Blog #1 All about me

Hey I'm Lyell Marks a 4th year at SJSU. Baseball is what I'm all about but I have a competing passion for journalism which is where I see myself landing after I hang them up for the last time. I don't like the stereotype that comes with most athletes as being dumb jocks who spend plenty of time working on their physical attributes but rarely pay attention to mental progression. It bothers me because I'm someone who believes sports is both a physical gift and an art that takes diligent study to perfect.

I've played baseball for my entire life and for the first time last year I seriously thought about giving it up because of the demands of school and work. Nothing really makes me happier than being on a baseball field and when I finally realized that I was robbing myself of happiness and peace of mind, I couldn't stay a quitter for long.

Baseball is my escape, it allows me to be in a different state of mind, body and even soul sometimes. In the game of baseball, time slows down and you can really live in the moment. Nothing from the past matters, only what you are doing in this instant and where you are heading. Everything about the game is beautiful to me. The smell of freshly cut grass rivals roses for me and dirt stained uniforms are better looking than a nicely tailored suit if Im giving the fashion advice. It is a game where your mind is truly more powerful than your physical prowess and if you can perfect baseball intellect one can truly become a genius within the game.

Baseball is a game where you must be prepared for what is about to happen on every pitch. While critics say its too slow and lacks excitement, those who have actually played the game with any sort of conviction know otherwise. Every pitch, every at bat and every swing carries with it the possiblity for thousands of different outcomes. If your not ready to deal with the majority of those situations you are going to fail because you weren't mentally prepared. Sure the pitcher throws the ball and the batter hits it, but what happens after that is about as predictable as the stock market.