Playing with a Purpose

This morning I woke up and had my normal peanut butter and banana waffles (if you haven’t tried them before- DO IT) for breakfast. Great, as usual. Went to the “Duck Pond” (baseball field) for an early practice where we got to test seven different models of wood bats. The Northwoods League is sponsored by Rawlings, and all teams have a huge supply of Rawlings bats which they give the players. Today I tried about four of them and ended up picking up a 33 inch. 143B model Rawlings bat. For most of you, that means nothing. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know what it means…but I liked it. After getting used to the bats, the first practice let out and some of the guys went to the gym.

The deal on the bats is everyone picks the model they like and the coach gives them two bats. If a player breaks one, they have to autograph the broken bat and it is sold at the Mallards games to little kids. Then, the coach will give you a brand new bat. Pretty cool. 

I don’t mean to brag, but there are some major perks about being a Mallard. Besides the team, bats, and competition, one is that you get a free summer membership to the Princeton Club gym. This isn’t any ordinary gym…this is what I call a “classy gym.” The people at the front desk all wore suits, and the gym had really nice machinery. Short tangent- I actually like working out in dingy weight rooms with grease all over the place. It just seems to get me in the right state of mind…Anyways, this gym was not one of those, but I had a good workout nonetheless.

Went home, rested up, and read some Lisbeth Salander before going back to the field at 4. This time, some more guys had come in from their schools. Many schools just finished playing their spring season and more guys will be trickling in as they get eliminated from the postseason. Fortunately these guys came in at a good time today, because our first game is tomorrow! Two guys from my conference (SoCon) came in today (Niko Fraser from Elon and Cash Collins from Wofford). The other guys I didn’t know, but am in the process of meeting them. One thing is for sure- we will be good!

After practice, a few guys went downtown to get a bite to eat and we landed on Wando’s Sports Bar and Grill. I ate a Mushroom & Swiss Burger (starting a summer of healthy eating) and it was above average. I left the restaurant and saw a giant glare on the side of a building overlooking the lake. This is how I stumbled upon the Memorial Union Terrace. Dang!!! What a site- just in time for sunset (above). Making matters better, three girls came over to chat and made me feel welcome in Madison.

Tomorrow we leave for Wisconsin Rapids (that’s the name of the city) for a three-game series. We stay overnight there, so it will be a great chance for the team to bond. Can’t wait to get me feet wet in the Northwoods League tomorrow night!

aB

p.s. I also gave in today and got this really cool Brewers hat. Sorry J.T. (Braves fan).