7/9/15
Today is my day.
After all the pain
All the suffering
The sweat
The blood
The thousands of tears from my eyes
All the struggle
All the hard work
It culminates today
I never thought it would end up
With this dream
Coming to fruition
But it really has
Coming back after
A career altering
Life changing
Completely overwhelming arm injury
Torn UCL
Forcing a Tommy John Surgery
Causing me to either
ADAPT
OR
PERISH
In which I did
ADAPT
And absolutely refused to
PERISH
Forcing me to switch
From a 99 MPH hurler
Of heat-seeking misses
To a master of a crafty
Strategically precise
Virtually unpredictable pitch
Simply known as a
KNUCKLEBALL
4 years
4 LONG years
Of tinkering
Toiling
Trying to expertly locate
The new ME
Although the old intensity still exists
And finally making it
Through the trials and tribulations
To this moment RIGHT NOW
Being drafted
As a 17 year old boy
With a wealth of potential
To a 28 year old man
A grizzled artist of minor league ball
About to receive
His one moment
His one chance of a lifetime
In the bigs
Wearing number 64
Preparing for a very likely
Single spot start
On Game 1 of a
Day-Night doubleheader
But playing for my hometown club
The New York Legacy
My dream has come true
If only for a moment
All my sacrifice
Has brought my naturally pessimistic self
To a rare moment of zen
Standing on the dugout steps
Waiting for the last
Of the intro music
To pop in
And make my way
To the pitching mound
Of Legacy Field
In my hometown
Of Flushing, Queens, NY
Finally
The PA announcer says loudly
"And now, please welcome
Your 2015 New York Legacy!"
The starting lineup
Makes their way to the field
I quietly jog
To the big brown hill
In the center
Of the diamond
Ed Sherman crouches
Behind home plate
As I start into my warmup throws
Tunnel vision has set in
As I ignore the applause
The roar of the crowd
The blue skies
With a hint of clouds
For this 1:10 pm start
However
As a hit my 8th toss
To the catcher
I stroll off the mound
As Sherman throws to 2nd
I take a deep breath
And I hear from the PA announcer
"Now pitching for the Legacy,
#64, J.P. O'Connor!"
I breathe as the ball goes
From Medina
To Soto
Around the horn to Hughes
And finally, back to me behind the mound
A fan on the big screen
Screams "Play Ball!"
And the umpire signals the same
As I walk onto the hill
And on top of the rubber
The first batter of the game
From Miami
The speedy and efficient Adam Reese
Steps into the batter's box
Sherman crouches into position
And throws me a sign
One index finger down
For my knuckleballer
I throw my arms
In the air
Proceed with my windup
Place my leg down forward
And unleash my first pitch
As a Major Leaguer
With a pitch as uncertain
As my future
The dream has become
Reality.
Today is my day.
After all the pain
All the suffering
The sweat
The blood
The thousands of tears from my eyes
All the struggle
All the hard work
It culminates today
I never thought it would end up
With this dream
Coming to fruition
But it really has
Coming back after
A career altering
Life changing
Completely overwhelming arm injury
Torn UCL
Forcing a Tommy John Surgery
Causing me to either
ADAPT
OR
PERISH
In which I did
ADAPT
And absolutely refused to
PERISH
Forcing me to switch
From a 99 MPH hurler
Of heat-seeking misses
To a master of a crafty
Strategically precise
Virtually unpredictable pitch
Simply known as a
KNUCKLEBALL
4 years
4 LONG years
Of tinkering
Toiling
Trying to expertly locate
The new ME
Although the old intensity still exists
And finally making it
Through the trials and tribulations
To this moment RIGHT NOW
Being drafted
As a 17 year old boy
With a wealth of potential
To a 28 year old man
A grizzled artist of minor league ball
About to receive
His one moment
His one chance of a lifetime
In the bigs
Wearing number 64
Preparing for a very likely
Single spot start
On Game 1 of a
Day-Night doubleheader
But playing for my hometown club
The New York Legacy
My dream has come true
If only for a moment
All my sacrifice
Has brought my naturally pessimistic self
To a rare moment of zen
Standing on the dugout steps
Waiting for the last
Of the intro music
To pop in
And make my way
To the pitching mound
Of Legacy Field
In my hometown
Of Flushing, Queens, NY
Finally
The PA announcer says loudly
"And now, please welcome
Your 2015 New York Legacy!"
The starting lineup
Makes their way to the field
I quietly jog
To the big brown hill
In the center
Of the diamond
Ed Sherman crouches
Behind home plate
As I start into my warmup throws
Tunnel vision has set in
As I ignore the applause
The roar of the crowd
The blue skies
With a hint of clouds
For this 1:10 pm start
However
As a hit my 8th toss
To the catcher
I stroll off the mound
As Sherman throws to 2nd
I take a deep breath
And I hear from the PA announcer
"Now pitching for the Legacy,
#64, J.P. O'Connor!"
I breathe as the ball goes
From Medina
To Soto
Around the horn to Hughes
And finally, back to me behind the mound
A fan on the big screen
Screams "Play Ball!"
And the umpire signals the same
As I walk onto the hill
And on top of the rubber
The first batter of the game
From Miami
The speedy and efficient Adam Reese
Steps into the batter's box
Sherman crouches into position
And throws me a sign
One index finger down
For my knuckleballer
I throw my arms
In the air
Proceed with my windup
Place my leg down forward
And unleash my first pitch
As a Major Leaguer
With a pitch as uncertain
As my future
The dream has become
Reality.
RSS Feed