Tschus Ne

The time has come, though it still seems like it should be 6 months away, for me to jam all my stuff into suitcases and ride off into the sunset in a blaze of glory. it seems like yesterday that i was walking through the Hamburg airport, finding Jan and Timo, and starting this whole experience.

the final games have been played, the season is over, the stats are up:

in both leagues combined (42 games):
HITTING
163 PA 137 AB 73 H 16 2B 5 3B 6 HR 52 R 67 RBI 10 K 16 BB 5 IBB 21 SB .533 AVG .854 SLG .558 OBP 1.412 OPS
PITCHING
33.2 IP 25 H 18 R 12 ER 44 K 26 BB 2 W 1 L 4 SV 3.25 ERA

Pitching could have been a little better, but hitting was pretty damn good considering i havent hit in 5 years and i've never hit with wood.

Though baseball was the avenue that got me here, and the job that paid me, it is not what i will remember most. Yeah, i will remember stealing home, horrible umpires, my last pitch being a walk off homer, and throwing a guy out at the plate and sprinting in to jump on the pile in Hamburg, but when i look back at these past 6 months, thats not what stands out in my mind. I will forever remember the crazy parties, as well as the low key nights. I will remember the beer...God, will i remember the beer. but more than anything i will remember the people that accompanied the nights and the beers. from the kids at the schools (most of them anyway) to the Wild Farmer families, from opponents to friends, everyone has been nothing but awesome.

and in much the same way as my first night here, we will be meeting at the sport house tonight to celebrate and have a few farewell drinks. but instead of talking about past memories and experiences in the States and in Baseball, we will laugh and reminisce about shared memories of the past 6 months. it will not be a conversation litered with phrases like, "this one time..." or "back in the States..." like it was in the beginning. No, this will be a conversation filled with phrases that conjure up feelings of lasting friendship, belonging, and familiarity like "Hey, you remember when we..." and "it was so funny when you..." it is conversations like these that i will miss, it is nights like these that i will miss, it is people like these that i will miss.

Dohren, you have been good to me, given me another chance to play baseball, a chance to see another part of the world, and friends that will last a life time. and for that I thank you.

Tschuss Ne,

A-Ron

P.S. I'd like to thank everyone that is reading this right now and has followed along with me on my journey. knowing that there were people out there that enjoyed the contents was what kept me writing.