Baseball Heals

By Josh:

In everyone’s lives there are times of pain, heartache, and sorrow. Situations arise that cause hurt that doesn’t just go away. Even with time emotional and mental scares can still linger. The hurt still remains in our minds.

There are many ways that we has human beings heal. Time and communicating about our pain are often two key ways to heal. For many situations though that isn’t quite enough. Something else is needed.

I know that for many of you who read this, maybe even all of you who read this, baseball is one of the things that you use to heal from a difficult situation. Maybe you lost a loved one, lost a job, was in an accident or one of a million other situations, but like me you have found that an evening during the summer spent at a baseball game is like a small miracle for you.

I bring this up because on Friday night in Longview, WA a first pitch was thrown out. It was thrown out by a boy. He got on the mound, did a full wind up and threw a great pitch. That boy had lost his father, a local police officer, a couple years ago, which was way too early in his young life to lose his father.

Throwing out the first pitch wasn’t going to bring back his father, wasn’t going to erase the pain he still felt, but for a few moments he was recognized and honored for the sacrifice that his father made and for what he made without having a choice.

As this young man walked off the field and was greeted and high-fived by the entire Cowlitz Black Bears team, I couldn’t help but think about how a simple game of baseball can be the encouragement that many of us need.

I go to games, write stories, take photos and love the game of baseball because of the impact it can have on our lives. Yes it is just a game, but even games can change lives.