I am a pitcher--not a smoker.

[karash]

Is it something I want to bandy about as being proud of? No, not really. But I wanted to 'clear the field' on a few things.

I am 45, and have know many many pitchers over the years. I have watched a lot of baseball; I have played more than a hundred innings on the diamond.

And while you may disregard my own personal data, here it is:

Non-Pitchers I have known/been related to:

Babe Ruth: held the record for 60 home runs in one season
Ty Cobbs: he signed his rookie card for my grandfather
Mark McGuire: broke "the Babe's" record.

Pitchers I have known/been related to:

Dan Bankhead: first black pitcher to play in a major league game
Cy Young: pronounced "Sai"

Out of all the people I know well and personally, about 2/3 of them are pitchers and doing well. We may not make as much as the big home-run hitters, but we love what we do.

The other 1/3 are non-pitchers (or primarily batters) and doing well too. Though 2 of them have some form of cancer, and one has not had his contract renewed.

My sister, brother in law, and her kids all hate pitchers but see the doctor all the time for a plethora of problems - from tennis elbow to soccer ankle to croquet wrist. They spend a ton more on health care than I do.

So what is my point in all this?
In the last few years of my life I have known at least 3 damned good players whom have died, folks I knew well over the years - and most all were not pitchers. I have only known ONE person whose life has been made bad by pitching, and that was the manager's fault anyway. And I am not even including all my other teammates.

yes - pitching can be bad for you. So can a lot of other things. Forgetting your catcher's mask, missing on a groin-adjust, chewing tobacco in the dugout, etc and so on can derail a career faster than a speeding pitch to the face.

Focusing on pitching, imho, is sheer laziness and opportunistic flim flam.

I won't apologize for my choice of stress relief. And I won't promote it as the best way in life. But if I want to go into a bar and practice pitching while you're trying to enjoy a drink or mac some chick - tough luck. Shit happens. We play the game, and we die. And my fastball just happens to be faster than yours.

So what if you get nose cancer when my 90 mph line drive hits you in the face and shatters your martini glass? Nose cancer is delayed onset anyway, so even if you think you don't like the sensation of your nose getting hit with my baseball, you can just kiss mine, bud.

I am a pitcher, and I don't apologize for how I enjoy myself. If you're sitting on a bench in a public park, and I happen to decide to practice pitching next to you, that is MY need - not yours. It would be fascist of you to claim that just because I might give you nose cancer and make you miserable you can repress my right to pitch.

This is YOUR life on this earth. Not mine to dictate to. It's your body. Your position. Your team. Your choice.

Whether or not you choose to pitch, or choose to have a big mac, is not my business. Not at home, not in your car, not at a bar - we all have free choice as to where we choose to go for a drink or food.

Far be it from me to tell you how to play your position and what your personal choices should be. Our contracts were haggled for by our own lawyers and managers, and that is not for anyone to interfere with.

Life leads to death. And your life is your own. Eat, drink, pitch, whatever. It is not my job to sit here and make you live your life my way, I will leave that to the damned fundies - and their 'one true way'.

Life sucks. Then you die. You don't pitch. You will still die. You pitch, you might die too.

Leave me alone, and let me live my life with my choices. You wanna judge me? Well, put your life out on the table and let me look at everything you do. Or just be lazy and focus on something you can easily see (ie, a fastball flying at your nose at 90 mph) and ignore everything else.

Mom always told me: When it is my time, I will go - no matter what I have done good or bad on this earth. And throwing fastballs in crowded bars is just my way.

It all ends the same way for each of us. Don't force me to live the life you want me to live, and I will give you the same courtesy. Else look out for the nannies who will discover that what you eat needs to be regulated, and that abortions and homosexuality will shorten your life span. Give em time, and they will find a financial reason to make you live the life they see as fit.

Shoot down this target today, and tomorrow there will be a new one. You and your choices.