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Kelly’s Note: I wrote this when I was taking English 101 at Lower Colombia College in April 2004. Writing about baseball has always come easy and most importantly is fun.

By Kelly Byrnes:

What can I say about a baseball diamond that will make you understand how I feel when I am on one? First, let me tell you that I pretty much grew up on a baseball diamond. I started playing when I was about 4 years old, if not younger, and I am still playing today.

When I was 7 years old my dad tried to sign me up to play with the 8- and 9-year-old kids. They told him no, saying I was too young and small, but he argued with them and persisted. They eventually gave in. My dad was right though, I made the “B” All-Star team playing against kids that were two years older than me. One of the pitchers I had to face in the All-Stars even went as far as playing Double-A minor league ball. To say I was overpowered when I was batting would be an understatement, but I held my own in the field, making gold glove worthy plays at whatever position the coaches needed me to play.

When I was almost 13, my mom left my dad and I. That was pretty devastating to my dad and I, but the new baseball season was just around the corner. I remember as hard as that year was, when I was on the field everything went away. I was in my own little world. The smell of the fresh cut grass, the feel of diving for a ball to my right and throwing out a runner at first from my knees. There was no ball that could get past me. As I batted, I knew I could hit the ball anywhere on the field. The roar of the crowd as I hit a game winning single into left field. I can truthfully say sometimes I felt like a man among boys.

The best thing about being on that field was knowing that my dad was there watching me; he was my coach. When I was on the field, he was at the end of the dugout cheering me on. When I was batting, he was coaching third, waiting for me to slide into third base, so he could give me a high five. That year was difficult, but I always knew where I could go to get away from everything, the baseball diamond, my baseball diamond.

Even as I write this paper today, the baseball diamond is an important part in my life. This summer I am coaching and playing on a CO-ED softball team. I might not be able to field every ball or hit the ball wherever I want anymore, but I will be on a baseball diamond and that’s all that matters to me. If I had to choose somewhere to spend an afternoon I would choose a baseball diamond, but to make it perfect my dad would be with me.

Present Day: That was 9 years ago and a lot has changed since then, but my love for baseball has not. In fact it has only gotten stronger. Now I have 3 daughters. I have coached T-Ball for the last 3 years and this year I am coaching 8-U (that’s with a pitching machine) with my oldest daughter. I play anywhere between 200-300 softball games a year, mens and Co-Ed with my wife. Also, I umpire 75-100 softball games a year. We are a baseball/softball family without a doubt. A lot of the times our vacations revolve around baseball. This November I plan on going to the Arizona Fall League with Josh (9 Inning Know It All) and his dad, my father in law. In March of 2014 we are taking a huge family vacation to Arizona for Spring Training. My passion has and always will be baseball. I learned that from my dad and I’m passing it down to my girls.