probably been posted here before. I have no idea who wrote it to give them credit. It came up on my Facebook page and with everyone or everyone's kids starting their season I thought it was an appropriate time to post. I loved reading it and thought others might as well. 

 

" If you give a boy a baseball, he will want a bat to go with it.

You’ll buy him the best bat you can find, and then he will probably want a bucket of balls and a glove and some cleats too.

Then, he will probably spend hours begging you to go out in the yard to play with him, even though you may want to sit on the couch and watch tv. He will insist. And his insistence will win.

And when a boy gets a jersey, he will need pants and socks and a belt to go with it. And a TEAM…..

And then life as you know it will end.

There will be no more lazy weekends watching tv. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible. Every spare minute of your time will be spent hauling buckets and bags and stinky cleats and crazy boys all over tarnation for hours to practice for a game.
THE GAME.

And your house will be a mess. And your car will be dirty. All because you gave a boy a baseball.

Your weekends will be spent freezing or burning to death on a fold up chair. And his weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends, and learning new skills and having fun and getting dirty. So dirty in fact that you will have to learn how to do laundry in a whole new way, like maybe at a carwash using the pressure washer.

And you will be there the day he hits his first home run, first strikeout, and his first double play. And he will make you SO proud. The other moms will congratulate you. But you feel weird saying thank you because it's not you at bat or on the mound. It's everything him. He did this.

And right before your eyes, your little boy will be transformed from the baby who spun around with his head on the bat, (because he loves attention), into a pitcher. Because he loves attention still.

When you give a boy a baseball , you give him more than just a ball. You give him a sport, and a talent, and hope, and dreams, and friends, a new family, a place to learn about life, room to grow as a person where he can push his limits, and bravery, and courage and LIFE, and memories. And he will have ALL of these things, simply because you gave a boy a baseball.

Because you gave a boy a baseball, you too will develop new/lifelong friendships, developed solely from the same passion for the game and love of your team. You will root together. And spew PG-13 things out of your mouths together. Because you gave a boy a baseball.

All because you gave a boy a baseball.
And played with him."

Last edited by Scotty83
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I liked this one as well

 

 

If you give a boy a baseball, he will want a bat to go with it.

You'll buy the best bat you can find, and then he will probably want a bucket of balls and a glove and some cleats too.

When he realizes he can't carry all these things with his own two hands, he will want a bat bag. Then he will want to spend hours begging you to go out in the yard to play with his bat, glove and balls.

Even though you just wanna sit on the couch and watch TV. He will insist. And his insistence will win!

When you go out in the yard to hit, pitch, throw, and catch. He will not want to go back in the house for dinner and will swear that even at dusk there is enough light to continue playing!

Next the backyard will get too small and he will want to go the baseball field to see how far he can hit and throw wearing his new jersey! Once he gets to the baseball field he will get dirty and will be happy! He will probably smile and laugh!

Once he is all dirty and enjoys the way the dirt feels he will want to learn how to slide. In the rain on a muddy field! Finally he learns to catch then he wants friends to play this new game with!

When a boy gets a jersey, he will want pants and socks and a belt and a hat to go with it! And a TEAM!!!

Then life as you know it will end!  There will be no more lazy weekends. You will see more sunrises than you ever thought possible! Every spare minute of your time will be spent hauling buckets, bags, stinky cleats, and crazy boys all over the place to play baseball!

You will get excited about all the cute baseball shirts and hats that say baseball is life!!! Your yard will be overlooked! Your house and car will be a mess all because you gave a boy a baseball! Your weekends will be spent grueling it out in a fold up chair!

His weekends will be spent gaining confidence and friends, learning new skills, and having fun getting dirty. So dirty you will learn a whole new way to do laundry! Like going to the car wash!

His smile will grow bigger and bigger! And each year that he plays with that baseball, he will get better and better. And his love for the game, and confidence in himself will grow right along with his jersey size!

Then he might try to be a PITCHER, CATCHER, OUTFIELDER, or INFIELDER. Because baseball teaches him he can be anything he wants! And you will be there the day he hits his first home run, and makes his first double play! And he will make you proud! So proud you will get him an ice cream and the coach gives him a game ball!

And right before your eyes, your little boy will be transformed into a baseball playing beast who set aside his Thomas the Train toys one day long ago simply because you gave him a baseball and a bat, glove, bat bag, and a jersey to go with it!

When you give a boy a baseball you gave him a talent, and hope, a sport, a dream, and friends and a new family. A place to learn about life, room to grow up as a person where he can push the limit, and have bravery, courage, and learn about LIFE and memories. And he will have all these things simply because you gave a boy a baseball and a jersey!

Then one day many years from now..... he will be in his room and a baseball will roll out from and old dusty bat bag underneath his bed. And he will pick it up and realize instantly that when you gave that boy a baseball you also gave him a childhood that he would never forget! And he will hug you, and your eyes may leak! Because then you will realize that everything you gave up along the way was worth it All BECAUSE YOU GAVE A BOY A BASEBALL!

~ author unknown

Tears are flowing, as I arrive home from a Surprise visit to my son In Tampa. 

He left for Spring Training in Az , and I always like to see him off. 

As I reached in my back pack to get my Jacket (big temp change), I find a baseball he snuck in there from his post-season play in Australia.

Travelers are watching this 50ish guy crying  in the airport not realizing how happy I am.

i can remember all those games we played in the yard for so many years.

Thanks for posting this story. 

Cheerful Dad

In the midst of it, I realize how lucky I am to just be a witness.  I spent the weekend traveling, just my son and I, for a college visit and a game.  On the way home, with him crashed out, I realized how awesome it is to have these one on one hours with him and how no matter how things turn out, I will never regret it.  My daughter played volleyball and we spent endless hours and lots of money and she decided she just wanted to go to college.  People may think we wasted that time and money, but I completely disagree.  I wouldn't trade a minute...or the look I got to see on her face when she would score.  When we got home, my son thanked me for going with him and I told him always.  I can't imagine these times coming to an end, but I know they eventually do.  Sports have been a gift in our house.  I will really miss it someday.  Until then...I plan to enjoy it.

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