There is a purity in the game of baseball which lies in the fact that it is a marvelous metaphor for life! It is a game in which individuals compete against one another in one on one match ups (batter versus pitcher) yet that individual encounter takes place within the framework of a team. It is a game that is wrought with failure, for the best offensive players will fail between 60 and 70% of the time. It is a game which is defined by battling back from adversity, some created by the individual and some far beyond their control. It is life in its purest form.
Saturday I had the privilege of witnessing baseball, and the love of it, in that purest form when I watched the Venice Little League Challenger Program compete against and with the Venice High School baseball team. The Challenger Program is a program in which individuals who face a myriad of physical and mental challenges, compete and play baseball. It was started in 1989 and today 30,000 individuals participate in over 900 Challenger programs throughout the world. The Venice Challenger Program has been running for 14 years and has maintained a ten year association with the Venice High School Baseball Program. This culminates in a ball game at the Venice High School Field complete with lining up on the lines for the National Anthem and a hot dog feast with all the amenities. And in between, they play the game.
Each player is hooked up with a buddy from the High School team, or the Cheerleading Squad; and as the squads make their way to their respective dugouts, they do so with "buddy" in tow. An inning consists of each player batting once. The buddy will assist them in running, if need be, or perhaps push their wheelchair towards first after they have hit the ball. Have you ever seen a blind baseball player strike a pitched baseball? I did and watching the determination and effort on this young man would move even the crustier among us. Everyone who hits the ball is safe. Everyone who hits the ball is out, sometimes several times. Everyone who hits the ball rounds the bases and scores. And in the end, the Challenger team wins, everybody wins. The reason is simple, because in this game of baseball, as in life, it's all about the journey. The journey from home to home, the journey from the dugout to the playing field, the journey in tracking down a batted ball wherever it may take you. It was a journey filled with joy!
The hills roll out from the sleepy rural town of Cooperstown New York and they seemingly roll on forever. Nestled away in their midst is heaven, baseball heaven. The place where ballplayers go to be immortalized. The place where careers and accomplishment of players who performed at the very highest level still live, still breathe and their presence is palpable. There are those that will suggest that it is where the soul of America is housed. Having visited there and paid homage many times, I would not dispute that claim but I would add that the heart of this great game and the heart of this great country beats in the Challenger Program.
Oh, and as for the game, 14-13 The Challengers won, AGAIN! But the real winners were those of us who were there, touched by the lives of those who for an hour took us with them on their journey from home to home!.....Thanks.
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