New Glove

I got a new glove when I was down in California.

My dad, nephew and I were headed back to the house after a glorious burger at In N Out when dad wanted to stop at Dick's Sporting Goods on the way back.  He wanted to get a glove so he could play catch with my youngest nephew Josh.  He thought when Josh was then old enough, he could give him the glove.

Makes sense.  Josh is super into baseball and football.  He's really into sports of all kinds and it turns out he's pretty good!  I think he's more football than baseball, but baseball has a pretty good place in his heart.  Here's a picture:

He's a good dude.  Anyway, dad loves playing catch with him.

Dad told me at Dick's that he would really love to buy me a great glove.  I had told him a few months ago that my old Mizuno outfield glove was one strong line drive away from tearing through the pocket. It's almost 10  years old and has seen heavy use so I suppose that's probably about right.

I spent a pretty strong 45 minutes picking out the right glove.  It's a Rawlings for the first time. I've always used Mizunos, but the Rawlings felt really good this time around.

Anyway, when we got back to the house, we both loosened up the laces a bit and then did something we hadn't done in ages.  We went out back and played catch on the patio...for probably about 20 minutes.

That was the patio that I used to throw on when I was a kid.  I would spend as much time as I could pitching to my dad.  I would toe up at the edge of the iceplant and deliver to the now-enclosed dining room (formerly outdoor deck).  Dad would dutifully catch me as often as he could.

If dad wasn't around, I would throw a tennis ball against the side of the house as often as I could.  I figured I would work on throwing hard and then fielding as well.  That was back when I could actually field a ground ball.

At any rate, that day brought me solidly back to my childhood and my love of baseball that I've had as long as I can remember.

It's one of those things that I'll always look back on and remember really fondly.  I just thought I'd mention this.  I know it's not TJ related really, but it was special to me.