Personal Narrative: The Varsity Baseball Team

“Unfortunately, Jack, there will not be many opportunities for you this year.” Seconds after being told I had made the varsity baseball team, I did not expect my coach to so bluntly tell me I would be spending more time watching the game than playing it. Our state ranked team had a pitching staff full of Division 1 commitments and future MLB draft picks, and I was being told I did not measure up. The bench became my best friend.
The first game arrived, and expectedly, no playing time. Second game, same result. It did not take long for me to figure out that splinters, not the opposing team, would be my toughest challenge during the season. As the bond between the bench and I grew stronger each game, I began to question my role and importance

First, I established a “motto of the game” that I used to support, encourage, and occasionally humor my teammates. It quickly become a tradition I would announce in the team huddle before each game. Ranging from “Carpe Diem” to “May the Force Be With You” (it was May 4th) to “Keep Pounding,” the motto served as a way for me, along with the other bench players, to inspire our teammates in the field. Occasionally, the motto would serve as comic relief to players and coaches during the high-pressure situations within a baseball game. Second, I realized that if I was going to spend a 7 inning game on the bench, I might as well be doing something other than consuming my 1lb bag of dill pickle sunflower seeds. Knowing the importance of scouting in professional baseball, I helped the coaching staff implement a way to track trends and data during our three game series. So the “bench-squad,” as we called ourselves, soon became responsible for charting opponent hitter and pitcher tendencies, which provided invaluable data for our coaches and players to make in-game adjustments throughout the week. I still wanted to play, but I embraced the opportunities my teammates and I had to help our team win