CRACK! “Good hit Jason,” says the coach

Jason started running through the bases like a cheetah, a stand-up triple to start out the game. The second batter, one of Jason’s friends Kris was up to bat, trying to score Jason, Kris tried to hit in Jason to start the game with a 1-0 lead. WACK! Kris hits a sacrifice fly to center field, Jason watches the ball in the air like an eagle, once he saw the ball go into the center fielders glove Jason bolted off the bag like a cheetah seeing its prey. Racing to home plate as the shortstop just got the ball to throw to home. Jason hears the dugout say.

 “SLIDE!”

 Jason slides feeling like he was a little kid again sliding through the wet grass, Jason reaches for the plate while the catcher is laying the ball with his glove toward his hand. Jason slides right into the catcher and hits his shoulder right into the catcher’s gear.

 “Safe,” says the ump.

Jason yells in agony, trainers racing to Jason like the Indianapolis 500. Jason looks down to his shoulder realizing it is dislocated. As the trainers get there they see his shoulder and start pushing it to get it back in the socket. POP! Jason’s shoulder went back in place, Jason was drug off the field like he was a dead deer. As soon as he was drug off the field he was sent to the ER. Jason wanted to keep playing and wanted to play for his team because he knew there would be scouts to the games he would be absent for, and that would affect him being recruited by d1 teams. All of his courage drained out of his body like a tub. light-headed saying he can play the rest of the game and saying he was feeling fine, suddenly fell to the ground unconscious.

Jason woke up with a headache and a pain in his shoulder. “Where am I?” asks Jason, in the emergency room”, says the doctor in Jason’s room at the moment.

“I will be gone for a little bit so if anything feels weird or happens just press the button to your right and I will be here in a jiff,” says the doctor.

Jason who looks like he was hungover after a long night. Jason felt like he just swallowed a 25-night quill, Jason fell asleep right away.

Jason woke up when he noticed his dad in the room watching him, “How are you feeling buddy?”

Jason who feels a lot better from earlier says “I feel fine”. 

Right after that, the door, the doctor who had a paper and pen in her hand walked through the door.

 “I want you to fill this paper out,” the doctor said and walked out of the room. 

He took the paper and read through it, it was talking about what he remembered from the incident he had from yesterday.

What day is it? Jason said February 24th, 2022 which was correct, How does your shoulder feel? Jason feels like his shoulder is getting cut off with a very dull knife, Jason was lying, Jason thought the better he says it feels the quicker he gets to leave the ER room and the quicker he can get to playing baseball and impress more scouts, Where are you’re from, Jason answers a small town in Kansas.

Jason knew this was his last year of High School, and he wants his school to get a state championship on their trophy shelf. Once he was done the doctor grabbed the paperback and left the room for the other doctors to see how long it will be till he gets to leave the hospital. Jason who was still in bed watching baseball on the T.V. 

Jason was thinking about what he could’ve done differently when he was sliding headfirst at home plate.

“I should’ve slid feet first” Jason’s saying in his mind, what could he have done differently? 

Just after that, the doctor came to the room saying he was fine to leave if he passed a procedure he needed to do for his arm. The doctor had do feel around his shoulder asking if something hurt or felt weird. 

Jason’s arm felt like a million needles were going into his arm, but he shrugged it off and acted like it was fine. At one point the doctor got to a raw spot, Jason flinched a little bit and the doctor asked “did that hurt?” 

Jason answers back with a crying grin painted on his face “nope not at all”.

“Alrighty then Jason should be fine to go home, but I’d suggest taking it a little easy on some things like baseball, or other activities that might prevent your arm from healing quickly”.

Jason could only lift up his arm about head high but didn’t tell anybody about that. 

He ignored the fact that the doctor said to take it easy on some things like baseball, and other activities. 

Once he got home he got his glove and a baseball and called Kris to pick him up to play some catch. Kris threw the baseball to Jason and once Jason threw it back to Kris he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. 

Kris asked, “what happened?”.

 Jason answers back “I-I don’t know, my arm just got a sharp pain through it”.

 Kris took Jason home right after the incident, Jason told his dad what happened and Jason’s dad wasn’t pleased to hear what happened.

Jason went up to his room, while he was in his bed he was getting flashbacks of what happened when he slid into home plate. He knew this was only scrimmages so far, they didn’t even get to playing games yet, it was only February. Jason stopped thinking about it and just wanted to go to bed. Jason woke up from his dad crying saying something wrong happened to Jason’s mom. Jason’s mom worked the night shift so she would get home when Jason was leaving for school. Jason without a clue of what happened put his slippers on and followed his dad to the car. 

“Dad, what happened to mom?” Jason says.

 Jason’s dad replies back “Your mom got into a car accident”. 

Jason says “Is she okay”.

 Jason’s dad replies back “I don’t know Jason”.

Jason still feels like he’s in a nightmare, waiting to wake up and be in his comfy bed just about to get up and turn on the shower. 

They get to the hospital, Jason’s dad asking where Jason’s mom is and all the front office could say is to just wait in the waiting room.

 The doctor says to Jason and Jason’s dad “Your mom doesn’t have much longer to live, go and say your last words to her”. 

They get into the room and see Jason’s mom, Jason runs to the bed she was laying in.

Jason was saying that she will make it and Jason’s mom was just shaking her head. “No”, Jason’s mom says.

 “Just keep working hard on baseball and never give up your dream”.

And the biggest thing he remembers his mom saying is “Do it for me, Jason”.

March 25, 2022, a full month since Jason’s mom died, Jason hasn’t touched a baseball since he and Kris played catch, Jason getting a flashback from his mom saying “Do it for me, Jason”.

All of a sudden he remembers what his goal is, get a D1 scholarship to a college. Jason’s shoulder has been a lot better since the incident, Jason has been going to physical therapy for his shoulder every week. Jason’s team has played 8 games since he was gone with a record of 4 wins and 4 losses. Jason knew he needed to be there for his team soon otherwise they won’t even make the playoffs. Today was game day, and he wanted to win more than anything to show recruiters and his team that he was ready for a state championship title. Warming up with Kris he felt very comfortable throwing the ball back and forth. 

When the game started they were up to bat first, Jason was the 3rd batter up to bat. The game started with 2 singles, Jason was up to bat, with a person on 1st and 3rd he was ready to rip a shot up the middle to score at least one of them in. Jason watches the first strike go past him, next to a ball, next to another ball, Jason knew this was his count now. Jason knew it was going to be a fastball away and up, Jason watched the ball come to him, BOOM! Jason watches the ball going higher and higher waiting for it to go over the fence, Jason started running like a cheetah first, and once he heard the bench cheering he started to jog around the bases because he knew it was over the fence, a home run. Jason felt like he was the king of the world.

They ended up winning 5 to 3 in extra innings with Kris scoring a walk-off single.

The next games are the real games, the playoffs.

He had a whole week to heal his shoulder before he plays in the playoffs.

The next day at school his physical trainer asks how he felt when he was playing in the game last night, Jason replies back “I felt amazing playing back”

Jason with a smile painted on his face finally felt great to be back at school and happy he is finally feeling normal again.

Jason’s team won the playoffs with ease winning 8-0. Next was the regionals, and after that is the state championship game. 

Today was the day of the regionals game, Jason felt good but was nervous because there were going to be D1 scouts there watching him play. 

Kris knew that there were scouts here for Jason, and Kris just wanted to keep his mind off of the scouts and just play like he usually does.

Nothing happened until the 6th inning when Jason hit a double to score in 2 people to get a lead of 2-0.

But they strike back with a 2 run homerun to be tied going into the bottom of the 7th inning. Bases loaded, Jason is up to bat, Jason watches the first pitch go by for a strike, next pitch he sees the hanging curve ball coming and that’s what he was looking to hit on. BOOM! He hits a single up the middle to win the game.

Everybody was cheering and all of Jason’s teammates were piling on Jason.

Next was the state championship game, and that’s all Jason wanted.

Today was the game for the state championship game, and Jason was more than ready.

The game has started and Jason’s team is home so they have a better advantage to win the game because they get the last chance to win the game. 

Nothing happened for most of the game until the bottom of the 7th inning. Jason’s team was last up to bat. Jason was up to bat with 2 people on base. 

Jason rips the first pitch right down right field, and Jason’s team wins.

Jason thought of his mom and how proud she would be if she was there for his game. 

After a few minutes of cheering, crying, and laughing, Jason finally got out of the big ball of jumping high schoolers and sees a guy with a black Vanderbilt sweatshirt with blue jeans by his dugout waiting for him. Jason walks over to the guy and the guy says “I’m a Vanderbilt scout for our baseball team, and I would be happy if I'd see you with a Vanderbilt jersey on playing for my team”. Jason needed money to help his dad with money because at the moment they were almost bankrupt.

Jason replies back “I’d love to”.