What idiot makes a resolution that requires the help of someone else every single day to pull it off?
This idiot.
Why?
Because this idiot introvert knows that life is meant to be shared.
Each game of catch requires the help of someone else. And to post a picture on my blog, I need their help even more, snapping a selfie and sending it my way.
For the last couple of days, I’ve woken up both worried and excited about who I’d find to play catch. I’ve gotten messages from all across the country of people willing to play and my imagination is having a heyday trying to figure out how to get to all of them.
There are no postings on Indeed for “professional catch player.”
Knowing the St. Louis Cardinals Caravan was coming to Hammons Field, I tweeted at the St. Louis Cardinals, confessed my love for the Royals, and asked if anyone would play catch. I honestly did not expect a response.
When the Cardinals replied and said that Kyle McClellan was willing, I couldn’t believe it.
Kyle asked if he could borrow a glove, so I handed him Dad’s catcher’s mitt — a Ted Simmons autographed model.
I loved being on the receiving end of beautiful curveballs and knuckleballs.
I was embarrassed by a horrible throw I made that no one would have been able to catch.
My favorite part, though, was hearing Kyle talk about the incredible work his organization Brace for Impact 46 is doing in Haiti and North St. Louis.
Kyle is using his gifts to give back, sharing life and hope with others. He’s leading a team to Haiti in just a couple of weeks as he goes multiple times a year.
Play catch. Make new friends. Hear amazing stories of hope around the world.
If you make it out to Hammons Field this year, be sure to keep your eye open for Matt, the new PR guy. Before the caravan arrived, Matt helped warm me up and told me an incredible story about Derek Jeter.
Baseball tells the best stories.
