Our Little Slice of Paradise in Belize: It's Baseball Playoff Time

It's this time of year that the true sports fanatic has the meeting of almost all the major American sports. Football season is just underway and basketball and hockey are starting their exhibition games. Baseball begins their playoff series in October and some of the most storied names in baseball are playing for a shot at the World Series. The Yankees are odds on favorites to win the whole thing (they spent twice the money of the next highest payroll and payed $100 million in salary cap fines) but I think my Angels have a good chance to challenge them for the title. We went to the last home game of the season and to the rally held after the game to cheer them on.

At the beginning of the season, a talented young pitcher, Nick Adenhart, number 34, had fought his way up to the major leagues and through his hard work had secured a spot in the Angels starting rotation. After pitching his first game, and leaving after 6 innings, only giving up a couple of runs, Nick and three other friends went out to go dancing and celebrate his first game in the big leagues. Only, they didn't make it there. A block away from their destination, a drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned them, killing three of them and critically injuring the fourth. The team grieved and dedicated their season to him, placing his jersey in the dugout for every game and wearing a black "34" patch over their hearts. And when they won the Western Division, they celebrated by soaking Nicks' jersey in champagne and beer, then, as a team they ran out to a poster of him in center field and all patted their hands on his image, again celebrating, pouring champagne and beer all over his poster. Then after, they all posed for a picture with his image. It was quite touching, although there were some that thought it wasn't in good taste to celebrate with champagne and beer on his image and jersey, when he was killed by a drunk driver. I'd like to think that Nick would have loved the celebration just the way it was. After all, isn't that how you're supposed to celebrate winning a title? In front of Angels Stadium, there is a makeshift memorial to Nick and the players have voted a full playoff share of the money they make in the playoffs, to Nicks' family. Maybe, with Nick in mind, this will be the Angels time to beat the Red Sox, beat the Yankees and win the World Series.