Today was the final Exhibition game of the 2013 Spring Training. We finished a brief road trip 2 1/2 hours away in Cleveland, OH vs The Lake Erie Crushers. A lot of positive things came from this weekend. Pitchers pitched well, hitters made key adjustments during at bats and we played as a team. We were finally jelling as a team. Everyone would encourage everyone. When someone seemed down, a player would race over to pick his spirits up again. We shared many laughs and stories together on and off the field. Great times! But today, our momentum as a team took a punch in the stomach. TODAY……WAS CUT DAY…

As we loaded the bus to head back to Washington, PA from Ohio, skip (manager) stood up to make a few announcements. He said, “Great job today fellas. You really played well despite the elements. (It was FREEEEEZING out there today lol) But unfortunately, today we have to make cuts. So when we get back, nobody leave the locker room”. Once Skip said that and sat down, I could feel the bus shrivel like a balloon slowly losing air. It hurt knowing that someone you grew close to could possibly never be seen or heard from again. The next 2 1/2 hours on that bus was not colorful, it was only black and white.

We arrived at the locker room and to no surprise…NO MUSIC was playing and nobody wanted to make eye contact with each other. The coaches went into their office and closed the door. Players quietly sat in front of their lockers waiting impatiently for the verdict. 5 minutes went by and the coaches door opens up and skip walks out and pulls the first guy on the list. Door shuts. After 2 minutes of silence, the door opens and out walks the guy with a pail face and pink eyes. He walked to his locker trying to keep his head high but you could read and feel his hurt. 

One by one they continued to pull players in and every reaction was basically the same. Unfortunately, we had to cut 8 players from our roster today so you could imagine the mood in the locker room for 25 minutes straight. Just close your eyes and try to vision your friend packing up his bags right beside you. It really hurt me because me and this guy worked out together and talked for hours about finally making it to the next level. So it crushed me.

I had to clear my head so I walked outside in the cold to clean my cleats. About 10 Minutes later, one of the players that got cut walked out with his bags packed and headed for his car. Approaching me I could notice that he was crying in disbelief. I knew that he was a rookie fresh out of college and his hopes and dreams were just stepped on. Something had to be done, so i asked him to take a seat right beside me. I asked him if he desired to play again and he said, “heck no”. I told him that he was only 23 years old and so much life ahead of him. If you quit now then you will forever be a quitter. You have come too far to give up now. Dont throw it all away just because someone told you that you wasnt good enough. Many famous people only became famous because a lot of people told them NO! Then I told him to pick his head up! You got NOTHING to be ashamed about. This is the beginning of your comeback. Nobody wants to hear your story if you didnt go through anything. Just know that this is not the end of you! I ended on this quote and then walked away. “A man is only defeated when he believes that he is defeated”.

By the time I returned to the locker room, everyone had left. The room was not only empty, it felt empty.

 

CONCLUSION:

No matter who tells you that you arent good enough, tall enough, smart enough, fast enough or even pretty enough…lied to you! God doesnt make mistakes. He created you from scratch to become something great. Dont worry if things does not work out the way you intended for them to work out. Keep dreaming and remember to keep God first. He will see you through any tough time.

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Be Blessed