I close my eyes and I find myself laying down after a long day at the baseball field in Melbourne, Australia. It's late afternoon and I'm smiling. Although worn out, the recent good weather has me in good spirits and my recovery from a nagging injury has finally concluded. I retreat to my computer and check my email, comb over the scores from this weeks games and get on Facebook to hopefully catch up with a few friends from the United States. I laugh over some nonsense that one friend posts and grimace after seeing pictures of another's big weekend. I can remember looking on the screen as a message comes through. It says I need to call them as soon as possible and its about something important.
My smile soon fades and the feeling of a bad premonition begins to overcome my entire body. I make the call and I recall my hands sweaty, shaky and cold. The call connects and I hardly have a chance to say hello. I'll never forget what was said next.
Late last month, I recieved news that my childhood best friend, Raymond Eugene Rickett III, had died in our hometown of Ocean City, Md. Ray and I were inseparable as kids as we engaged in just about everything a normal set of children did. Days were never boring between us...drawing pictures of our favorite Baltimore Orioles players, playing the latest MLB video games, hour long surf sessions, or just having a catch in the street, Ray and I found ways to keep ourselves entertained. Hours turned into days, and days quickly turned into weeks.
Then there was Berlin Little League, the Phillies, and the All-Star teams. Ray and I began playing together on the 1994 Minor League team, the Berlin Red Sox. The team, who was coached by a man named Tito, was a fantastic group and it set the stage for what was to come for many years. After a few practice sessions before the season, Tito soon knew who his up-the-middle combination was to be.
In the stands stood "Big Ray" Rickett and "Big Dave" Whigham and the pair watched the magic as "Little Ray" nuzzled himself into the second baseman role and "Little Dave" accepted his role as the shortstop. Little did everyone know that we would be the pair that led the Red Sox to the Minor League championship then go on to win the first District 8 Title in Berlin Little League history as 10-year olds. The trend continued by posting the first undefeated 16-0 season in league history and then to a second-place showing in the title game in 1998 District 8 final.
As a kid, I never would have thought the two of us would ever grow apart. I imagined us being the best of friends forever, growing old in the same town and raising families next door to one another. I remember hearing every so often when I was younger about cherishing the friendships I had because once you grew up, things would chane. Even in middle school, Ray and I remained great friends as we shared many classes together and had crushes on the same sets of girls. It's times like these that chokes me up to this day, wondering where time has really gone.
Throughout my baseball career, I have had the opportunity of meeting many great people from a number of different backgrounds but the relationship I shared with Ray was just so much different. Whether it be the innocence of us just being kids or how we both came to love the game together, the bond we shared on the diamond was unlike any other. It was the thought that we could take on the world together that pushed us so hard and drove us so close. It's a feeling that through it all, can still bring a smile to my face.
The pain I feel today from Ray's death is something that holds great value to me. It's a feeling derived from the bonds that we shared, the childhood that we learned from, and most importantly, the friendship that we turned into a brotherhood. I plan on carrying Ray's legacy with me this summer and in all of my future endeavors in baseball. It kills me knowing so much time had passed since we had seen each other.
Through it all, its the memories and thoughts of our friendship that keep me going. Time most certainly heals wounds but the legacy of Ray is one that will be remembered forever. Forever in the hearts of the family he leaves behind, forever in the town that cherished him dearly, and forever in the veins of his friends that will always hold onto him. Rest in peace my dear friend, you'll always hold a special place in my heart.
