by Paul Gibson III
(Editor’s Note: Paul is the head coach of Center Moriches HS, his alma mater. He was the assistant coach during their back-to-back New York State Class B championships. The following words are his own.)
Growing up around the game I was lucky enough to to watch, meet and learn from so many great baseball players. Wade Boggs, Paul O’Neill, Cecil fielder are just a few that come to mind.
But when I started to think about who MY favorite player was growing up the answer came to me right away. Of course , this is pretty much as bias as it gets, but my favorite player was and always will be my dad.
Of course their are players with more notoriety and accolades, but having this first-hand experience made the choice pretty simple.
I always loved the game, so I was as observant as a kid could be watching, learning and taking it all in. I can faintly remember bouncing around from place to place as my dad spent almost 10 years in the minor leagues waiting for his chance. Looking back, the desire it took for him to hang in there was remarkable.
When he finally got that shot with the Tigers I can recall the sense of pride that our entire community felt, let alone our family. Coming from a small town like Center Moriches it seemed like everyone recognized the dedication and hard work he had been putting in since he was a little leaguer.
It was so cool, as a little leaguer myself at that point to see the local high school players gather in the gym during the off season to workout with him or to bring him to school with me to sign autographs for my class.
The feeling of seeing your dad on the TV screen or live on the mound at Yankee Stadium is something that is definitely hard to explain, but something I will always look back on with a smile.
Really though, my dad is my favorite player because of the way he helped me fall in love with the game and for the way he showed me how important it is to teach the next generation, how to develop that same passion.
