Aussie Baseball 2.0

At this point I think Beyonce would be jealous of my upgrade.  For my first few weeks, as some may have noticed, I haven’t spoken about baseball.  I was disappointed with my experience.  I felt I had flown across the largest body of water known to humanity for nothing more than monopoly money and funny accents.  Since my move to the Sturt baseball club I have not only been introduced to a new club, and gotten; a new home, new phone, new car, new city, new hair cut (ok that was prior to the change in club), but I have a new perspective. 

I’m drooling at the opportunity in front of me.  I’m surrounded by guys with baseball pedigree. My new roommate is a former professional basketball player who spent time in Seville and Barcelona in the European pro circuit. My new coach was in the big leagues for 8 weeks as a coach and spent time in the minors as a first basemen.  I’m developing a friendship with a guy who was described to me as “the most dominant pitcher in Australia”.  Now let’s step to the second degree of separation.  My aforementioned friends are close friends with Grant Balfour and Ryan Rowland-Smith two names that most definitely register with me.  They both pitch in the American League one is a dominant and volatile reliever for the Tampa Bay Rays the other a starter for the Seattle Mariners (yes they still play in the MLB American League).  One of my potential future roommates is Todd Gossage.  His dad is Hall of Famer Goose Gossage. I’ve held back the urge to tell him that my Dad has his Dad’s autograph; just in case we ever got into a ‘my dad could beat up your dad’ argument.  Our manager Pat Kelly is the proud owner of a World Series ring and I think they give everyone Olympic medals here because I’ve lost count how many guys I’ve met that own one. 

My new car is a 95 Ford Laser. Kind of a junker but gets the job done. I hate my new phone. But I love my new place. I’m living just a few hundred feet from the beach. On an apartment built on a series of pubs.  I can see bumper cars and a ferris wheel from our balcony and my roommate, Martin, isn’t expecting rent.  Today at my training for the State League team (a team I don’t expect to make at this point) I faced a guy throwing 90 and was pretty overmatched but it feels good to feel challenged.  When I left San Francisco, and all I was leaving when I left the states, this is what I expected on the other side of the Pacific. Maybe it will settle in; maybe it isn’t as great as it seems right now—but I doubt it.