Letter to a 2020 Cooperstown Player

Dear 12 year old,

You just received the news that you won’t be going to Cooperstown. It hurts, it is disappointing, but I promise it does not define the baseball player you are or are destined to be.

You see, unfortunately, life isn’t fair. Life isn’t fair when you are 12, and life isn’t going to always be fair when you are 40.

What WILL always be fair are the choices you make when things don’t go your way, whether that be a cancelled trip to Cooperstown, a bad pitch called a strike, limited playing time on a high school team or being passed over for a promotion when you are an adult.

This is a crash course in all of the lessons your coaches and parents have been trying to teach you through your baseball career. Not the stats, or the home run to win the game... the big lessons. How to keep your focus and composure and move on when you’re frustrated and disappointed and how to learn and grow from adversity. Will you stomp back to the dugout and pout? Or will you take a deep breath and grab your glove to hit the field?

None of us wanted you to have a crash course in life lessons but if we all did our job well, you will shine in this moment. You and your team will come out on the other side of this stronger, because you will be forever bonded by that time you were forced to stop playing a game you loved.

When you do finally get the chance to take the field together again, you will have a greater appreciation for your teammates, your coaches and the opportunity to play the game of baseball.

Sincerely,

A baseball mom

photograph by Dawn Kearney Photography