During my spring break at home in Riverside, New Jersey, I returned to my old high school to help out my former baseball coach. Coming back for the first time not as a player made me look at the game in a different light. Looking back at my years of being a ball player made me realize how much this game is a part of who I am.

Nearly all of my best friends were made out on the diamond playing for one of the many teams I was on. From tee-ball to representing my school in the Maroon and Grey uniform with number "28" on the back, I always had the best guys I knew there to support me. I will always be thankful that I got to call them teammates and that I still get to call them friends.

Baseball taught me how to deal with failure. My coach always told me, "This is the only game you can fail more than you succeed and still be in the a Hall of Fame." It's dealing with this failure that molded my work ethic and made me push to be a better player. That "rub some dirt on it" attitude has stuck with me through the years just like the cracking in my knees from working behind the plate year-round for as long as I can remember.

Most importantly, my favorite aspect of the game of baseball is that you can never run out the clock. You can be dominating the game as much as you want, but you still need to get those 27 outs. Much like life, there are no shortcuts. No cruise control. No easy way out. You have to keep grinding until you reach whatever goal you set out to accomplish.

And that's the beauty in the game. Life lessons and best friends all made with a ball, a bat, some bases and a little bit of dirt.