Yesterday at Target Field was expected to be a pretty slow day for a few reasons:
1) It was raining, nobody really likes watching baseball in the rain
2) The Vikings...it was their home opener a few blocks away at the Metrodome
Most of all...3) The Twins were 9 games away from losing 100 games for the year, on well on track to accomplish that feat. These aren't exactly the ingredients for good baseball.
Amidst all of this, I saw something on that field that created a warmth in me all day long. As I sat down in the concourse to begin reading my book (I've started doing this since I get super bored before the game starts) I glanced out to the field. The rain was coming down pretty good, the field was covered by the tarp, and was completely empty...except for right field. Out in right was a miniature baseball diamond made up of towels that contained a bucket of baseballs, a bat, two small boys, and one adult.
I couldn't quite make out who the player was, so I ventured out closer to right field. I was expecting it to be one of the recent call-ups taking advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play baseball with his kids on a major league field since, as I said, it was raining. But I was wrong, as I got closer I saw it was none other than Joe Nathan, the much loved closer for the Twins.
This man has no doubt that he'll be able to play ball on the field with his kids next week, his position on the team isn't one that's fluid, his is one of the only secure positions in the bullpen. So why would he go out on a day like today when he can do it again next week? Because his kids love baseball, he is their father, and from what I've seen today, a darn good one. They were playing for at least 45 minutes, him throwing pitches to one boy and chasing him around the towels, I mean bases. Then picking up the ball to throw it to the next boy, he'd chase him down to get him in a pickle between 3rd and home, which ended with somebody being tackled at home plate.
All of this reminded me that baseball is a game, one that often creates a bond between a father and son. To Joe Nathan, baseball is his job. But today, I could tell that it wasn't "Go to Work With Daddy Day." He was investing time with his two little boys, playing a game that they loved.
Although I am still very young, as I get older, I realize more and more how many men are not there for their kids and and seeing how much this breaks my heart. I'm not just talking about deadbeat dad's who have kids and run, failing to pay child support, I'm also talking about dad's who live with their kids, but aren't really "around." They go to work in the morning, come home, read the newspaper, watch tv, make sure chores are done, and then go to bed, waking up in the morning to do it all over again. They are crippling their kids, not providing them with the love and care they so severely need.
I was and continue to be one of the lucky kids, I have a fantastic father. Of all the memories I have from my childhood, there is one that continues to stick out like a sore thumb. Because it happened over and over again. My dad is a farmer, during the summer, he would work very very long days, getting up by 6 to go out in the field and often not getting home until after 8. My brother and I, we played a lot of sports growing up, in particular, we had a basketball hoop outside that got absolutely abused from the hours we played. Every single time Dad came home and we were outside playing basketball, he would set his gallon jug of water on the roof of the car, come over, and play basketball with us. We'd play horse, 21, cut-throat, 2 on 1, always for at least 15 minutes, and sometimes until we needed to pull a car up to shine the headlights on the "court." Dad did all of this with my brother and I before even stepping a foot inside the house. Wow. I'm sure the last few hours of work he really wasn't looking forward to getting home and playing a game of pick up basketball. My first item on my list would be to shower, then get some good hot food, then probably watch some tv, and after that, if I had some energy left over to spare, maybe then I'd go outside and shoot some hoops. Not Dad, me and my brother were number 1. When he was tired and worn out, he found energy to play. Once again, Wow.
If you are a guy, I'd like to challenge you. If you aren't a guy, find one nearby and pass this on to them, I'd like to challenge them. Look around you, I guarantee you can find a young man that is desperately seeking a positive male figure in his life, because sadly, more often than not, the one that should be there isn't. Show that young man that he matters, and that he is cared for. Show him that some men can be trusted, and that not all men will leave. You don't need to be perfect, and you don't need to know all the answers, all you need to do is think that he matters, care for him, be real with him, and be there for him. You can change the world for one person.
1) It was raining, nobody really likes watching baseball in the rain
2) The Vikings...it was their home opener a few blocks away at the Metrodome
Most of all...3) The Twins were 9 games away from losing 100 games for the year, on well on track to accomplish that feat. These aren't exactly the ingredients for good baseball.
Amidst all of this, I saw something on that field that created a warmth in me all day long. As I sat down in the concourse to begin reading my book (I've started doing this since I get super bored before the game starts) I glanced out to the field. The rain was coming down pretty good, the field was covered by the tarp, and was completely empty...except for right field. Out in right was a miniature baseball diamond made up of towels that contained a bucket of baseballs, a bat, two small boys, and one adult.
I couldn't quite make out who the player was, so I ventured out closer to right field. I was expecting it to be one of the recent call-ups taking advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play baseball with his kids on a major league field since, as I said, it was raining. But I was wrong, as I got closer I saw it was none other than Joe Nathan, the much loved closer for the Twins.
This man has no doubt that he'll be able to play ball on the field with his kids next week, his position on the team isn't one that's fluid, his is one of the only secure positions in the bullpen. So why would he go out on a day like today when he can do it again next week? Because his kids love baseball, he is their father, and from what I've seen today, a darn good one. They were playing for at least 45 minutes, him throwing pitches to one boy and chasing him around the towels, I mean bases. Then picking up the ball to throw it to the next boy, he'd chase him down to get him in a pickle between 3rd and home, which ended with somebody being tackled at home plate.
All of this reminded me that baseball is a game, one that often creates a bond between a father and son. To Joe Nathan, baseball is his job. But today, I could tell that it wasn't "Go to Work With Daddy Day." He was investing time with his two little boys, playing a game that they loved.
Although I am still very young, as I get older, I realize more and more how many men are not there for their kids and and seeing how much this breaks my heart. I'm not just talking about deadbeat dad's who have kids and run, failing to pay child support, I'm also talking about dad's who live with their kids, but aren't really "around." They go to work in the morning, come home, read the newspaper, watch tv, make sure chores are done, and then go to bed, waking up in the morning to do it all over again. They are crippling their kids, not providing them with the love and care they so severely need.
I was and continue to be one of the lucky kids, I have a fantastic father. Of all the memories I have from my childhood, there is one that continues to stick out like a sore thumb. Because it happened over and over again. My dad is a farmer, during the summer, he would work very very long days, getting up by 6 to go out in the field and often not getting home until after 8. My brother and I, we played a lot of sports growing up, in particular, we had a basketball hoop outside that got absolutely abused from the hours we played. Every single time Dad came home and we were outside playing basketball, he would set his gallon jug of water on the roof of the car, come over, and play basketball with us. We'd play horse, 21, cut-throat, 2 on 1, always for at least 15 minutes, and sometimes until we needed to pull a car up to shine the headlights on the "court." Dad did all of this with my brother and I before even stepping a foot inside the house. Wow. I'm sure the last few hours of work he really wasn't looking forward to getting home and playing a game of pick up basketball. My first item on my list would be to shower, then get some good hot food, then probably watch some tv, and after that, if I had some energy left over to spare, maybe then I'd go outside and shoot some hoops. Not Dad, me and my brother were number 1. When he was tired and worn out, he found energy to play. Once again, Wow.
If you are a guy, I'd like to challenge you. If you aren't a guy, find one nearby and pass this on to them, I'd like to challenge them. Look around you, I guarantee you can find a young man that is desperately seeking a positive male figure in his life, because sadly, more often than not, the one that should be there isn't. Show that young man that he matters, and that he is cared for. Show him that some men can be trusted, and that not all men will leave. You don't need to be perfect, and you don't need to know all the answers, all you need to do is think that he matters, care for him, be real with him, and be there for him. You can change the world for one person.
