I fell in love with baseball at an early age. I blame it on my dad.

He made me my first glove when I was in kindergarten in preparation for T-ball. It was light pink, and I loved it.

He started making gloves as a hobby about five years after he graduated from college. He played in a church softball league and started fixing teammates’ gloves. Eventually, he realized he could take a glove apart and put it back together. He created patterns, cut them out of leather and made his own glove. Soon teammates and friends began requesting the handmade gloves. This was the hobby I grew up with.

As a child I remember a dining room filled with leather and sewing machines – sometimes so much we had to eat dinner in the living room.

I remember meeting Bob Phillips of Texas Country Reporter when my dad and his gloves were featured on Phillips’ show around the time I was starting third grade.

I remember watching the Texas Rangers with my dad at night and idolizing players like Rusty Greer, Nolan Ryan and Pudge Rodriguez.

And I remember losing my first tooth at an Abilene Prairie Dogs game. I dropped the tooth in the stands in the middle of popcorn I had spilled earlier, and unfortunately, teeth and popcorn look a lot alike under the glow of the stadium lights. My dad sifted through the popcorn and found it so I could put it under my pillow later that night.

I can’t help but think of my dad when I see a glove, hear the cling of a bat hitting a ball or smell the freshly cut grass of the field.

This month marks the beginning of ACU baseball season. I’ve already gone to as many games as my busy schedule will allow, and I’ve once again realized just how wonderful the sport is. When I’m watching a baseball game, all of the stress in my life falls away. I no longer think of work, classes or assignments. I just focus on the game and who is batting and what the score is and if a home run ball is going to hit my truck. I think about my family and how much fun we’ve had together because of baseball. This good thought pushes out the negative ones and clears my head.

Everyone needs a stress reliever. Everyone needs something to remind them of good times with family. And everyone needs something to love.

My love of the game keeps me from stressing out and hating life. My love of the game causes me to yell at the TV when I’m watching the Rangers. And my love of the game forces me out of my warm apartment and into the cold, misty Sunday afternoon because I know the Wildcats are playing, and I just need a break to maintain my sanity.