I know...I'm just an old fool...

[Harold Burrell]

I feel a little foolish about this and...well...I try talking to my wife about this, but...somehow...I don't think she really understands.

Perhaps no one here will either.

Regardless...I've got to tell somebody. So, here goes...

I love baseball. I love watching it. I love listening to it. And I absolutely LOVE playing it. (Well, for the last several decades, I have played softball...but you get the idea.)

Some of my earliest and fondest childhood memories are my Little League days. No, I wasn't very good. And when I played at all, it was in Right Field. But I LOVED it! I loved the smell of my glove. I loved stepping into the box...rubbing dirt on my hands...and swinging the bat. I loved the tingle you got in your hands when you made contact. Especially when you knew you hit one on the "sweet spot".

I loved hustling down the line and "beating one out". I loved the thrill of stealing second...and sliding head first.

I loved scoring...and getting slapped on the back by teammates.

And I loved playing the outfield.

My early days was Right Field ( that was where they stuck the "not-so-good" players back in the 60's). Fortunately, though, I got better...and faster. I eventually became a Center Fielder. Yeah buddy...it don't get much better than that! Roaming Center Field. BEGGING the opposition to hit it to you. Running down fly balls. Over-the-shoulder catches. Charging grounders...then throwing guys out trying to stretch a single into a double.

Man...I even loved those times when I would run for all I was worth to get to a fly ball...wondering if I was going to make it...followed by that split second decision, "Do I go for it or play it on a hop"...then leaving my feet...watching it nestle into the glove...and then thinking, "Man, this is going to HURT!"

I LOVED that!!!

Well, as the years have passed, I've continued to play. Softball now. Church League Softball, to be exact. (Now, don't get me wrong. This is not church picnic softball. This is modified fast-pitch, VERY competitive softball. I broke my right index finger just last week, as a matter of fact. )

Unfortunately...as much as I love to play, well...my body is having a little trouble keeping up. The fact is...I'm slowing down. And I refuse to play like an old man. So...I gotta quit.

In fact, tomorrow's my last game.

It's gonna be tough. I'm not really looking forward to it.

And something that I forgot to mention...that makes it even harder...

All the years that I have played organized ball, I have never played on a team that won it all. Whatever team I played on, at best, finished somewhere in the middle.

Well, no team, that is...until this team.

We have won the championship the last 2 years in a row. And tomorrow...we go for #3...as we try to cap off an undefeated season.

I told them at the beginning of the season that this was it for me. At that time, it seemed still a ways off. But now...as I look at the clock...by this time tomorrow it'll be over.

So...this is it. Tomorrow night. One more time, I'll take my place (back in Right Field, by the way). To my right, playing Center will be my nephew (who is only 5 years my younger) that I grew up with playing ball. Playing Left will be his son. And playing SS will be MY son.

I plan to soak up every moment. Every play. Every at bat. I want to experience it all.

Well...except...maybe I won't be quite so hopeful that the ball comes my way. Only because I'm afraid things might be a tad "misty" out there...

[paul cottingham]

I wish there was a "like" button Harold. You have a way with words, I'm sniffling here for you and I don't even like baseball. (I know, I know.)

BTW there is no indignity in playing as an older fella. You should reconsider.....

[Frederick Skelly]

I "get it" Harold. I get it.

Enjoy every moment - especially the priviledge of playing the last game with your loved ones.

If you feel up to it, let us know how it went some time.

Now, go oil that favorite mitt!

Fred

[Lee Schierer]

I get it. When I was younger and playing softball there were lots of older guys playing slow pitch softball in leagues. Now that I'm one of those older guys, you think there is a slow pitch league, no way Jose....I miss playing the game.

[Pat Barry]

Good luck tomorrow Harold.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I'm with you Harold! Enjoy it!

[Harold Burrell]

Thanks guys. I'll let you all know how it goes tomorrow.

[Jim Matthews]

"An athlete dies twice."

My hockey career ended two years ago, and my knees thank me.
I took up tennis, and it's almost as satisfying.

It's not a team sport, and that's the part I miss the most.

[Brian Tymchak]

I get it Harold, completely. I started playing golf when I was 12, because Dad played. Jack Nicklaus was my hero. I emulated his swing almost exactly. I was hooked big time. I played varsity in high school. Should have gone to a college where I could play, but didn't even consider it for some reason. After college, I lived for golf, 6 times a week on the course or the practice range. Wasn't 7 days a week because the club I belonged to was closed on Mondays. Luckily I could flex my work so I could be in to the job at 6:00 a.m. so I could be on the range at 4:00, practice and play til dark. For me, the joy of the game was me against the course, "mano a mano". The hotter the day, the better I played.

About 2000, the job started getting harder, requiring longer hours and weekends, and there was additional pressure because the company was starting to have problems. But the real issue for me was I couldn't get the job out of my head when I was on the course. It affected my play, and my enjoyment. I quit playing in leagues because I felt like I was letting my playing partners down. My friends and my wife couldn't understand why I couldn't have fun playing once a week. They "didn't get it" either. I knew I couldn't be happy without being able to fully commit to always trying to play better. So in 2003, after not playing for about 9 months, I visited my Dad and played one last round with him. Played surprisingly well too up until the last few holes so I was able to save away a great memory. Then I was done, cold turkey. Haven't touched the clubs since. I only watch the majors and our local tournament (The Memorial) on TV. Over the years since, there were a few times that I thought about heading to the range and knocking some balls around, but I wouldn't do it because I knew I would be disappointed. I often thought it would have been easier to pack it in due to an injury because then there would be no second guessing. Now, I really have no regrets about quitting the game except that I didn't achieve the level of play and competition that I believe I was capable of.

Sounds to me that you have enjoyed a life full of happy times with the game, and you're going out on top. I hope you have no regrets. Maybe you have more time for woodworking??

[Shawn Pixley]

Harold, I am sorry you're hanging up the cleats.

I was very small in high school and while I was fast and agile, those who had hit puberty, could generally out perform my efforts. Come to college and add six inches of height and commensuarte speed, I could out run everybody and easily. So beyond track, I took up soccer. So I was really fast and in better shape than everyone else but didn't have the real skills in dribbling, I was asked to to one of two things. I could be asked to playep and old school "Winger". Take the ball to the corner and cross it to a forward or striker. The other thing I could be asked to do, is mark the opponents' best player. That actually was the best fun. This typically turned out well and we as a Division III school, defeated ranked Division I school. I really enjoyed soccer although the opponent hated my marking and often reacted badly.

Well with the fullness of time, I developed more skills and continued to play competetively after University. After bouncing around the country a bit, I ended up at a large corporation in Southern California. We formed a informal lunch soccer club and ultimately, the company built a nice pitch on which to play. As I turned fifty, I was still able to not only keep up but still outrun the twenty year olds. Though every crash or fall seemed to hurt a bit more. I only played in the "masters" level squads - people with skills rather than the "hack the player with the ball and bunch up in a cloud of dust" groups.

Even as I was now fifty, I was asked to fill in at a corporate games match. These were typically yound people who played in the neighborhood but had no real coaching or high level playing. I ended up getting involvedin a big tackle. I suffered a concussion, suffrered a fracture in my tibial plateau, and tore my lateral collatoral ligiment. Thirty years of playing in competetive teams and I get hurt in a rec game?!? This has caused me to hang up the cleats. Time catches up with you.It took me a couple of years to recover.

Harold, I am sorry you're hanging it up. It is a bittersweet day. My wife didn't understand my loss when it happened to me. I hope you get through this okay. It could be harder than you think. You look at others playing, and you wish you were out there. Good luck, congratulations on the long career, enjoy the moment. I'm rooting for you!

[Paul McGaha]

Good luck Harold. I hope you play good and you guys win.

That was a good post you made, Thanks for sharing that.

PHM

[Kent A Bathurst]

3 consecutive titles. THAT is the way to exit. What could you possibly do to top that?

Jim Brown and Barry Sanders come to mind as guys who left on top. Does not happen often, because the opportunity does not come along very often.

The only thing that could make it better would be a base hit + rbi at your last at bat, and then catching the final out of the game - in which case, never, ever, take that ball out of that glove. Never. On the shelf, exactly as it was when you left the field of play.

Enjoy the game. And good luck.

[Myk Rian]

Just like myself, I love the game, and play outfield on a senior league.
If you can't play any more, then help the team by coaching. Even if it's waving your arms wildly at 1st or 3rd base.

[Ole Anderson]

Best read in a long, long time. Yea, I used to play right field, but I never got any better. Now I just enjoy watching the Tigers on the tube. Baseball, best game ever. Harold, savor the memories many of us never got to accumulate. And good luck today.

[Mike Henderson]

I have a friend who's close to 80 and he just quit playing. He had been playing on a "senior" team - I think that's what it was called - so all the other players were close to the same age. But I think he was one of the oldest when he quit. He was pretty sad when he had to quit.

But I think it's different for each of us. Your body will tell you when it's time to quit.

Mike