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Decline of the American Black Athlete in Sports
It has been almost 60 years since Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, and now blacks dominate Major League Baseball. Even so, blacks were kept out of the more “intellectual” positions or sports. In the NFL, Quarterback was a tough...
ESPN Magazine The History
ESPN (the magazine), formerly an abbreviation of Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, is published bi-weekly and owned by an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting mostly sports-related programming twenty-four hours...
Gymnastics History – A Brief Overview
Gymnastics: History and Value - A Perspective Gymnastics, as an activity, has been around for more than two thousand years in one form or another, from the ancient Greek Olympics, to Roman ceremony, to today’s modern meets. As an organized and...
Make A Slam Dunk With Great Sports Gift Ideas
Do you have a sports fanatic in your family? Perhaps you’re just looking for a great gift idea for an acquaintance who happens to live life for sports. Whether you have a big budget or a small one, there are plenty of great sport ideas to choose...
The Rise Of A Racing Empire
In 1947, the sport of stock car racing was becoming extremely popular and beginning to draw large crowds of spectators. More drivers began taking an interest due to the increasing fan popularity. Cohesiveness, however, did not exist as rules...
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Why I Would Rather Be A Slugger Than A Pitcher
During the last NLCS, I asked Brandon Backe of the Astros what the hardest thing was for him in making the conversion from outfielder to pitcher in the minors. He said it was "not playing every day." That is why I would rather be a slugger, to answer your question. I'd want my mind and body to be in every inning of every game. I wouldn't want to be one elbow injury away from a possible end of my career or a lost year. I listened to Nolan Ryan talk at the last All-Star FanFest in Houston about how he would have to "rebuild" his body from one start to the next, an incredibly arduous process that the great pitchers know and few fans realize. Ryan would be on the bike immediately after each start, and he said his physical strength would go down to about 50 percent a day or two after each start, and then his mission was to get it back up to 100 percent by the next start. As the slugger you mentioned, I'd love to be in that zone of hitting in the cages every day and be able to "slow down" every pitch like Manny Ramirez and Albert Pujols do so incredibly well.
There is no greater feeling on earth than hitting a ball over a fence and running around the bases at your own speed. And I would be just like Scott Rolen, who has the fastest home run trot in the game -- no-nonsense, get back to the dugout and prepare for that next at-bat. I would be even-keel like a Cal
Ripken and a Tony Gwynn and take satisfaction from reaching my potential every day and living in that zone and being completely in every inning.
The above article was written and given to this publication with permissions
by Mark Newman –
You can find Mark at www.mlb.com
For me hitting a ball on the sweet part of the bat is the best. As far as doing anything in sports, I cannot think of anything that pleased me more. This includes shooting a basketball, scoring a touchdown, or sinking a long put in golf. When I played, it was my fantasy to hit one squarely. This is what I dreamt about. Hit one to right center. Hit one to left center. Hit one down the line.
Always hit it hard.
Aron Wallad
Founder Baseball’s Pride and Joy
About The Author
Aron Wallad has been a baseball lover for over 40 years. Writing about his favorite subject, baseball, has been a blessing. You will enjoy the heartwarming stories, the unusual statistics and inspiring quotes. But mostly you will love the heartwarming stories that hit a home run to your heart.
Join his ezine http://www.baseballsprideandjoy.com/index.php?tag=acity
aron@baseballsprideandjoy.com
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