Murray 1

Tanner Murray

UWP 1Y

Michele Zugnoni

16 April 2019

Living Picture Narrative

The game of baseball is a very simple, but a complex game that people believe is boring

and non-energetic. There are a few amounts of people that can find a way through the small

cracks to find the beauty and fun in the game. For me, that was playing in the backyard of my

own home with my dad. Constantly smiling and playing as much as I could for as long as I

could. The days where my dad had to work, I would go the backyard and play a full baseball

game by myself. Playing with a baseball alternative (whiffle balls) of course, believing I was the

batter and throwing it up, hitting it as far as I could to. I quickly turning into an outfielder to go

chase after the ball before the imaginary baserunner could score. I would do this for hours at a

time, and during these moments I realized that the love for this game was something special.

San Lorenzo Valley, a small mountainous landscape with trees as far as the eyes could see, is

where I grew up and where my love for the game of baseball became what it is today. It all

started in little league playing t-ball with all of my best friends at the time having such a blast.

While playing, I realized my skills were a little more advanced than the others. Certain time

when I would get ball

The red white and black sign with the silhouette of the valley trees in background resemble where it all started
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and instead of throwing it, I would roll it, so the first baseman would be able to catch the ball.

The skillset allowed me to keep playing all through little league and be lucky enough to be

selected to aa couple of all-star teams. Playing with other good players at my age made my love

for the game increase substantially.

After little league came high school ball, the jump from the short baselines to the

regulation size field was tough, but my coaches and friends helped me make the switch easy. The

multiple practices a week, and my dad making me to go out and work on my fielding on the

bigger field helped in the long run. Playing through high school was a great time, winning our

league championship my senior year made it a bitter sweet ending. But the one thing I did not

want was for my baseball career to be over. I had nowhere to play in college. During high

school, I went to multiple camps and talked to a few coaches about playing at the next level, but

none seemed to believe in me enough be a fit in their program. My love for the game seemed to

vanish. I worked so hard and showed so much love to the game, but when I needed the game the

most, it did not have an answer for me. My dream of playing at the next level was not there and I

was unsure if I was ever going to play the game again. Talking over with my coaches who tried

their best to get my name out to college told me that I should take the leap and try to walk on at

UC Davis. Coming from about to give the sport up to trying to walk on at a division 1 program

seemed like a lot to me. Instead of backing down and getting scared of the opportunity, I rolled

up my sleeves and decided to take a chance.

For the summer before my freshman year, I decided to play for a different summer team

than I usually do. This team had more division 1 commits (highest tier of collegiate baseball)

than any team that I have played on. UC Davis being a division 1 program, my family and I

thought it would be beneficial to try and get myself ready for school team by playing with this
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team during the summer. This was my first time playing since I thought I going to hang up my

cleats could either be a good or a bad decision. The team was full of other division 1 players that

have signed scholarships to certain schools. Some include University of Kansas, UC Santa

Barbara, University of Nevada, Reno, and Fresno State. Going into the first practice makes me I

was very intimidated. Coming from a small town with just a walk on spot at a small DI baseball

school. During the first practice, some of the other players were hitting towering shots over the

fence, some of the farthest balls that

The ecstatic baseball team all comes together, smiles
nice and wide, to take a photo holding the world I have seen hit. Then it was my turn
championship banner
to hit, I hit two home runs myself!

After the first practice I was still a

little timid, but my confidence was

rising. For the first game of the

summer, the coach put me in the

third batting spot. Usually where

one of the better hitters/players hits at. I was scared going into my first at bat. My first at come

along and I break my bat! So, for the next plate appearance I go up with another bat and crack a

double. I stayed in the three spots for the rest of the summer. For the next couple of months, our

team is playing great baseball. We win our league and are put into playoffs where we have to

play other teams from southern California down in Compton, California. We go down there and

never lose a game, we end up winning that regional tournament and then are able to play for the

Palomino World Series. We get to play against teams from Mexico, Ohio, and more. We make it

to the championship game, and we are playing our rivals from a town over (not sure how it

worked out that way, but it did). That game goes back and forth, and we ended up winning it.
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The faces on all my teammates is something I will never forget. It was one of the most

unforgettable moments of my life and is one of the best days/summers ever. As you can tell, my

love for the game reached an all-time high.

The summer ended, and it was time to start my freshman year. School was going to be

priority number one for me, of course, but baseball was right behind it in a close second place. I

was just as intimidated as I was in the summer time during fall tryouts. Playing with about fifty

people that I knew nothing about, I was not rooming with another

baseball player because I decided to come to school here so late. At the

beginning, I was kind of behind of the other players in more than one

thing. And trying to walk on and not knowing anybody, I need all the

help I could get. That is when the love for the game really helped me. I

started to not worry about any of the things I could not control and just

played the game I loved. The tryout or the team was not like any other

one that I have had before. A one-day skills tryout and then the coach

would decide the next day. This was a full month and a half stretch with real practices and

scrimmages to let the coaches really see who I was as a player. Along with school and weights, it

was a lot to take in for the first quarter of college. Yes, the fall started off rough with the nervous

jitters and everything that comes with a new experience, but once I played a couple scrimmages

my real self-came out and I got to show the coaches who I really am as a player. By the end of

the fall, right before finals week and winter break, the coaches informed me that I would be on

the team in the spring time. The excitement and relief that rushed through me was something that

I have never felt before. The game was giving back to me. You could say the game loved me

back, the hard work and dedication seemed to be paying off. I called my family right away and
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they kept congratulating me, and I could not hang up the phone. I could have not been happier, I

guess becoming a world champion, but believing yourself and telling yourself that you can do

anything you put your mind to. You do not have to listen to what other people say, I could have

listened to the coaches that passed on me in high school and gave up, but I kept going. It led me

to where I am today. Going into the winter break, but I worked very hard to get ready for the

spring season.

The sun filled sky makes for a picturesque After winter break came the regular
day at Dobbin’s baseball complex, green
season, obviously being a new freshman on the
grass and ready to play ball.
team I knew I was not going to play right away,

if at all. Keeping my hopes high, I began the

season on the bench and was waiting for my

moment to come in. When I first got in a game I did alright but did not have the outcome that I

wanted but my teammates kept believing me and sooner than later I found myself in the starting

lineup and playing frequently. I made the most out of my opportunity, and my love for the game

stayed high and it propelled me to have a very good first season.

At the end of the day, my love for the game has only been increasing day in and day out.

Growing up, playing whiffle ball with my dad, and sometimes by myself, my love for the game

of baseball has always been high. I have had some low points along the ride as well, not being

sure if I was going to play at all after high school. Feeling very down and intimidated going into

my summer season and fall tryouts at school. When I realized that the game is all about having

fun, I relaxed and became w\the player I knew I was. All the help along the way from friends,

family, and coaches had a major contribution as well, but when you play the real game of

baseball like it’s a whiffle ball game in the backyard with your dad, anything is possible.