Monday, January 23, 2017

Day 101 - When Fatherhood and Baseball Intersect (#RIPAce)



Ellie and I have accumulated many a daily tradition during our time together.  There's the ever popular morning nap, the morning feeding, the afternoon nap, the afternoon feeding, and the late-afternoon (maybe) nap.  Interspersed in there too is ample play time and some walks during days with nice weather.  A relatively new item has been added to the agenda over the past month.  That item being the semi-daily car ride.  See, every so often, Ellie gets really upset and the only thing that calms her is a nice car ride.  It normally only lasts about a half hour or so in case you're curious.



This afternoon, when Ellie and I set out for our car ride, I found myself pulled in a different direction than we normally traverse.  I pointed the RAV-4 south on I-435 and found myself driving until I came to a stop in the parking lot of Kauffman Stadium.  Definitely not a normal destination for us unless we're heading to a Royals game.  However, I think quite a bit of Kansas City has joined me in a similar trip over the past 48 hours since Yordano Ventura's untimely death.  In the aftermath, the outside of the stadium has become a place of healing for many a fan as a memorial has been set up right outside the gates.  Fans are leaving cards, flowers, balloons, t-shirts, cap, and baseballs all to acknowledge their "Ace".  While I myself, didn't come bearing gifts (just a baby in tow), I more just wanted to take in the scene for myself and reflect a little.

See, like most Royals fans, I was saddened to hear the news.  However, it took me a little bit of time and processing to figure out why.  The obvious reasons were there.  I was sad as a fan that I would never have the opportunity to see Ventura pitch again.  Even more so, I was saddened that a fellow human being  (even one that I would never meet) had his life cut short in such a tragic way at such a young age.  As I continued to reflect, I found myself thinking back to the 2015 season that Yordano was a huge part of and how much it meant to me personally.

Obviously, as a lifelong Royals fan (and a long-suffering Kansas City sports fan), I was absolutely over-the-moon to see a team that I could call my own win an elusive championship.  For the first time in my life, sports had driven me to the point of tears.  It wasn't just #BecauseSports though.  Part of the reason why dated back to April of that year.  Bethany and I had the misfortune of losing our first child after trying for quite some time.  At the time, I felt like I couldn't mourn out of a desire to support my wife.  So support her I did and in an attempt to bury some of my own grief, I found myself following the Royals season super closely.  

One of my highlights every night included turning on the radio and listening to the closing innings of each Royals game.  I would even plan my schedule around those precious few games that would be televised locally.  We attended a season high (for me) 11 Royals games.  The majority of those games would be on Yordano's day to pitch.  I found him to simultaneously be the most intriguing and most frustrating player on the team to watch.  His skill and fiery attitude could propel him to great heights but he could often be his worst enemy.  We even saw him thrown out of games on more than one occasion for letting his emotions get the best of him.

As the season went along, the Royals found themselves with a stranglehold on their division and leading the race for best team in the American League.  Once they finally clinched, it was a foregone conclusion in my mind they would at least make it to the AL Championship series.  Sure it was really stressful at times but the team went back to the World Series and all the way to a Championship.  By the time the journey was over, I found myself emotionally exhausted, drained, and finally allowed myself to sit back and process the events of the year.  Hence the whole being driven to tears part.  Little did I know at the time of that run that Ellie would show up nine months later as one final bookend to that 2015 Royals season.

As I found myself standing outside "The K" today looking at the display of love outpouring for a man I would never meet, I found myself clutching my daughter just a little tighter and bowed my head.  I said a little prayer thanking God for my daughter and praying for Yordano, along with comfort for the rest of the team that I had come to love.  The two things cannot help but always be linked in my mind.  #ForeverRoyal  #DaddyWrite


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