04/07/2025
Baseball was never your dream, it was mine.
From the very first time you hit the Little Tykes baseball off the plastic tee, I dreamt of the day you could play the game. In the 70’s and 80’s my grandfather was an umpire for the bigs, my dad played, so it was just what I knew. In January 2015 BCLL announced they were allowing 3 year olds to play t-ball, and I couldn’t get my money there quick enough! That first season you laid in the outfield and picked me flowers. After that, you were a force to be reckoned with. You were gritty, fast, calculated. You could play mind games with a pitcher like no player your age I’ve ever met, making you one hell of a base runner. You were disciplined, and had what it takes to hit a ground ball right up the middle, bottom of the 9th down by one to get the runner in from 3rd. The kinda kid coaches from hours away wants on the their team. But, it was never your dream. Baseball wasn’t something you ate for breakfast. You were just naturally that good. Strong as an ox but barely lifting weights, fast as lightening without trying, an absolute animal on the diamond without even trying. My words “bigger than baseball” come from this. Because the game itself was always my dream. The band of brothers, the community, the memories, that was what Cam cared about. That’s why his spirit has never been broken, because it was never about the game. It was about something bigger, something that can’t be broken, it can’t be lost.
The 2025 season is the first season he hasn’t picked up a baseball in a decade. Maybe I’m still trying to convince myself that it’s truly bigger than the baseball. You’ll always be the best to me, #22 ⚾️💔
