How A Japanese Baseball Player Accidentily Described My and Many of My Friends' Experience in the Colonial Ward

Every morning in Israel goes something like this. I wake up and look at my phone and check the Angels score. If they are playing a night game in Anaheim there's a good chance that the game is still going on. That was the case this morning and I was excited that the Angels beat the Royals with some clutch hitting in the late innings. It's the Royals so I'm not going to get too excited but, a win is a win. As I was listening to the broadcast I heard the voice of the Angels Victor Rojas mention that Ichiro had been traded. Because I just woke up, it took a moment for it to register with me. Ichiro has been the star of the Mariners franchise for  more than ten years and one of most consistent hitters in baseball. He always played the Angels tough and I was really surprised that he had been traded to the Yankees. So I jump on ESPN and there was this picture.

Most Honorable

It seemed strange to see him in a Yankees uniform but I think Dan Nelson will find this trade most honorable.  I clicked on the article and was reading it when I noticed a very interesting quote. Ichiro who is not a native English speaker does his interviews through a translator. I'm not sure if it was the particular language that the translator used but I copied the quote, attributed to my old roommate Scott and sent it to my old roommates.

When I spent time during the All-Star break to think, I realized that this team has many players in their early 20s," Ichiro said through a translator. "I began to think I should not be on this team next year. I also started to feel a desire to be in an atmosphere that I could have a different kind of stimulation than I have right now." 

Dan emailed back because he was still awake in CA, and mentioned that we have all felt that way.You might think of some activity like Memorial Day at Duck Beach as the All Star break. You have a chance to take a break and think about things. You get back to church, you look around and see a bunch of young faces, and you think blah. I can't keep doing this. I know that is how I felt. Like Ichiro, I needed a new kind of stimulation.* Leaving for graduate school was like leaving for a new team. They say that a change of  scenery can do wonders for a ballplayer.

If you look around a discover that all the faces have changed, and that they are only getting younger, and you  think you may need a "different kind of stimulation", don't be afraid to do what Ichiro, Dan, myself and many others have done and found a new "atmosphere".

Zen Mammal approves of this message.

*Hideki Matsui enjoyed a different type of stimulation