My Own Baseball Tribute

This is my "baseball tribute" with a few of my favorite pictures from years past, as I celebrate a one in a million coach!

I love how he is video-taping the boys doing their "chant" here. He took this on Saturday, June 29, 2013. That night before he had his cardiac arrest, he was showing this to me and smiled, watching it several times. This was the last video he took on his phone. He was gone 4 days later.

Some older pictures from teams in the past

Helping Colby bat

I think back on all the springs and summers that have been consumed with baseball. Each one special for it's own reasons. Each team we were a part of. Each boy and family. Countless nights on the back porch listening to my husband…"Coach Rod" in his truest form, planning the next game's batting line up, how he wanted to rotate the players, game strategies, who might be out of town, who he wanted to try at this position or that, how he could come up with a way to teach something and make it "stick." I'd hear about his frustrations with how other team's coaches handled the kids on their teams…yelling at them too much, tearing them down, or just plain stealing the joy and love of the game, because of their intensity and consumption with winning.

Knights All-Star team

I heard countless times how important the life lessons were and how he just hoped these boys could "get it" and enjoy it….winning was really secondary. Don't get me wrong, he wanted to win. Most of all though, he wanted the boys to grow in their confidence, never give up, give it their all, improve because they worked hard, and feel a sense of pride and togetherness as a team, due to what they had accomplished. If those things happened and they were having fun, it was a winning season despite what the record said.

After the regular season….Bombers won their age division championship!

I can say that he truly cared for each of the boys he coached. Did some frustrate him more than others? Sure…but I know he saw it as his mission to instill something in these boys that would last a lifetime and would be much more far-reaching than baseball. He would lay awake at night after games worrying about players and how they were doing if they had a rough game. He would even pull them aside after the games or call them later as he thought of things he needed to say to them. He would ask me to video this one's swing or that one's pitch, so he could watch it later and try to figure out how to help whoever it was.

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures. This player was really down on himself,  after a hitting slump. I remember he came in the dug out and talked to him for what seemed like forever, even as the game was continuing to go on. It was more important to him in that moment to encourage this player!

Presenting Kai, with one of the character "rock" awards at the after-season pool party. I love Kai's smile!

Always having fun!

At the time, I obviously knew this was his love and passion. I enjoyed watching him in his element. It felt tender to listen to this Coach (who was serious business on the field) care deeply for the hearts of his players long after a game was in the books. There is something about watching someone you love doing what they love. To know they are being filled up and have found themselves right where their heart most desires to be. It is empowering and I felt that way as his wife, when it came to baseball. I didn't always get all the rules and why he did certain things, but I was never more proud of him than when he was doing his baseball thing!

Now I just feel very empty. Lost. Something feels missing. Everything feels missing. I have found myself especially sad at night after everyone goes to bed and just not sure how I'm going to juggle the logistics of getting everyone to practices and games. More than that, I just feel overwhelmed and unsure of how I'm going to make it through a whole season of baseball without him. I know I will. I just don't want to, and quite frankly I am mad about it. We are the baseball family and he was the cornerstone of that. I feel very ill equipped to head that up for us as a family now.

Brentwood Civitan dedicated Field 3 to Coach Rod this past week. I just don't have the words to explain what an honor that is and how proud I am. There have been 3 fields named after individuals at the park. The commissioner explained that those had been named after men who had devoted 20 + years of service to the Civitan Ball Club. It is only in true "Rod Cook" fashion that he would have a field named after him, after only coaching 1 season at Civitan. He's just that kind of guy. He's just that kind of coach. I know he would be humbled and scratching his head over it, because he really did just do what he loves. He just did it exceptionally well!

Here's to you, Babe! You are a legend and I love you forever!