I made it! (Day 17)

It landed on my desk in the afternoon.

I didn’t want to hold back my excitement, but I felt I probably should so as not to embarrass myself. But someone had just dropped off the first issue of the Baseball America magazine that I worked on! I had a big part in it!

Well, having my name on three pages is a big deal to me. I don’t know how many times everyone else’s name appears in there, and really I guess I could check, but my immediate concern was to find my own articles (and charticle) and then just smile to myself and enjoy it. I’m pretty pumped about it.

I haven’t read the rest of the magazine and I’m sure I will get to it at some point, but first I need to take care of personal matters. For example, I need to tell everyone I know and then somehow get it to them. Since it’s a magazine and I am in North Carolina, it looks like some old-fashioned snail mail is heading home.

The rest of the people at BA can’t blame me for being excited though. I will continue to hide it as best I can, but they must have had the same feeling at some point. It doesn’t matter to me that this is the 1,025^th issue of the magazine and they’ve been a part of hundreds of them. They should still be ecstatic to see their names and faces and things they have compiled. I hope I’m always this happy about it.

But since I may not always be overjoyed with every miniscule accomplishment that I make (not that I think that’s what this is, this is clearly huge for me), I will take this for all it’s worth and continue in my world of delight for as long as I can.

My day started earlier in the day however, and even the morning was exciting for me.

When I got to work after stopping by McDonald’s for another breakfast smoothie, Editor 3 dropped by my desk. He made some small talk about my choice of breakfast drink, and I told him that we don’t have them at the McDonald’s in Canada, but I think he just felt awkward about only coming by to give me work. I wouldn’t have been offended though if he had just set it on my desk and walked away. I was pretty pumped that they are continuing to give me more articles!

They must have liked what I did previously, or else they wouldn’t keep asking me to write. Or maybe they’re desperate and I’m available, but I can think what I want.

He asked me to write another story on a Bob Freitas Award winner. I feel a little bit more confident in doing so since I already have one under my belt. This one is going to be on the Pioneer League’s Idaho Falls Chukars (pronounced chuckers, or at least that is what it sounded like when I spoke to the team’s General Manager).

Editor 3 gave me the phone number for the league’s president and mentioned that he was on the west coast so I should wait awhile before calling. There was no phone number for the team’s GM, but there was one for the organization, so I looked up the team online and found his email address instead. Since I didn’t know what time zone he might be in, I figured it would be safer to email.

Actually, I just tend to think people develop some weird sense of familiarity to me if I email them first and they are more willing to talk when I do get them on the phone. It’s a system that has been working for me so far, so I’ll stick with it until something goes wrong.

After speaking with the GM via email, and then on the phone, I also got the email address of the league president. I thought I would send a courtesy message electronically before calling. I got so distracted by transcribing and working on the other assignment I had been given that I never ended up calling. But I still feel like I got a lot accomplished on the story.

The other assignment I was given was by Editor 1, and it came almost immediately after the first. He told me that NCAA Division II college teams are probably going to start using wood bats instead of aluminum ones as early as 2012. Apparently it’s a big deal, and the more I researched, I figured out a little bit of why.

It seems to me to be a good choice for the teams. It will bring the game back to where it started, and take away the outbursts of offense due to the bats the players use. It will also help scouts get a better look at what kids might look like in professional ball, both assisting the players, and helping the Division II schools, because it will make them look more attractive to players.

Editor 1 said he was going to get back to me with more information and some contacts but I didn’t get any throughout the day. I read what I could on the subject, but most of the literature is from earlier in the year when it hadn’t been decided what was going to happen. I should probably remind him tomorrow that he told me he was going to send some information for calling a couple of college coaches in my direction.

So I’ve completed my research on both topics and now I just wait for the interviews. Then I have to hope that I won’t have another case of writer’s block.

After work there was no gym for me because of the injury I suffered yesterday. My knees are still sore and hurt more and more every time I get up. I hope the pain will subside soon but I am not planning on getting up early tomorrow to go for a run or anything.

I did go to Michael’s craft store once again to get some more paint for the Christmas presents I am making for my cousins. I have decided to paint each of the girls a canvas bag. One will be decorated with butterflies and the other with random stars and hearts and other artistry. I tried to pinpoint what they would like best and that’s what I have come up with.

I also made a pitstop at Target to get a couple of binders and some envelopes for sending home the newest issue of BA. I made a detour through the food section and saw some muffin mix requiring only water to fulfill the recipe. I added it to the collection of things in my arms ready for purchase and subsequently had chocolate muffins for dinner. They were pretty good.

At home, full of muffins and ready for a new episode of House to start, I got a lot done on the Christmas presents I am painting. I will have to wait to do more until what’s done is dry, but I am pretty happy with the outcome so far.

After House, the baseball documentary I had begun watching last week continued. Today couldn’t get any better. Baseball in the morning, baseball at night. And now I am pretty excited because I think it will continue next week too.

I’m beginning to think that this industry really might be where I belong. And this sport, America’s favourite pastime, might just have to find a spot for me because I won’t stop trying until I get one.

I love baseball, and despite what some people say, I don’t think there can be too much of a good thing. I can research bats and interview short-season ball teams all day long and still come home and want to relive the last decade of what’s happened in the major leagues. I’m excited about getting up in the morning to go back to baseball and I have been looking forward to Spring Training and the next season since the last one ended.

I don’t think I will ever get sick of it because it’s never exactly the same. The teams change, the winners change, and though the game remains, the excitement doesn’t die down. Well, I hope it won’t ever die down for me.

So just like my joy over the 1,025^th issue of the Baseball America magazine, I will cherish my love for baseall as long as it can last, probably forever. America’s favourite pastime lives in Canada, too.