A Month Away

I'm about a month away from leaving to go over to Austria. I can not wait to start playing again. I went to watch my high-school play the other night and it got me itching to play again. This year is looking really good for the Ducks. We added a new coach for the season. His name is Ryan also and is from New York. We have already been talking back and forth about the season. I think his baseball knowledge will benefit all the players on the team. We also added another player from Australia, Wayne. He went to college here in the US then got drafted. He will be a great addition to our already solid team. I am excited to see where this season goes for the Ducks.
I am also excited for this summer because my girlfriend, Stephanie will be playing softball in Austria. I think it's pretty cool how God worked everything out that we will both be in the same country doing what we love. I'm looking forward to traveling around together and going on adventures. I want to travel around more then I did last year. I know when my mom and Dad mom over we plan on going somewhere after one of my games. I hope everyone has a blessed week and remember to thank God for all he has blessed you with.

Unfinished Business

I am proud to announce that I will be returning to the Diving Ducks this upcoming season. After talking my options over with my agent (my Dad) we decided this was the best place for me.  I am excited to get back there and get to work. I really enjoyed my time there last year even though we fell short of our team goal. Getting to the championship game was a huge achievement for our team. I think that we learned a lot from coming up short. There have been some off season moves that I think will greatly improve our already solid team.
    This off season I have working hard to get us to the championship again. Winning MVP and Most Valuable Pitcher last season has only fueled me to work harder this winter. I started hitting and throwing a few weeks ago. I am lucky to live somewhere where it is in the 50's in January, while my team is dealing with snow.
    There are multiple reasons that I chose to return to the Ducks. One of the main things was the Ducks community. They made me feel very welcome from day one. I was there for my birthday last year and they made it one to remember. One of the moms of the little kids I helped coach told me that on her sons Christmas list was for me to come play for the ducks again. I can't let the little guy down. Another reason I am returning is the players on the team. Over the course of the season I made some life long friends. I cant wait to hang out with them again this summer.
        I continue to thank God for blessing me like he has. There are not many people out there that can say their are living their childhood dream. I am blessed to have my family supporting me along this journey. My sister and her husband have already started planning their trip over this summer. I am excited because my Mom will get to come over this year.  I can't wait to get back on the mound and finish what we started last season. Always remember to thank God what he has blessed you with.

Ducks Going to the Championship

We did it, we are going to the championship. We went up there on Friday night, so we wouldn't have to ride the three and half hours then try to play. When we woke up Friday it was raining and continue to on our way to the field. When we started our warm up it actually cleared up and got sunny for a while. The rain came back though as we started to the game. We got three and half innings in before they called a rain delay. The score was tied at 4-4. On Saturday we had to start all over since we didn't play enough innings the day before. Clemens started again for us since we had a low pitch count the day before. It was a great game for the fans to see. We were down three runs in the top of the ninth and Jason hit a bases loaded double to tie the game. So we went into extra innings and their import hit a walk of home run to win the game. Which sucked that we lost but almost worked out for us that he was the one that hit it. He was on a huge high after that game but then he had to start the next game pitching. It's hard to build your self back up after something like that. In the first inning we scored 6 runs off him, it was a great way to show that we put the last game behind. I pitched a complete game and gave up two runs. When the final out was made I got tackled by my third basemen Julio. It was the first dog pile of my life and it won't be the last. With that win we are going to the finals against the Wanderers. They were down 0-2 in their series and won three straight to make to finals. It will be a good series for sure. It kinda funny to me that My buddy Joe and I will be playing each other again. We have played against each other for 10 years now and now we are meeting in the championship in Austria. I think that would make for a pretty cool story. Also we are now going to the EuroCup next year, the first and second place teams from Austria get to go play in it. That will be a lot of fun to play in next year. The first game will be on Saturday and I will pitch on Sunday. I don't now if there will be a live stream but there should be a live ticker for all the people back home.
    This Saturday my Dad and his friends are leaving for their annual fishing trip to Michigan. I have gone the last two years and it is one of my favorite weeks of the year. It's nice to just get away for a week. All we do for a week is fish, eat, sleep, and laugh. You do a lot of laughing there, like laugh so much your stomach hurts the next morning. I love the fact that Christian men can get together and have a great time together. As much as I will miss going my passion for winning this championship outweighs it. Michigan will always be there but this championship won't. I will be able to tell stories in Michigan about my time here. I know this is where God wants me to be and has taught me so much. Only six days till I get to do what I love and bring glory to him one pitch at a time. Have a great week and God bless.

Ducks Win Two

    This past Saturday we had the first two games in the the best of five series. We were playing the A's who finished 2nd last year. It's been five weeks since we played a game that had meaning to it. It felt so good to be back out there. In game one it was all Clemens, he was 4-4 at the plate and pitched a complete game shut out. We faced the best Austrian this year statistically and we scored 9 runs off of him. We played great all around from hitting to defence. Which is funny to me because if you saw our pre game we looked awful by far the worst of the year. But it only matters how you play in the game.
     In the second game I knew it wouldn't be a easy win but we had the momentum on our side. Clemens started off the game 2-2 and scored our first run. I pitched the complete game and only gave up two hits and no runs. I didn't have many strike outs but I did have 15 ground ball outs. That's how I normally pitch. In college and high school I was a ground ball pitcher.  We won the game 3-0 and now will head up there on saturday for the rest of the games.  We just need to win one game to make the finals and the Euro Cup. It's never easy to go to someone else field and win. But I think if we just play our game and take care of business we got a shot.

    Clemens and I decided that we would grow playoff beard and they seemed to work. Victor grew one also and he had a home run on Saturday the first on hit at our field this season, so maybe there is something behind it. I decided I am going to let it grow till I get back home. They might not let me back in the country since I will look nothing like my passport picture. My buddy Joe told me the other day he doesn't know with at I look like with short hair or clean shaven anymore. You can tell fall is coming here the nights are getting cooler which is fine for me because the colder it is the better I sleep. There is just something about playoffs and cooler weather, it's like they are suppose to go together. I can't wait till Saturday and take care of business. Hope everyone is doing good and trust in his plan for your life.

Birthday in Austria

I would have never guessed that I would spend my 25 birthday in a forgiven country. But it's something that I can tell my kids one day. Everyone always asks what did you do? Well I got to do what I love, I got to play baseball. The one thing that would have made it better was going to Japanese steakhouse with my family. We can do that when I return home. My Austrian family definitely made me feel special. Jan and Armin got me a Austrian army knife, which is awesome. I love knifes and will never be able to buy myself one of theses again. I sent a picture to my buddy officer Adam Bradley and he was pretty jealous of it.  After practice they had a cake waiting for me, which was really good. It was a surprise for sure.  I got to talk to my grandparents on my birthday too, my Dad talked them through using a calling card and calling me on my Austrian phone. It was good to hear their voices.  I also got a few birthday cards in the mail which was nice to hear from people back home. I  got a package from my friend Steph, which was perfect timing because that day I was kinda bored and starting to miss home. It was the perfect pick me up. It's cool to see how God uses little things to bring us joy. One week from today we start playoffs, it feels like its been weeks since we have played a game. I can't wait to get back out there and do what I love. Thanks again for all the birthday wishes. I can't wait to get back and celebrate with everyone. .

Ducks Finish 3rd

We finally know that we got third place this season and will be heading to the playoffs to play against the A's.  They don't start till the 15th of September to we still got some time off . We have split with them both times we played them so it's going to be a good series to start off the playoffs. They are a best of 5 and the higher seeded team get to choose where they want to play the first two games at home or away.
   This past week I got to work a baseball camp. I love working with little kids, they have so much fun playing. I love seeing the smile on a kids face when he throws a strike after making an adjustment. This reminds me of a quote that one of my good friends Jeremy Webb shared with me "Behind the player that you have become the stats, the fans, the glory and the upsets- was a little boy that fell in love with baseball. So play the game like that little boy would and thank God for all he has done". That is one of my favorite quotes of all time. Baseball is suppose to be fun and those little kids at camp just had a blast playing wiffle ball.  On the last day of camp is was pretty hot and the kids had a good week so far. So after lunch we had a huge water fight including water ballons, water guns and a slip and slide. It was Armin and me taking on about 25 kids needless to say I think we lost.
   So the seasons final stats are in and I had a pretty good year, I was 11-2 which was the most wins for a pitcher. I threw 123.3 innings which was the second most in the league. I had 152 strikeouts(3rd best) with only 15 walks. My ERA (earn run average) was 1.82. I had a great time this season playing with these guys. It fun to watch players grow over the year and become better players. I can't wait to get started with playoffs, we have won our last 4 regular season games and the 2 yesterday against a Dutch team. Yesterday we got to play a Dutch team to help us play in game shape for the playoffs. We played well in both games and really swung the bats. I only threw 4 innings since it was only a 7 inning game and other guys needed work. I was perfect in my outing no hits or walks and had 6 strike outs. It was a good day on the mound. I continue to thank God everyday I get to put on a uniform and go do what I love to do.

Playoff Bound

This past weekend we needed to win one game to make the playoffs. We decided why not just win both. The first game went into extra innings and Clemens threw all 11 innings. He only needed 125 pitches, which is a very good day on the mound. In the second game we won 5-3. I threw all 9 innings and had 10 strike outs. It was great to win both. That 4 straight for us which is a great way to enter the playoffs. We got 4 weeks till the playoffs so we have plenty of time to rest up. We still don't know who we are going to face in round one.
One of my friends asked me yesterday what was your dream job as a little kid? It was a pro baseball player of course. Then I realized I am living my childhood dream. Yeah I know I'm not playing for the Braves or having baseball cards made of me. But I'm getting paid to do what I love. What I have dreamt about so many nights laying in bed. I can remember playing in the back yard wanting to be John Smoltz. Looking back all the sweat and hours of work I have put in have been worth it. God has blessed me in many ways. I have always been patient and gone where God led me. My mom has always been there to remind me that God has a plan for my life and it's not a ordinary one. My Dad has been there to encourage me through this whole this even when I felt like just giving up. I also want to say thanks to all my coaches along the way, even the bad ones. I wouldn't be where I am today with y'all. I feel blessed everyday I get to put on a uniform and am very grateful for this opportunity.