From that moment on, I believed my personal life that I had with my father went down the drain. I know what I had done was wrong, but I never fully understand, nor do I know now, why he treated me that way for so long in my life. After getting over the shock of the accident, I was then punished by parents and was put on restriction for 4 weeks. During this punishment, I lost Penny as my girl friend. Getting over the restriction and loss of Penny, I started focusing more on my career as a professional baseball player. That was ultimate goal. .
In the fall of 1989, I had started one of my best series in baseball; I played for a school that not won a state championship in over 20 years. That year I rededicated myself in playing the game I had enjoyed since I was five years old, and played T-Ball for a church league. .
The previous years, I had done OK for an average ball player. But I was ready to challenge myself to become more than a pitcher who played only every other game. Even though we only played three times a week during high school, I found it hard to sit on the bench and watch my teammates play. I knew I was being selfish in not wanting to let others play; but I loved the game so much, I wanted to play every game. Every person wants that in some area of life.
That Summer before high school, I got together with some of my old teammates from middle school and got them to teach me other positions, so that I could play them as well as. Since we were all going to split up and go on to different schools, they didn't mind since I wasn't competing to take over their spot. They showed me how to play centerfield and catch. I learned all the tricks I could learn. By the end of the summer, I was in the greatest shape of my life than I ever had: I was throwing harder and I was running faster. By the time I tried-out for high school, my fastball was at 92 miles per hour, and I had 6 different pitches I could throw effectively.