“There are three things in my life which I really love: God, my family, and baseball.” Through his quote, Al Gallagher captivates the true feelings of one of our fellow Sea Kings. Jeremy Barth, a senior here at Palos Verdes High School, is the starting right fielder for our varsity baseball team.
With two older brothers to look up to for inspiration and guidance, Barth began his baseball career at the young age of three, and hopes that it will always be a part of his life. His fascination with the sport was sparked by watching his brothers. “I went to all of their games, and I definitely just wanted to do what they did.” His dad coached the three brothers and always supported everything they did. In addition to looking up to his two brothers and father, Barth also idolizes Texas Rangers center fielder, Josh Hamilton. According to Barth, “I just love how he plays.” Like Hamilton, Barth is a left-handed batter and a good Christian. Barth says that he looks up to Hamilton in both of these respects, and just loves to watch him hit and play his game. Along with playing right field, Barth also plays center field and pitches on occasion. He says that he does not favor any position over another, and just plays wherever his coaches put him.
While some players are caught up in improving their overall stats, Barth does everything he can to ignore them and just play his game. “It messes me up when I start thinking about that stuff. I don’t want to be thinking about my stats. I just want to be thinking about being the best I can be everyday!”
It is clear that Barth is passionate about baseball. However, he says his favorite part about the sport is its laid back atmosphere. He describes it as an escape. “A sport should be a getaway, and baseball is just something that I have always loved.” Barth says that baseball brings out his true personality and allows him to just be himself.
Most athletes have rituals or superstitions within their sport, and Jeremy admits that he is no exception. He claims that he used to have a bunch of superstitions, but is trying to cut down on them. Although he is trying to eliminate some, he still has a few trademark rituals, like taking a specific number of practice swings in the warm up circle before going up to the plate. Barth says that they are “just little things that don’t really matter, but you feel a little better if you do them than if you don’t.” In addition to the comfort of his rituals, he also sports the lucky number 7 on his back. Barth realizes the extent of his wonderful life, complete with a loving family, loyal friends, a strong religious faith, and a passion for a wonderful sport. He reflects his life through the “walkup song” he chose, “Lucky Man” by Montgomery Gentry. Each varsity player gets to choose a song or two to play as they walk up to the plate. Whether his rituals help him perform better or not, I am not one to judge, in any case, I find him to be one very lucky man.