Photo By Cpl. Paul S. Martinez | McGregor grew up playing baseball and later represented his state in nation-wide...... read more read more
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TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. - McGregor grew up playing baseball and later represented his state in nation-wide tournaments. He continues his love for the sport by playing softball aboard the Combat Center.
In the town that I grew up in, you could do one of three things. Stay there and grow old, play sports, or join the military. I tried my hand at baseball.
I started playing baseball in third grade when two neighborhood kids asked me to come to practice with them.
I think one of the most exciting things a kid could do is hit the ball. I picked up a bat and it came natural to me.
My mom gave me a choice to play soccer or baseball due to what we could afford. I stuck with baseball.
Life wasn’t easy growing up. My mom was raising three of us and trying to go to school. But she always made sure I had cleats and a glove. I didn’t always know what was going on, but I knew enough to know it wasn’t good.
Nonetheless, I could go to a diamond and leave the hardships behind.
For the two or three hours of a baseball game, I could escape that reality and feel like a kid is supposed to feel. I could get away from what was going on with my mom or my dad.
It was also a way to stay out of trouble. Baseball kept my nose clean so I didn’t follow any paths with the wrong crowd.
I felt at home on the baseball field. It gave me the opportunity to play with great coaches who really tried for me. They were patient. Looking back now, I’m glad they were that way.
The opportunities I have been given because of baseball have been outstanding. I have been able to travel the country.
Being able to go out of state and play, we had proved ourselves by beating the number one team in the state numerous times and were dubbed the number one team in Oklahoma.
We felt good being able to defeat every team that came across us, and being able to go on and represent your state is a great feeling.
We played teams from all over the United States. That was the first time we got to see our skill level nationally.
Before, we would go in and just end a team as fast as possible. When we got to Texas, it really turned into a dogfight. We were constantly on our toes. I enjoyed going against such a challenging team.
That first year we got to nationals and felt really confident about it, but finally lost and placed fourth.
The year after that, we came back feeling stronger and went to Memphis, Tennessee, but we downright got our butts kicked. It was a week-long tournament and we only lasted about two days.
It was still fun to see the caliber of players all over the country come together to compete in this large-scale tournament. Trying to put your best guys against their best guys, it was different being on the other end of the whooping stick.
My big shoulder injury happened during the start of football season. We had a new coach that thought it would be fun to see where the team was at with hitting. It's not something we should have done after a summer break.
We were running 20 yards at each other diagonally. I was defending, and the other guy had the ball. I hit him pretty well the first time, but on the second time the collision was worse.
Instantly I knew something was wrong. I got very light-headed and they say that’s a sign you’ve torn something.
The arm I hurt was my throwing arm. We didn’t have health insurance so I couldn’t get surgery.
Luckily, the shoulder healed on its own. I went back out to baseball. It still hurt, but I rehabilitated it myself.
To this day, I’m still upset over the situation. I was going to try out for the Rangers team. Their triple A team was in Oklahoma City, known as the Oklahoma City Red Hawks. My coaches were getting me ready for it.
Although baseball was still a way for me to escape reality, I lost the joy of it due to my confidence going down from that injury. I was so nervous about hurting myself again. I liked being on the field but I felt like I wasn't contributing anymore. I had a love-hate relationship with the sport from then on.
Thinking about that injury takes me back to the instant when it was all taken away from me.
After that league, I stepped away from baseball. I felt I needed to do it.
Much later, upon arriving at Twentynine Palms, I decided to take up softball.
I now feel like there’s no pressure to the sport. I'm back to knowing what it’s like to have fun playing the sport. Just like when I was a kid.
Although it’s softball, I can still run, catch, hit and just have fun while getting dirty. That’s what baseball has always been for me.
| Date Taken: | 10.24.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 10.24.2013 13:52 |
| Story ID: | 115665 |
| Location: | TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 34 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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