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22 replies

That's a Wrap

MidAtlanticDadMidAtlanticDad10,000+ posts

Well, my son’s four year D3 baseball career ended at Regionals yesterday. I’m extremely proud of what he has accomplished, and wanted to post something about his journey. He started 110 games, batted an even .300, with 16 HR and 100 RBI. His team won 3 conference championships, and made the NCAA Regionals all four years. He won a few individual conference awards, including 3 All-Academic awards. He was one of a group of 8 seniors who played their entire careers together. Very strong friendships were formed.

Seems like he was in treatment for injuries from the first day he stepped on the field and it never ended. He played the entire season with a broken bone in his wrist this year. He insisted on cortisone shots rather than going through another surgery that would have meant a medical red-shirt and not finishing with his classmates. He will graduate next year with double major in Accounting and MIS, with 150 credits and ready to sit for the CPA exam. He’s managed to claw out a 3.2 GPA, and has his first internship this summer with a major accounting firm.

Although the entire four years have been an emotional rollercoaster, I think I’ll mostly remember the good times. The big hits. The walk-offs. The full splits at first base. The dog piles. The joy in their faces. But I can honestly say that I’m ready for him to finish this chapter and move on to the next. There are so many ups and downs in this game. It can be exhausting.
 
This forum has been an immeasurable help to me (and indirectly to my son) for the past 7 years. I’ve “met” so many generous, good-hearted and really bright people through these threads. At the risk of leaving others out, I would specifically like to thank Swampboy, Prepster, cabbagedad, baseballmom, Rick At Informed Athlete, Coach May, Dominik85, BishopLeftiesDad, PGStaff, fenwaysouth, and hokieone for their wise public and private counsel. I don't always succeed, but before I post messages here I try to ask myself, “Does this add anything helpful to the conversation?” I will continue to do that in the future. Thanks for reading.
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C cabbagedadHSBaseballWeb member since 2011

Mid, congratulations to your son on many fronts - academic, athletic individually, athletic team success, building life-long friendships and showing the toughness and perseverance a college athlete must have to make it through the other side.  Sounds like it was the best possible all-around experience for him and will undoubtedly prove invaluable in future chapters!

Thanks for sharing and your continued positive influence here... always look forward to your posts as "the right stuff".  If you are anything like me, I have an idea of what a proud, maybe emotional , and significant landmark moment in time this is for you regarding your son! 

Last edited by cabbagedad
fenwaysouthfenwaysouth10,000+ posts

Awesome!  Big time congrats to your son for a fantastic 4 year career.   Incredible that he was at the center of an extremely successful program winning 3 conference championships and 4 appearances in the D3 College World Series.    He did all of this on the baseball field while double majoring in the classroom.  Your son is a "grinder", and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.    

Best of luck with the internship this summer as that should help him prepare for the CPA.

 

G Goosegg10,000+ posts

Congrats! Please stick around and provide guidance to those behind.

"Although the entire four years have been an emotional rollercoaster, I think I’ll mostly remember the good times. The big hits. The walk-offs. The full splits at first base. The dog piles. The joy in their faces. But I can honestly say that I’m ready for him to finish this chapter and move on to the next. There are so many ups and downs in this game. It can be exhausting."
 
I still smile and squirm when thoughts of those days bubble up. 
#1 Assistant Coach#1 Assistant Coach10,000+ posts

"This forum has been an immeasurable help to me (and indirectly to my son) for the past 7 years." - MAD

MidAtlanticDad............you have been an immeasurable help to me (and indirectly to my son) for the past 7 years. 

Congrats to your boy and the family.  Sounds like another story where a player utilized baseball to set himself up well for the next 40-years.

MidAtlanticDadMidAtlanticDad10,000+ posts
cabbagedad posted:

Mid, congratulations to your son on many fronts - academic, athletic individually, athletic team success, building life-long friendships and showing the toughness and perseverance a college athlete must have to make it through the other side.  Sounds like it was the best possible all-around experience for him and will undoubtedly prove invaluable in future chapters!

Thanks for sharing and your continued positive influence here... always look forward to your posts as "the right stuff".  If you are anything like me, I have an idea of what a proud, maybe emotional , and significant landmark moment in time this is for you regarding your son! 

Thanks, Pete. Landmark is a good word. Four years ago, I underestimated his love for the game. He played other sports in high school and he was always ready to do something else when baseball season ended. There are no breaks in college. Baseball and workouts were literally year-round. No baseball scholarship, very little glory, so much hard work and such a huge time commitment... I'm a little surprised that he stuck with it. He can be a stubborn kid, and he's never been a quitter. I think the love of his teammates was also probably a factor in his perseverance.

MidAtlanticDadMidAtlanticDad10,000+ posts
#1 Assistant Coach posted:

"This forum has been an immeasurable help to me (and indirectly to my son) for the past 7 years." - MAD

MidAtlanticDad............you have been an immeasurable help to me (and indirectly to my son) for the past 7 years. 

Congrats to your boy and the family.  Sounds like another story where a player utilized baseball to set himself up well for the next 40-years.

Thanks Ted, that's very nice of you to say. He's at a good public university, and they really have exceeded my expectations in terms of helping Accounting majors with top internships and jobs. Of course, it didn't hurt that one of the guys who interviewed him had played D3 baseball.  

BishopLeftiesDadBishopLeftiesDad10,000+ posts

Always tearful watching that last game. It has been a joy to read your posts, and please continue. My son took a year off, then started playing in a Men's league. I still go to those games and he actually likes us there. He cannot seem to leave baseball behind. He is currently an assistant coach at his old High school. They just won in the third round, of the state tourney. He keeps asking us to come to the games. 

He is getting ready to move to Charlotte NC, and applied to be an instructor at Dbat. 

When he left college we all thought he was done, even him. However he just cannot leave it behind. We will see where it takes him. 

Last edited by BishopLeftiesDad
Picked OffPicked OffHSBASEBALLWEB Member Since 2013

Congrats to your son and your family. It's hard walking away after it has been a part of your lives for most of two decades. Most guys that aren't moving to the next level play for the love of the game.

It's been a year for us and it's still hard to wrap my head around.  Watching them in the game of life is great, but just not that adrenaline rush you get when they are between the lines.

 

Last edited by Picked Off

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