Hello again readers. As I write this I can not help but think another season around the corner. Strange that it is nearly here, but it is.
That takes me to thoughts of being a child going to see number 5 & 7 for the Astros play in the dome. It feels like yesterday, me begging my parents if we could catch a game in January, only to hear my father tell me "Its just around the corner. Wait baseball will be here soon enough." But it was NEVER soon enough!
As the years came & went & I got older I am STILL begging to see a game only to once again hear "Its just around the corner." Over my 24+ years of being a baseball fan I have made many friends in baseball & am thankful for every single one of them. I say this because it is nice to know I am not the ONLY person who begs for the season to get here! I find it funny how many of my baseball buddies are just as anxious & excited for the season to get here like I am. I would like to tell you about a couple of my ballplaying buddies, one of my ballplaying buds girls & why they mean so much to me. So lets take a trip down memory lane shall we?...
One of my ballplaying buddies is a guy by the name of Michael Schlact. Now if you recognize that name I am not surprised. Michael is a guy that stands 6'8 and makes everyone look small! But that is not a bad thing because I think GOD made him so tall because HE wanted Michael to have such a big heart & GOD knew if he was shorter then 6'8 his heart would not fit his body!!
That being said let me tell ya more about Michael, other than his heart. As most of you know I grew up in Houston loving my Astros & all their Minor League teams, but something you might not know about me is I love the Rangers & all their Minor League teams as well. That being also said here goes the story of how I got to know Michael...
I have to back track 2 years in order for you to understand how we met.
In June or July of 2007 I was watching the Double A Astros play the Double A Rangers AKA the Hooks & Riders, as I was watching this game I saw a guy on the pitchers mound for the Riders that looked like a giant unannounced to me his name was/is Michael Schlact. I think to myself "Wow this guy is bringing some serious heat! The Hooks are getting smoked. Oh well good for that Schlact guy!" fast forward 3 or 4 weeks later I again am watching the Hooks & Riders on tv and I hear the announcers say something about a Riders pitcher who is having surgery on his arm, right before a break. After the break they again bring it up & say something like "We wish Michael Schlact & his family all the best! Michael we pray your arm surgery goes smooth." & then start calling the game again, as I heard them go back to the game I said a prayer that indeed the surgery would go smooth & that I would once again see him pitch. Little did I realize that GOD ALWAYS knows more then we think we know!
Ok now lets fast forward to November 2009 I am in North Dakota with family because of dads job & I just joined this strange website called "Twitter" I did not know what it was but thought I would give it a shot and started "following" pitcher CJ Wilson. It is a Friday and CJ posts on Twitter how he wants his "followers" to go "follow" his friend Michael Schlact because it is "follow friday". So I think "why not, this guy plays for the Rangers & if CJ thinks this guy is cool, what the hey!" So I clicked "follow" and did not think much of it until later that night. I kept trying to figure out how I recognized the name "Schlact" & boy did it take me awhile to do so too!
After asking Michael many baseball questions & finding out he was a Christian I thought "Man I know I have heard of him but where??" Still could not figure out where! So then Michael gave a follow friday shout out to his wife Jillian & I thought "Michael is cool, what they hey!" & clicked follow & started chatting on twitter with her as well, STILL trying to figure out where I knew I knew them from!
SO one day I am on Twitter & am talking to Jill & found out Michael had surgery on his arm, I asked what kind & then we continued chatting about other things. But it STILL did not come to me! After about 6 or 7 months of chatting on Twitter and praying for my new tweeps I was able to go to Frisco & meet up with them & then it came to me! I said to myself "OH STEPHANIE!!! MICHAEL IS THE VERY PLAYER THAT YOU WATCHED ON TELLY THAT WAS SMOKING THE HOOKS!! HE IS THE ONE THAT THE ANNOUNCERS WERE TALKING ABOUT!!!" Well after that I was sitting with Jill at the Riders game & told her that story. To which both of us had a nice chuckle at my sillyness, and after the game I got to meet Michael face to face or in my case my face to his shoulder! LOL Love ya Michael :) & we took this pic 
... No Jill & I did not plan on wearing pink to match it just happened that way!! LOL Ok back to the story, before the pic was taken my dad told Michael he would like to pray for him as well & so we all said a prayer, gave each other some hugs & have continued our friendship! I love when GOD does cool things like that dont you?
Another ballplaying buddy of mine who means so much to me is actually not a ballplayer at all but a wife & yes I am talking about Jillian.
Before I started getting know Jillian I thought she was cute as a button & Jill I still do! I love ya girly!
Jillian means so much to me for so many reasons. She became my friend when I was going through a rough patch in my life & even though she did not tell me she was praying for me, I know she was & I am so thankful for that!
Jillian has a heart of gold just like Michael & they both care so much about other people. If you the reader & you ever get to meet them in person you will see that their hearts our so full of love, not just towards each other but towards people. Jill's smile lights up a room, and when you are feeling bad all you have to do is tell her & that smile comes out & she just says "praying for ya!" I do not know how she does it but GOD does & it just makes you want to spread the love around! Now I say this because the Schlacts really are amazing & I am so blessed to call both of them my friends! :)
Now another person who means so much to me in the baseball world is my buddy Carlos Olivas.
Carlos is an athletic trainer for the Rangers and is just an all around great guy! Carlos also has a heart of gold & from what I hear has put up with a few of those famous "Michael Schlact Shinkicks" (If you do not know what they are, well just ask Michael to show you, but they are really self explanatory lol!)
Carlos, means so much to me as a fan because I know as a fan without him "my boys" would not be able to play the game I love so much. If ever I want to chat about the game Carlos is the guy to chat it with me. I find that pretty awesome! He & Michael are the "big brothers" I dont have & make being a fan so fun!
A few other of my ballplaying buds I want to chat about are Ben Bowman, Jeff Perro, Richard Giannotti, Christian Lopez and Ryan Tatusko.
These guys are an inspiration to me daily & I have told them that often & I mean it every time I say it. I have known Ryan as long as I have known Michael & he too has a heart of gold. Ryan not only is a great pitcher he also is a great baseball fan & baseball writer. I enjoy talking baseball with "Tusk" for so many reasons, but mainly for the reason of he totally understands where I come from as a fan. How I dont know. Why I dont know. But I know he really is a guy everyone wants to chat baseball with because he not only plays it he gets it! Tusk you really are an amazing player honored to have ya as a friend! :)
The next two guys are Lopey and G. I am thankful for these guys for so many reasons, but the main reason is because they inspire me & are my friends. Lopey and G can make you laugh without even trying. They inspire you to have fun, do crazy things and have no regrets doing it. So thanks guys! :)
The next guy I want to say I am thankful for is my buddy Ben. Ben is a guy that just has a heart for people & I really am thankful for his friendship. Funny we started talking about sweet tea & the rest is history. Ben, thanks for being there for me :) I mean that :) your friendship means a lot!!
The final guy I want to tell ya about is my buddy Clubbie. Clubbie (Jeff) is a guy who has been through well all of it in the game & still manages to smile when things get rough. He has some great one liners to crack you up, without trying & man can he put a fire in your belly, not just about baseball. Clubbie :) man you are hilarious. That is all :)
The reason I talked a little bit about each one of these guys & Jill is because, I am so thankful, humbled & honored to have them as friends, because they understand how much I miss the game & watching them play. I may not have known them for so long but I dont care, because at the end of the day all of us can say "Baseball is just around the corner, it will be here soon enough." So thanks y'all. I am so thankful every single day that GOD put y'all in my life! :)
Until next time. Peace. Love & MOST IMPORTANTLY (ok maybe not) BASEBALL!!!
... No Jill & I did not plan on wearing pink to match it just happened that way!! LOL Ok back to the story, before the pic was taken my dad told Michael he would like to pray for him as well & so we all said a prayer, gave each other some hugs & have continued our friendship! I love when GOD does cool things like that dont you?Another ballplaying buddy of mine who means so much to me is actually not a ballplayer at all but a wife & yes I am talking about Jillian.
Before I started getting know Jillian I thought she was cute as a button & Jill I still do! I love ya girly!
Jillian means so much to me for so many reasons. She became my friend when I was going through a rough patch in my life & even though she did not tell me she was praying for me, I know she was & I am so thankful for that!
Jillian has a heart of gold just like Michael & they both care so much about other people. If you the reader & you ever get to meet them in person you will see that their hearts our so full of love, not just towards each other but towards people. Jill's smile lights up a room, and when you are feeling bad all you have to do is tell her & that smile comes out & she just says "praying for ya!" I do not know how she does it but GOD does & it just makes you want to spread the love around! Now I say this because the Schlacts really are amazing & I am so blessed to call both of them my friends! :)
Now another person who means so much to me in the baseball world is my buddy Carlos Olivas.
Carlos is an athletic trainer for the Rangers and is just an all around great guy! Carlos also has a heart of gold & from what I hear has put up with a few of those famous "Michael Schlact Shinkicks" (If you do not know what they are, well just ask Michael to show you, but they are really self explanatory lol!)
Carlos, means so much to me as a fan because I know as a fan without him "my boys" would not be able to play the game I love so much. If ever I want to chat about the game Carlos is the guy to chat it with me. I find that pretty awesome! He & Michael are the "big brothers" I dont have & make being a fan so fun!
A few other of my ballplaying buds I want to chat about are Ben Bowman, Jeff Perro, Richard Giannotti, Christian Lopez and Ryan Tatusko.
These guys are an inspiration to me daily & I have told them that often & I mean it every time I say it. I have known Ryan as long as I have known Michael & he too has a heart of gold. Ryan not only is a great pitcher he also is a great baseball fan & baseball writer. I enjoy talking baseball with "Tusk" for so many reasons, but mainly for the reason of he totally understands where I come from as a fan. How I dont know. Why I dont know. But I know he really is a guy everyone wants to chat baseball with because he not only plays it he gets it! Tusk you really are an amazing player honored to have ya as a friend! :)
The next two guys are Lopey and G. I am thankful for these guys for so many reasons, but the main reason is because they inspire me & are my friends. Lopey and G can make you laugh without even trying. They inspire you to have fun, do crazy things and have no regrets doing it. So thanks guys! :)
The next guy I want to say I am thankful for is my buddy Ben. Ben is a guy that just has a heart for people & I really am thankful for his friendship. Funny we started talking about sweet tea & the rest is history. Ben, thanks for being there for me :) I mean that :) your friendship means a lot!!
The final guy I want to tell ya about is my buddy Clubbie. Clubbie (Jeff) is a guy who has been through well all of it in the game & still manages to smile when things get rough. He has some great one liners to crack you up, without trying & man can he put a fire in your belly, not just about baseball. Clubbie :) man you are hilarious. That is all :)
The reason I talked a little bit about each one of these guys & Jill is because, I am so thankful, humbled & honored to have them as friends, because they understand how much I miss the game & watching them play. I may not have known them for so long but I dont care, because at the end of the day all of us can say "Baseball is just around the corner, it will be here soon enough." So thanks y'all. I am so thankful every single day that GOD put y'all in my life! :)
Until next time. Peace. Love & MOST IMPORTANTLY (ok maybe not) BASEBALL!!!
0 comments:
Post a Comment