Eric Nelson’s 9th inning!

Baseball is life…… Most of us would not link a game with our everyday existence. We have a casual relationship with sports. We watch the big game, talk with friends and co-workers about the plays or players around the water cooler. We don’t follow the daily struggle of teams. We don’t feel the emotional connection with the players on the field or the court. People will say “I’m a fan” without understanding the meaning of the word. Fan is an abbreviation of the word “fanatic”. The dictionary defines a fanatic as “a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal”. There are only a select few who can truly call themselves “fans”. For these people, baseball is life…..

Eric Nelson is a fanatic about baseball. He watches small college teams on his computer when there is nothing else being played. He can quote statistics from costal leagues all the way up to his true passion, the Oakland Athletics.

5 years ago, Eric was given a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. He has battled through his illness with the grace and poise of a veteran hitter, standing at the plate in the bottom of the ninth, two outs, down by 1 run and an 0-2 count. Not a bead of sweat on his brow and confidence radiating through his uniform. A normal hitter wouldn’t smile, for fear of taunting the pitcher, but Eric was smiling from ear to ear. He knows the game he’s playing will probably not break his way with a win, but he is still happy to be playing.

Throughout the course of his “game”, Eric has made friends with teams, players and other fanatics. The common bond of knowing someone else with a similar situation would bring them together, but baseball would bond them together.

Eric has reached his ninth inning. The score is not in his favor, yet he is still walking to the plate smiling. He knows that when the at bat is recorded, it will have a reverse “k” because he did everything he could to go down swinging.

Eric has been placed in hospice care. He needs help with just about every aspect of daily life, his sister is his primary care-giver. She is doing the work of an angel, caring for him and a mother who has an equal number of health challenges. Donations will be used to pay for other care-givers to be “designated hitters” on Eric’s team.

We thank you for becoming a “fanatic” for Eric. We can’t wait to see the stands packed with all of you cheering him on to the finish!