By Josh:
I love baseball. I have all my life. However, that doesn’t explain why I spend so much time writing articles, taking photos, or just doing all that I do with 9 Inning Know It All. There are a lot of baseball fans who love the game but don’t spend as much time as I do around the game.
Some people think I spend this much time because it is my job. I wish but unfortunately it isn’t my full time job. In fact, I really don’t even get paid to do 9 Inning Know It All. It is all just a hobby that I do around my full time job, which regrettably has nothing to do with sports. (I would drop my job in a heartbeat to work in sports/baseball even if I took a pay cut).
So why do I invest so much of my life and time into the game of baseball.
- Stress Relief
We all need to find ways to relax. It is a key part of health. My full time job is being the Administrative Manager over the Mental Health Crisis Departments in two counties. That job gets stressful to say the least. In fact whenever I interview potential employees I ask about how they take care of themselves outside of work. I personally know the challenge and it is important that we all have stress relievers.
Going to a game, relaxing out in the spring/summer weather, is one of the few things I have found that allows me to completely let go of things and just relax. I love the sounds of the game. I honestly think that if I just listed to a soundtrack of baseball noises I could probably be far less stressed.
2. My Family
Spending time with my family is one of my great joys, when my daughters aren’t cranky. (Parents you know what I’m talking about). I want to share something of my life that I love with my family, so that we can have a common activity that we can do together. I also want my daughters to experience the love for the game that I do.
This last weekend my daughter went with me to a game as my ‘junior’ photographer at a softball game. She was so excited to do it and even though she ended up playing with cousins most of the game she still wanted to go with me and be a part of everything. We talked about it for days before hand and even afterwards.
- I want to encourage a new generation of fans.
Baseball has given me so much. So many great memories as a kid and as an adult. I want others to have positive experiences like I have had. I want kids to feel the same excitement I did as I packed my bag for a tournament, the anticipation as I counted down the minutes until game time and the extreme joy I still feel today as I walked onto a field.
I know that not everyone is going to enjoy baseball as much as I do, but that isn’t going to stop me from being a spokesman for the game.