As Tony Stark said in Avengers: Endgame, “part of the journey is the end.”
I lost my Dad, my hero, last month! He was supposed to die in 2022 but he fought with all he had and God allowed us to have almost two more years with him and we all made the most of that extra time with him! I’m thankful for that and mostly, for the life he had! I will treasure all his lessons, the love he gave me since day one, and everything he left me with, including his baseball knowledge!
Me and my Dad watched the Yankees win five World Series! Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams were his favorite players, mine too! All those teams were incredible but the 2009 victory was extra special, it ended a nine-year drought for our team and it was last time I celebrated a World Series win with my Dad.
On paper, this year the Yankees have the best team they’ve had in a very long time. I’m not a fan of Cashman and Boone still running things but I do think they can go all the way despite them!
I watched countless baseball games with my Dad, he was a massive Yankees fan and I loved learning the rules of this great sport with him. He told me about the amazing feats of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Don Larsen, just to name a few legends from old Yankees teams!
Learning EVERYTHING about baseball from him on many nights made my days! It helped give me a memorable childhood and adolescence and I will never forget those moments!
My Dad made me love the Yankees as much as he did and the way he enjoyed sports was contagious, it shaped my future and is one of the main reasons why I follow sports passionately and do what I do these days!
He inspires me in so many ways, he was a real-life superhero, a mix of MacGyver, a mechanic, a civil engineer, and an architect, he didn’t go to high school but he was one of the smartest people I know, he was a kind soul who worked hard to provide for his family, he led by example and always put everyone else’s well-being ahead of his own! My parents are my rock and not having him in person is a massive loss for me, only God knows how much he meant to me!
One day at a time, one foot in front of the other, eventually it will get easier. I will never forget about him but life goes on… Not the same way, everything’s changed, but I have to make this life work…
Staying at home, talking to as few people as possible is easy but it’s not enough. It’s not what I’m supposed to do. Getting mixed up in other people’s lives, helping them out of trouble, is what I do best, like it or not. I can’t turn my back on that, it would be like turning my back on myself. I would be ignoring one of his biggest lessons!
How can I honor my father? I carry his first and last name, so I must continue his legacy, follow his advice while being true to myself, making him proud. That’s what he would want for me!
Being there with him when it happened, I’ll never get over it, but I’ll get used to it, I just need to let myself feel what I need to feel, even if it hurts! Nothing will fill this void but every day I know that he’s still with me somehow! So, Yankees, win the 2024 World Series for him! It’s been almost 15 years… I’ll never ask anything from you again!
