Life. GPS.
Howabout them apples?
Ya got me going in circles...... Oh, round and round I go....
Every single life here on the planet is unique. Differn't. Extremes are like, the 70's fog statement of "Oh wow man, far out.".... Others..... the splat of "OH NO, MR. BILL!, much inbetween."
All, end. That's leaving out the "All's (well), Ends" (well) parts.
A friend just posted "10th Anniversary!".. I was there. Twas a barn, in a field, rural Cass County (that's Missouri folks).. However, GPS took me to..... 10 miles INTO the State of Kansas.. to a field.. on a gravel road..And there I was, I was taken to a place.. me and 12 Charolais cattle. "You've reached your destination." Nuh uh.
Another buddy..... I marvel at he, his brother.. their get-up-and go.. as trip after trip their circles take them... to... like the "Largest ball of twine" in the world.. birthplaces of significant folks... National Parks, Mountain ranges, Civil War sites... visiting all dayum 50 States.. and most recently, the entire "Get your kicks, on Route 66". Yep, start to finish.
Another beloved friend..... in the late years of her mother's declining health... they gallivanted to each, every bucket list place there was. They met Clark Hunt (owner of KC Chiefs) in the parking lot of Arrowhead.. Royal's games... Horseback rides.. National and International trips... yum. You da bomb daughter. A wunnerful circle.
Lucas Stijepan Erceg too, has had a unique circle of life. A really fine athlete, baseball player - he continued on the baseball path at the University of Cal, Berkeley in 2014, 2015. He was good. Real good. .301 Batting Average, 11 homers his second year, named to the All Pac 10 first team third baseman.
Seems baseball, kinda like NASCAR, one way... all left turns (In spite of, on June 23, 1963, to celebrate his 100th career home run, NY Met's outfielder Jim Piersall, ran the bases backwards, ie, third to second to first, to home.)
Erceg speed bump. Erceg/Cal, were rollin'. Expected to make the College World Series his junior year, nope. Wouldn't happen. He took a class 'pass/fail', needed a B-.. got a C+, ruled academically ineligible, thus, off to Menlo College, a nearby NAIA (Small college) baseball team.
Thanks to some nice stats there... Baseball didn't forget him - he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers, 2nd round, 46th overall pick, which, came with a signing bonus of $1.15 million dollars. "That bought a lot of beer."
His first lap around the minors, started in Helena, MT. A power hitting third baseman, he rose 26 days later to being promoted to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.. to the Carolina Mudcats... to Colorado Springs Sky Sox...
And the next year, to the Biloxi Shockers... to Spring Training the next year.. to the San Antonio Missions...
Victor, this is all kinda boring. I'd rather hear about your buddy's Route 66 trip... Kinda the point.. Minor League baseball is difficult. With, low pay. Long bus rides. Cheesy motels. The Awful Waffle. The only real Grand Slam is at Dennys'.
Intermittent success, and 4 years later.............. Covid happened. The entire minor league season was scrapped. And, without pay. Depression, playing OK but not up to expectation - led him to "Now what?" - latching on with an Independent Pro team in Phoenix.
Much below taken from a wonderful article in the KC Star from Vahe Gregorian. Erceg plummeted. His then girlfriend Emma would leave home in the morning for work - and by the time she got home, there he'd be on the sofa... sitting next to his PlayStation, with 12-14 empty beer cans alongside.
Eventually, she left. "Not coming back."
From the Star: “‘What am I doing?’” he asked himself. Answer: “I’m purposely sabotaging my relationship because of … because of what?” Through all the haze, something became clear. He knew he had to do something different, a feeling he embraced with intense conviction.
6/1/2020. AA. Sobriety date. “Everything was beautiful. Everything was euphoric. Everything was, like, brighter,” he said. “It’s weird, it sounds cliché, whatever you want to call it. But it was like, ‘Wow, this is Day 1 of the rest of my life.”
While awaiting REAL Minor League Season anew... he was off to Sugar Land, TX for s'more Independent baseball.. A .180 batting average didn't dampen his spirits.. he was getting back with Emma (they'd eventually marry in 2022)
Meanwhile, in an apartment they shared, a teammate set a glass of bourbon in front of him... as they played video games. Erceg was frightened. The glass of bourbon kind of looked good. He also didn’t want to offend his friend. But then he removed his headset and took a couple steps back and said, “I’m just going to share this with you: I’m three months sober.” The pivotal scene became liberating and empowering. Erceg realized there not only was no shame in saying that, but also that it was a way to fortify his own boundaries. And his friend, being a real friend, understood and even apologized.
Fast forward. Erceg's old coach at Menlo was now working for the Brewers.. called... Asked Lucas "Would you consider trying to make it strictly as a pitcher?" Why not. It's worked. A year later, traded to A's. Another year, traded to the Royals.
He's literally LIGHTS OUT as a closer for KC....... Madly in love with Emma.. Sober.. In a very good place. Look for his new Royal blue baseball glove... complete with 6/1/2020 (Sobriety date).. Contrary to baseball's "You must go forward (left turns only)" Lucas made a wonderful U-turn in life.
You cannot drive 100 MPH on Route 66, but wouldn't it be a kick (pun mebbe intended) if KC traveled down Route 66 to LA for the World Series to perhaps see an Erceg 100 MPH fastball? Emma, his ole Coach, folks from home (San Jose, CA), all, could come watch this now famous pitcher. He's a real, live pitcher, no longer a belly itcher, or even third baseman.
Love, Victurd
GO ROYALS! (AND LUCAS!)
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