"Batter Up!"

By Bret Walker

What I enjoy most, the thing that gives my life extra meaning, is baseball. I never really excelled on the field, but I enjoyed it more than anything and cherished every moment I spent there, especially at home plate.

Hitting, as you know, is a major part of baseball; it is simply poetry in motion. Shakespeare himself could not write a sonnet so beautiful, so sweet, and sometimes so tragic.

As the pitcher steps on the mound, you look deep into his eyes, almost into his soul; at that instant, the battle has begun. You go to the plate knowing that two enter, one leaves. You both, at that instant, have one thing on your minds: win!

You step into the batter's box. Your mind is blank. Nothing can faze you. You don’t remember the last pitch, much less the last inning when he struck you out. The crowd falls silent, knowing with a 3-2 count that you live or you die. Your arms have a slight sway in them, to help keep the peace. Your eyes have nothing but complete hatred for the red-laced devil that will soon be soaring toward you. You relax your hands around the savior named Louisville.

Like a vulture moving in for the kill, the pitcher begins his wind up. He releases the red-laced devil. Screaming, the devil makes its way toward you. You don’t think, you don’t have time, you rely on instinct and pure adrenaline to win this fight. Your front foot steps back to empower you. With no doubts in your mind, you begin to swing. Leading with your hips followed by your wrists, you begin your forward motion. In that very brief stitch of time all the pain, anger, and aggression are released. You put all your faith and your very life into the forgiving hands of the savior, and you let it fly. It cuts the air like a knife.

Suddenly, contact is made. The devil begins his pilgrimage of three hundred and eighty feet. You can stand tall, you won, and you live to fight another day. Victorious, you stand and begin your journey into history.

With the grace and passion of a delicate rose, the most beautiful and exciting event that man has thus far achieved has taken place. The hit is perfection at its best. So it finishes, just as fast as it had begun, this one great note in the symphony of life, what many call the swing.