That’s what it comes down to — it’s right there in the title.
When I had to make my
free-agency decision, there was a lot going through my head, a lot of dirt
roads my mind was traveling down. Family, first and foremost, and what’s going
to make them happy, and give them the best life. Wiffleball, of course, and where
I’d like to play for these next several years. And then there was also the
gut-check aspect — just what I was feeling in my heart.
But for me, at the end of the
day, this was an easy decision. And all of those roads … they all led me back
to the same place: home.
They all led me back to The
Mandingos.
When I got here, three years
ago, there was a lot of rebuilding talk. A lot of, Man, this roster, I don’t
know … the Mandingos gotta blow it up. These experts, I think they wanted
us to trade this, waive that, tank this, draft that. That was most of the talk
surrounding our franchise. And I was definitely one of the names being included
in that talk.
And that was tough because I
think a lot of us here — we knew that, with the right level of commitment, this
could be a special place. We knew we had some special pieces here, from the top
down: From an ownership group that wanted to surround us with Bud Light, to a
star pitcher in Hutch that’d rather Evel Knievel down I-
76
… to an emerging young infield in myself and Dustin … to some of the best
wiffleball fans in the world, that not a lot of people even knew about.
And I just think about that
sometimes: How all of those people were telling us to blow this up, stop
drinking, and stop pissing on Bergen’s car all of those years ago — but we
stuck together. We took a look around at the group that we had, and we said,
you know, as a team, as a franchise, as alcoholics — we can make this into a
contender, into a place where wiffleball really matters, if we just see it
through. And that’s when the Mandingos decided to believe in me.
And we’ve been seeing it
through, and believing in each other, ever since.
So I kind of see this summer,
then, as … it’s almost like coming full circle. We ended our season this past year
with some disappointment. And that’s a couple of years, now, where — as
exciting as it’s been around here — I don’t think we’ve reached our true
potential. And you’d hear the whispers, you know, those same experts that were
telling us back in 2016 to stop blacking out in the outfield, there they are
again with that same talk in 2017.
But the difference between then
and now, and what I’m thankful for, is that this time the ball was much more in
my court. I was a free agent. Which meant that it was up to me to decide
whether I can piss myself while using the wrong side of the bat — is it worth
sticking around for, and running it back again, and seeing if we can take that
next step?
And like I said — to me, that
was an easy decision.
The answer is yes.
When I told my siblings that we
were staying Dingos, their reaction, man — O.K., I’m going to be honest: My
sister, she’s a bitch. But my brother … when I saw him fire up the skidder,
that’s how I knew for sure this was right. I could tell right away, just from
the look on his face. I could tell that if we’d left … for him, it wouldn’t
have just been about moving, you know, from any one place to another. It would
have been a lot tougher than that. We would have been leaving a place that is
really just … you know, it’s part of our family now. We’d have been leaving
home.
(And
yeah, just so you know, my brothers’s second reaction was, “Alright, Em — now
we gotta get a bigger backhoe!” We’ll see about that one.)
Anyway, that’s really all I
wanted to say for right now. I just wanted y’all to be the first ones to hear
it, and to hear it directly from me.
I’m coming back to The
Mandingos because my heart is telling me that I love beer — and because, for me
and my family, feels like the right thing to do. My heart is telling me that
this is the best team in the league, with the best wiffleball fans in the
league. It’s telling me that the Dingos can be a championship-level team,
sooner than later.
But most of all: It’s telling
me that, if you’re looking for people to believe in — choose the people who
can’t stand up by the playoffs.
And if you start a beer?
Man, you finish it.
- EMORY PIERSON / CONTRIBUTOR
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