PCB

It sucks that I have to write this blog with a heavy heart knowing that our baseball season is over. I haven't been this sad in a long time. Truth be told, I'm not sad for me. I'm sad for all those seniors that aren't going to get to play another meaningful game again. Sure, they might pick up a bat in an adult league game or some slow pitch, beer league softball game, but they won't play another game that meant as much as these PCB games did. 

The weekend started off as well at it could when we shellacked Drexel and mercy ruled them. Then today things took a quick turn for the worse. We hit the ball alright against Delaware, unfortunately they pounded the ball and beat us handily. Which meant we had to play another game against Drexel for a shot at the championship. We battled back and forth and we just came up short. Plain and simple we didn't do enough to win. We had a team talk at the end of the game which made it all a lot more real. Hearing Fitz, Bags, and Cunliffe talk about the season brought it all into perspective. We did a lot of great stuff this year and we have nothing to be ashamed of. But you can't help but feel like there was something else, a feeling like it wasn't supposed to be over just yet.

I didn't know when or where our season would end, only that eventually it would end. I think that we all believed we'd get to play in the World Series. At the very least we all expected one more day together. And the shitty part is that we didn't get that day. Instead, our season ended on a dreary, rainy day in upstate New York. 

I believe I can do two things for these seniors. I can thank them for what they did for me and this team, and I can help move PCB in the right direction next year. Since next year is a while away and today's loss is still stinging, I'll thank the seniors. Thanks Green and Bradburn for always giving me something to laugh about and for showing me how PCB can give you a best friend. Thanks Murr for always having such a positive demeanor and being such a good guy. Thanks Rota for the profession your going into (one I have the utmost respect for) and for the constant reminder that you'd probably beat my ass. Thanks ADP for always giving me a hard time and for throwing absolute gas. Thanks McCue for showing what a great center fielder looks like and for giving us somewhere to have parties/chill. Thanks Bags for a nice WPIAL presence on the team and for being an all around leader. Thanks Greenfield for being one of the most genuinely good guys I've ever met and for teaching me to learn how to love. Thanks Brett for all those stupid quirks of yours that kept the mood light and for welcoming me to the team. Thanks Fitz for everything you did for this team: from giving up playing to putting his entire being into the team. And finally, thanks Cunliffe for all the advice you've given me and got for not cutting me when I showed up to tryouts in black pants and rec specs. 

That takes care of the thank yous for now. Even though no amount of thanks yous would ever be enough to thank these guys for what they did for me this year. 

This year baseball was fun again. It was more fun than it ever was in high school. This year baseball was meaningful and it was competitive. We were competitive. Every time I took the field I expected to win, and honestly that was the first time in a long time that I felt that way. Until regionals we never put out the same lineup two games in a row. It's pretty cool to think that we were able to compete like we did without the same kids on the field. 

Like I said before, we accomplished a lot this year. We had a great record. We went 6-1 in Florida. And for the first time in PCB history we were ranked #1 in the country. 

We didn't do what we planned on doing this year, but we did have some fun and we definitely made some memories. 

As I sit here in this hotel room I can look back on the season and laugh at some of the crazy shit that happened. We didn't make it to the World Series but we made some unforgettable memories, and maybe at the end of the day that's enough. No trophy or ranking in the world would ever be able to replace the memories and friendships I've made this year. 

Looking back to the end of the game I realize I didn't cry. Which is unusual for someone as emotional as me. But I realized why I didn't cry today. Today wasn't for me to cry about. Today wasn't about me and if I cried it would've been me making it about me. Sure, I'm sad that these seniors are gone, but I'm not gonna cry about it because I know that I'll see them all again. 

PCB has been the best part of Pitt so far. There is no debate about it. I'm eternally thankful that the guys didn't cut me (even though after the first day of tryouts I was destined to never play competitive baseball again). I'm already looking forward to next year and dreaming about the possibilities. 

NP: Drive- Incubus