The Journey

Chapter 1: Introduction??

"Crack!", went the ball as it sailed off of Chips bat. It was wide left, a 408 foot homer. His 17th of the season. It was a beauty. Knocked off of the opposing pitchers arm. At first glance he looked like a professional baseball player. Tall, good build, long armed. On paper he was a beast. .302 batting average, 17 homeruns, 12 stolen bags, and an .952 fielding percentage. He appeared to have some potential, some that was given to few and far between, but he didn't have a way to display it. He went to Nevada State, and as good as his performances were, his team was last in their respective conference. Overlooked was often a theme for Chip. He attended Cypress Ranch High School and was often seen as a minor piece in their short baseball dynasty. He played on a team with 6 Top 300 recruits and 2 draft picks, him trying to make a name for himself was useless. The work that was put in just to get into Nevada State was incredible. When he usually checked his phone after practice he would have 13 missed calls and 24 unanswered text messages. He didn't have time to text, life was a grind. "I'm sick with that GRIND FLU!", was what he often told people. It was his motto. It was his life. He became the embodiment of that phrase. It was only the summer after his senior season he got a college offer. He was helping coach the Hunter Pence baseball camp classes for star youth baseball players, when it happened. He was staying after to practice his batting form when a coach approached him asking him if he could hit a couple balls for him. After an hour or so the man gave him his card and said they would be in touch. The next week Chip had a full athletic scholarship to Nevada State. And here he was, playing like the cream of the crop and still not getting enough recognition for it. He was projected to be a 15th round pick in the MLB draft this year. As good as that sounded it wasn't good enough for Chip; it never was. He was never satisfied. That mentality had carried him this far already.

He crossed home plate for the second time today; Back to back home runs. He stomped on the plate as if it might be the last time he ever would. After hitting home plate he walked into the dug out and sat down. Something wasn't right. He should be happy, right? He wasn't. He buried his face into his hat and cried. Why was he crying. That's a long story. A story that tests the limit of human endurance and the one emotion  that was looked down on by all: fear. A frightening journey through ups and downs is the main idea of this story. Who is Chip? And why is he crying? Let me begin to tell you his story, through the eyes of a petulant observer.