I Was The Coolest Big Kid for a Day

Baseball: it's one of those sports that many of us fans are passionate and romantic about. Home runs, outstanding catches, and walk-off wins. Back in mid-March on a warm Saturday afternoon, I had an opportunity to take part in an exciting event. I was among the few dozens of people who took part in a batting practice event at Arvest Ballpark, home of the Minor League's Northwest Arkansas Naturals. For context, I never played any sports in school, because I was shy and severely bullied. The closest thing to me playing sports was being in PE classes. My favorite sports I enjoyed the most in PE class was basketball, indoor kickball, and dodgeball. The latter sport has since been taken out of schools, because many people have said it encouraged bullying. I found that claim laughable and ridiculous, because it seems like some people, not all, like to take the fun out of everything. This was an example of this is why we can't have nice things.

I arrived at Arvest Ballpark around one in the afternoon and headed down the bleachers and near home plate. A first for me was being inside a Minor League dugout (shown above), so one of the two items on my bucket list was crossed off. Days earlier, I received an email regarding the batting practice event. There was a limited number of participants taking part in this, so it was first come, first served. I immediately signed up for it and it stated that I had to bring my own gear, which consisted of a bat, batting helmet, and batting gloves. I had to purchase those items at two different stores, which totaled a little over $100. This took place the day before the event. Less than 12 hours later, I was Arvest Ballpark, and many participants were in attendance, both adults and kids. Each participant had 90 seconds each to hit as many balls as possible from a machine that were launching towards them. Before it was my turn to head near home plate, I encountered a Rangers fan, which was rare. He was wearing a World Series hoodie, while I was wearing my Corey Seager World Series gold-trimmed Rangers jersey. In my previous story about my experiences of attending Naturals games, you'll see a diverse group of fans. Whether someone is a fan of the Rangers or Royals, which is the fanbase I see the most often at games, it's diverse.

It was finally my turn to hit some baseballs. Sporting my batting helmet and baseball bat in tow, I was eager to knock off another item off my bucket list. I missed so many balls but hit at least one or two of them in a minute and a half. Mind you, my wooden bat was so heavy. I could've bought a lighter bat for a cheaper price. When I was finished, I was happy that I got to do something exciting for the first time and to experience what it was like to be a baseball player. Hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to do something like this again someday. Sure, I'll never be in the big leagues, but it was a fun and exciting experience that I was glad to be part of.

My first Naturals related story will be found down below. It's worth the read and interesting.

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