It's one hell of a sledgehammer to the chest when your baseball career comes to an end. It's like you finally realize that baseball never loved you back. All the sleepless nights, the hours spent at the gym trying to stay fit, the conditioning, the training, the mental preparation, the holidays missed, the birthdays passed, the memories you didn't get to make with your family ... all for what? It's not like baseball lost any sleep over you. She didn't stay awake for nights on end, trying to figure out how to make you a better player. She didn't care. Baseball's a business. A sport. A game. And as much as my entire life has been wrapped up in it, it's time to let it go.