Here he is loving the game.

Miss Baseball was sad to learn that Jayson Nix has left the Kansas City Royals for free agency. I will be honest. He’s my favorite player. You don’t always get to choose who you cheer for; sometimes they just stay in your heart. I met Jayson ten years ago when he was in AA ball, He was a Tulsa Driller, and I was a San Antonio Missions fan. I think the fans that night thought I lost my damn mind when I just started cheering for Jayson but no other Driller. I would cheer for the Missions, but when Jayson came up to bat, I would go well a little batty. Why did I cheer for him? Well, I’ve told you I am a die-hard Rangers fan, and his brother is Laynce Nix, at the time a Ranger. So I went to support Jayson because of Laynce but what happened next, well, it would change this fan forever. After the game, I went to go get Jayson’s autograph, I went up to him.

I call out, “Hey Jayson.”

He looks right at me and with almost a stern face says, “Were you the one cheering for me?”

Now I am at this point very used to being in a Major League ballpark, but I had only been in San Antonio in the minor league park for about a year. So as funny as this sounds, I was three rows from home plate, and it never occurred to me that Jayson could actually hear me. I have to admit, I was suddenly scared that he was going to think I was some crazy person.

I sheepishly admit “Yes.”

A big smile comes across his face. He looks at a teammate and says, “Hey, it’s my fan!”

We have a little chat about nothing important, just that I was there to cheer him because his brother was a Ranger. He thanks me for coming out and signs my program, which I still have. And then it happened. You have to be a fan to understand. Something happens, either a play or an interaction. Something makes you become a fan. I took one look at those blue eyes, and I was done. I was his fan. Laynce has left not only the Rangers but baseball, and here I am still cheering for Jayson.

I nearly died when I saw him in the World Series, I so thought he was going to get a ring. I cried for two days when the Royals lost. Now he’s gone, and I had hoped he would stay at Kansas City. But they were going to put him in the minors, and I know he is better than that. Then I started thinking, where is he going? Where has he been? Well, before Kansas City, he was a Pirate. The manager there was the same person who brought Jayson up to the majors. He bounced around between Tampa and Philly, but before that, he was a Yankee. (I will never cheer for the team but I will always cheer for him. That’s baseball love right there.) Joe Girardi had been very supportive of Jayson during his time at the Yankees. Jayson was released by the Yankees after recovering from injuries, but now he is healthy and ready to play ball. Miss Baseball, how can you think that he is going to be a Yankee? Well, the evil empire has a key position that Jayson can play: third base. According to the Bleacher Report, (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2276261-weary-yankees-appear-ready-to-give-alex-rodriguez-a-most-unwelcome-return) Brian Cashman is looking for a third baseman. So you heard it here first. Jayson Nix is going to be a Yankee. If I am wrong, I will buy a Yankee hat and take a picture of me wearing it. We shall wait and see. In the meantime, Go Jayson!