Christian Sledge
Professor Justice
English 102-A
27 February 2015
We Lost…But I Won My name is Christian Sledge and I am an outstanding baseball player. I just finished my senior year of High School and I have the top college in the United States recruiting me wanting me to play for them and carry them to a World Series. The thing is Colleges coaches are not the only people looking at me. Unfortunately for the college coaches I have Professional baseball teams that seem to think I have what it takes to go straight to the next level. I have always dreamed of play in the MLB (Major League Baseball). I am one of the best pitchers in the nations out of High School and pitchers are the first ones to get picked in a draft. Baseball is the only one of the major sports where you can be what they call “drafted” straight out of High School. It is up to the player to decide what he wants to do. Some players decide to go to go to college to help better prepare themselves for the MLB. I do not think I need to go to college to help prepare myself for the next level of competition. I think I can jump straight in and rise to the top and take my team straight to the World Series and get a ring. My parents would rather me go to college and get an education to fall back on incase of injury. I understood where they were coming from but didn’t want to take that route. The way the Draft works is the worst teams get to pick first all the way up to the best teams. Generally the last team is always the team who won the World Series the previous year. Majority of the time a pitcher is picked first. I am hoping and praying that I get chosen first overall because whoever is the first chosen in the draft gets big signing bonus of thousands of dollars. Some teams are talking that I’m not worthy of a high pick in the draft. As Draft Day creeps upon us I’m steadily working out and trying to get better in any way possible. The day is finally here, I’m standing in the room awaiting and hoping that my name is called upon first. First pick wasn’t me….neither was the second or third, yet I was picked fifteenth overall in the first round to the Atlanta Braves. Being that I was picked fifteenth means that I was picked by one of the better teams in the league. Atlanta Braves made the playoffs last year but lost in a deep series to lack of pitching which is where I will come in. Majority of players that are drafted are sent to the Minor League system which is more like a developmental league. It wasn’t long before I was pulled up to the Majors due to my outstanding performances. The Braves are on a roll this year while leading their division and I am once again doing outstanding slowly moving up in the rotation. I currently hold the best ERA (Earned Run Average) in the league. Which is key to being a pitcher because the less runs you give up the more of a chance you give your to win. When I was little my dad and I watched every single World Series as far as I can remember. My dad and I would make wagers on who would win the World Series and he would tell me how back in the day people would make wagers on the games. He also told me about the Black Sox’s scandal when they were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. The Black Sox were full of legendary players. I always thought to myself of how idiotic it would be to throw a World Series. The season is coming to an end and us Braves are still leading our division and are expected to go