Play ball!

Hello, fellow baseball fans! My name is Lindsay and I am a baseball-holic.

I decided to start this blog as a "Baseball Diary" of sorts. If you're a baseball fan, maybe you'll find it interesting. If you aren't, then I'm sorry. How are you not a baseball fan? What went wrong in your life that you haven't been exposed to this beautiful game? What the hell is wrong with you?!

As a life long Tigers fan, I've seen it all. Yes, I sat through an entire 119 game loss season. Yes, I watched this team play in the World Series three years later. Yes, I own a Dmitri Young jersey.

Baseball has been a fixture in my family since the beginning of time. In my life, it started with my Paw Paw. Sharing a birthday on January 13, we always had a special bond. That bond became even stronger when he introduced me to the greatest past time I will ever know.

During every game we watched together, he taught me something new. He told me of every written and non written baseball rule there was. He told me stories of Hank Greenberg, Willie Horton, Al Kaline, Alan Trammell, and Lou Whitaker. He described his childhood growing up in Detroit, sneaking into old Tiger Stadium acting as an employee. Everything I love about baseball, I learned from him.

On June 11, 2011, my Paw Paw was put into hospice care after suffering from a collapsed lung over the previous few months. That night, I sat next to him in his hospital room as we watched the Tigers play the Mariners. He wasn't awake, but the doctors told us that he could still hear us. I broadcasted the entire game to him, which ended in a Tigers win as they pulled into first place in the American League Central. The next day, at 3:57 in the morning, my Paw Paw passed away.

I miss him every single day. In every Tigers pitch, in every Tigers run, in every Tigers out, in every loss and every win, I think of him. I think about what he would say about a certain play. I think about the stories he told me. I didn't need Google when I talked to him about baseball. If I had a question, he had an answer. When I sit alone on the couch, I look at the empty chair across the room where he sat for every game. Every night or every day, at 1:05 or 7:05.

This upcoming spring will be my first without him physically with me. He won't be there to discuss trades, signings, and the next big minor league star with me. I know it's going to be tough, but it just makes me love the game that much more.

As I get older, I obviously have to start thinking about my future. I'll be 20 years old on January 13th and beginning the second semester of my second year in college. I have big plans for myself, and I'll do everything it takes to make sure I stay on that path.

I decided at a young age that I want to be a sports broadcaster. I couldn't see myself doing anything else. I love to talk, I love sports, and I love to talk about sports. Perfect job, yes?! Some days I feel like it will never happen. I feel like I'm stuck where no one will ever get to see or hear me. Those feelings only motivate me more, and I know I have what it takes to make it.

So, this is it. My little baseball blog. Enjoy!