Baseball Is Life

As many of you know, both Jessica and I have sons that play baseball. Cayden plays for University of Arkansas Fort Smith and Cort plays for Baylor. Our boys have learned a life’s worth of lessons in their short, four-year college career. Cayden has battled with injuries this season. Because it is their journey, I’m sure Jessica will take time to write about it in the coming weeks.

For Cort, his career is possibly coming to a close at the end of this season. He graduates in May with a double major in Finance & Management Information Systems, and also a certificate in Business Analytics. This is quite an accomplishment while also being a student-athlete.  

People often ask me if he is going to be drafted and play pro ball. This is a great question. A question Cort doesn’t get to answer. The teams make that decision for you. And, if they do draft you, is that something you actually want to pursue. I think deep down, every boy dreams of being drafted one day, with an opportunity to play under the big lights in front of thousands of fans. The reality, however, it that seldom happens. Lots of things have to go right for the dream to become a reality.

First, you have to be given some measure of physical gifts that only come from our Lord. God knows it’s not from Mom or Dad’s genetics! Second, you have to mentally commit to the game for a LONG time. Most of us don’t possess the fortitude to grind out a task for that long. Third, you have to stay healthy. After watching many of Cort’s teammates come and go with injuries, I’d say staying healthy enough to play is probably the hardest thing to do on college athletics. And finally, you have to have lots of luck! Are you on the right team, with the right coaches, with the right teammates, with the right situation, so that you have an opportunity to get on the field? Every player on the team was the, or one of the, best players on their high school or summer club team. That’s not the case when you get to college. Every kid on the field is exceptional. Whether they are in the starting lineup or the third man in line, they are special.

During Cort’s career at Baylor, he spent three years on losing teams. By losing, I mean they had more losses than wins. I distinguish it this way because simply being on the team is a huge win. Unlike many of his former teammates who were frustrated with our losses, he elected to remain at Baylor, gain an incredible education, and make the best of a poor winning percentage.

This year, however, things look at bit different. The season is going well and we are off to a winning start. Baylor has a very competitive team and we have high hopes to have a great season. Now that we are near the last few months of what has been a pursuit since he could walk, we all are trying our best to squeeze every ounce of experiences and memories out of this final leg of the journey.  

Baseball is tough. Some days you feel like it takes so much from your child, and from you as a parent. But, what baseball is giving our boys is a life’s worth of lessons in just 4 years. Hard work, luck, skill, work ethic, tears, heartache, self-examination, elation, euphoria, despair, fair treatment, unfair treatment, personal struggles, personal satisfaction, team dynamics, etc. All of these lessons are valuable and necessary to become a productive spouse, father, and citizen. I pray that baseball will be all of these things and more.

I invite you to join us in our final journey. Come support your Bears up to four games per week. We play Tuesdays, Friday, Saturday, and Sundays. The schedule is HERE.  https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/schedule/2025

Tuesday nights are especially great as everything is $2. Tickets, hot dogs, and drinks.  

Chad