being julio heyward
(part five)
((seeing jesus in person))


through 12 games, he leads his team in rbi and homers (and strikeouts..d'oh!!! that's ok. every superman has his kryptonite.). second in walks and hits and total bases. for one game, on opening day, he ushered in a home crowd and atmosphere and buzz that transcended over and through what was already a special day in the life of any baseball fan. sunday, with the bases loaded, two outs and his team down one run, he sent a 97 mph fast ball the opposite way for his first walkoff hit. he's being talked about in the same sentences as mel ott and ted williams for his accomplishments through twelve games at such an early age. he's already been compared to hank aaron, willie mays, willie stargell and albert pujols. the greatest of the great.

he's TWENTY years old.

and he just doesn't seem to care about any of it. at all.

he looks relaxed. contrasted to my boy and would-be phenom last year, jordan schafer, he's not fidgety at the plate. he takes pitches. he's patient. everything a rookie is not supposed to be in his first two weeks of his career.

tonight, i will see him in person. from twenty rows above the field. as i told my brother, ken, who will be accompanying me to the game, we'll be close enough to heckle the phillies and bask in the glow of the next second-coming.

i cannot wait to see and catch up with ken.

and i cannot wait to see and observe "julio" up close. in his element. to be able to watch him and see how he carries himself when the cameras aren't focused in on his at-bat. how does he stretch? how does he walk? how does he warm-up? is his bp as mythical as everything that i've read?

will he do something crazy for me tonight that makes me jump up and down and act all stupid and childlike and giddy as i am wont to do when these "silly games" take me into my own "thin place"???

i hope so.

thin places can be hard to find sometimes. work, distractions, work, more distractions, church, distractions, work, distractions, the "work" of family and even more distractions take away vital time from us finding union with whatever in this life we connect to on higher and deeper personal and spiritual levels. i feel lucky that i can find such places, for better or worse...to your approval or not, in sports.

tonight, i am headed to turner field to see a brother than i haven't seen in way too long to watch a team that i love to hate and a player that i (and many others) have identified as special.

here's hoping i don't blow a tire on i-20.