Hello to all. I know it has been awhile since I've written on the blog but I have been very busy up at college. Hope all is well with everyone back in the 561 as they are part of the way done with their senior year.
Well i would consider it a successful summer by many standards. We played a lot of baseball and had a lot of fun along the way. Would have been nice to have won a couple more games but who wouldn't want to. Congratulations to those who already know where they are going to college and to those who aren't keep working hard and trying to get your name out there and it will come.
I do however want to say a few words about the one biggest regret I have this summer. That is that the players never got a chance to really meet and get to know Peter. Going into the summer last year I wasn't really sure what to expect Peter to be like. I thought he was just the manager who only cared about us winning games and tournaments. That could not be further from the truth. Peter became a friend, a cheerleader, and a motivator to all of us on the team last summer. Whenever we weren't doing good he would always seem to say the right things. He would always get real worked up and start talking real fast and then kyle finch would yell out slow down Don Vito because it would remind us of the character from Viva la Bam. We all weren't sure how he was going to take this comment but Pete just laughed and enjoyed it. Thats how Pete is. He never seemed to get terribly mad unless you did one of two things; mess around in the hotel in Atlanta(he loved the people there) or if you didn't give your all on the field. That is where is motto 100% no regrets came from which we wore on the back of our practice shirts. The other thing we wore on our jerseys were the initials of Pete's dad. These were put because Pete said that his dad was the best man that he had ever meet. That is saying something because Pete is one of the most if not the most amazing people I have ever met. Before every big game Pete would give us a pep talk and every story would end with him talking about his dad and how he wanted us to make his dad proud more then anything. I feel good knowing that every time we stepped on the field that summer we did that.
Whether it was buying us dinner or getting us some woodbats for a tournament, Pete would never hesitate to do something for us if we needed it. When Pete told me he had come down with leukemia the first thing I asked him was if he was kidding. I didn't think it could happen to someone who I had just seen not long ago and looked to be doing so well just a year and a half after his first battle with it. Throughout the whole time we were talking about it he kept reassuring me he was going to be fine and he was going to make it through it. I think I was more worried about then he was. He just kept telling me he wasn't going to stop fighting and that he wasn't going to let it beat him. I know he won't. Pete will get through this to one day be back doing what he loves the most, getting a group of the best baseball players in Palm Beach County and becoming friends with them while watching them play the game of baseball and grow as young men. I consider myself lucky being able to meet Pete. If it wasn't for him I most likely wouldn't be where I am right now. Diamond Vision Elite is what Pete loves the most. I had never seen him more excited then when we surprised him in Tampa on our way to our tournament in Fort Myers. I know Pete will get through this as he has already proven as he is getting much better. He will be back on the field as soon as he can be and he will be right back at Pete's place eating breakfast like he loves to do.
Good luck to everyone and I look forward to seeing everyone when I come home.
