Baseball has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Even though my Dad was a fan of the Reds, I grew up a Cardinals fan and would rush home from school to catch the last few innings of their day games on TV. My Dad and I spent years of my youth collecting baseball cards, with my prize cards being two Mickey Mantle cards from the 60’s. We still exchange phone calls whenever the Reds and Cardinals play so the winner can give the loser a hard time. That loser is usually me,

Growing up I played Little League baseball for a coach who was one of the most influential people in my life. He taught me about the rules of the game, sportsmanship, and life in general. I still watch the Little League World Series because it reminds me of those days. He took the team to a Cardinals game, my first major league game, and it’s a memory I’ll cherish forever. The highlight was getting an autograph from catcher Yadier Molina.

My former coach was the league president. I would sit in the booth and pretend to do play-by-play for the games. Often he would take me home at night, and we’d sit in his truck and talk about the game we had just watched. Sometimes we’d talk about baseball, sometimes about life. He knew a lot about both, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without him.

I was in the baseball card club in Junior High, and the other kids were consistently frustrated that I would usually get 9 or 10 questions correct out of 10 on our trivia games. I’ve