"I've just always wanted to play more baseball. Maybe that sounds too simple, but it's true. I grew up in Rochester, New York, and my dad was a big Yankees fan. So we'd watch them on TV a lot, and pretty soon I was begging him to play catch, or to hit me ground balls, or to let me take a few swings."
"We had this great group of friends, and in the summers we'd spend all day in A-Wass's backyard, playing wiffle ball. We'd pick teams, then play it like normal baseball as best we could. Sometimes we'd do 3v3. Sometimes there were only two of us so we'd have to do 1v1. But no matter what, we were out there."
"I remember this one day there were these huge thunderstorms, so camp got canceled. But there was no such thing as 'canceling baseball' for us. We literally just went right over to A-Wass's house and played wiffle ball all day in the pouring rain. We could barely see the ball, we were sliding headfirst into puddles, and by the end we were covered in mud."
Ernie Clement, a Rochester native and player for the Toronto Blue Jays, shares his lifelong passion for baseball in a letter to fans. He recalls his childhood experiences, including playing wiffle ball with friends and the influence of his father, a Yankees fan. These memories shaped his desire to play baseball. A pivotal game in his hometown during the 2023 season marked a significant moment in his career, reinforcing his commitment to the sport as he looks forward to the new MLB season.
Read at Rochester Beacon
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