An achievement for me came last year, but it was not just my achievement. It was my entire high school baseball team's achievement. Our pre-season was an average one. We had 2 wins and 3 losses. But that was only pre-season.
The day before opening day, all of the local newspapers gave a run down of all of the high school baseball teams in the area. All of the schools in our division were picked to beat us in every game. Holy Cross baseball was supposed to win 2 games and fall to every team in the Liberty Division.
Our first game came and our first inning was great. I hit a solo home run my very first at bat, and that got the ball rolling for my team. We did lose that game but the first inning was a great sign. After the first game we were off on a great winning streak. We won the next 10 games, all in a row. We were on top of the world. In that time span Holy Cross was picked to be in a tournament with the best teams in Southern New Jersey, but everyone did not think we should have been there. Because we were picked to be dead last in our division, the coaches who picked the teams for the tournament put us aside for a little bit and waited to see if we would keep on winning. As it turned out, we kept on winning and we were officially picked to be in the tournament. We had no luck on which team we had to play. We had to play Cherry Hill East, a hitting machine. Holy Cross lost that game 7-1 but it was a great experience to be in a tournament that we should not have been in. That loss did put our team down, but it was only for that day. .
From that tournament we kept on winning. We only lost 3 more games after that. Our final record for our season was 16-4. We lost our state game, and there is no excuse for that loss except we did not show up to play baseball. We won our division, the Liberty Division, but we had to share our title with another high school, Rancocas Valley High School. That did damper our spirits.
At that time I was pretty sure that I was suppose to be a professional baseball player. ... Man is to live for God in Holy Devotion and Service that God might be pleased and glorified. ... Man can only get to heaven Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins that man might not parish but have every lasting life. ... Which is man is to live for God in holy devotion and service that God might be pleased....
In addition to nature, Santiago draws inspiration from religion, baseball, games of chance, memories of his own youth, and his love for Manolin. ... Manolin's catch of three fish his first day out with the other fisherman suggests the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and also the story of the loaves and fishes that fed the multitude of Christ's followers (Matthew 14:17-21). ... Santiago's hands bleed, like the hands of Jesus when he is nailed to the cross. ... Jesus was nailed to a wooden cross, like Santiago nailed the great marlin to the side of his wooden boat. Bu...
In the ward community which represents the Holy Land, McMurphy is portrayed as the figure of Christ. ... "And we"re all sitting there lined up in front of that blanked-out TV set watching the gray screen just like we could see the baseball game clear as day, and she's ranting and screaming behind us," (Kesey 128). ... Continuing with allusions to the Holy Land and the life of Jesus, Kesey incorporates symbolism as well to help show that a foreigner has a major impact on a (consistent) community and can eventually completely reverse the society. ... To the average man such as Ellis or R...
