This is it.
Putting on the uniform has been a blessing. Since I could walk, I have been at a baseball field almost every day and I wouldn't have had it any other way. However, all great things must come to an end and for me, it's time to walk away.
For years now, baseball has molded and transformed me into the man I am today. It's been my everyday life to wake up and play the sport I love. For every kid, it starts as a dream. You want to play with the big guys, you want to wear the cool jerseys, and you want to play forever.
For me, that dream came true.
It wasn't playing for millions of dollars.
It wasn't playing in front of 50,000 people.
It was playing for the love of the game and having a burning passion to be around something you love.
When I take a step back and look where I started, it just doesn't seem real to where I ended up today.
I was a small-town kid who grew up at the ballpark, watching my brother play baseball. You know what it's like to be around some sort of park, but here's one for you baseball fans. You know the pasty white kid, that looks like Casper the Ghost, that you see in the dugout with a helmet five times as big as he is?
Well, that was me and I was damn proud to be there because my brother was my role model. I wanted to do everything he did and it was right then and there, whether I knew it or not, was when I realized I wanted to be a baseball player.
I know I was young and I hardly remember anything. There's just something about the pop of a glove, the smell of the air, and the sounds of the park that just stay with you for the rest of your life.
It's been almost 20 years since then and the game has been cruel, unusual, great, and made me one of the luckiest men on the face of the Earth.
It gave me a great high school to play at. It provided me with the opportunity to play summer ball with some great baseball players and be associated with some great young men and coaches along the way. Finally, it gave me the opportunity to be a college athlete at High Point University, where I have called home the last four years and lived out my dream.
The 2017 season will be my last, as it will for many others across the baseball world.
As myself and many other start this next journey, we can't forget what made us into the people we are.
Teamwork, early mornings, long games, long seasons, but most importantly, the love of something that so many people can relate to. The will to win, no matter what you were facing.
Coaching is my passion and that's where I have shifted my focus because starting a fire inside them is great. However, it's through my experiences and the memories that I have created that will help me teach my nephews and so many others about the sport and how life-changing it can be.
I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my family, my friends, and everyone that put me in the position to be where I am today. It's not possible without you guys. Thank you for your sacrifice and what you have done and will continue to do for me.
As for the game of baseball...
It's not goodbye, it's see you later.
Although my playing career is numbered, my days on the field are just getting started.
For those that are following in mine and many others footsteps and playing the game you love, don't forget this.
It's just a game and never stop loving it. It's mean, sad, and happy all at the same time, but when you take a step back, always be able to say you gave 110% each and every day you put on the uniform.
God Bless,
JJ
