Married To Baseball

The End;

(It's my birthday lmao I haven't finished tomorrows update and idk if I'll be writing much today so I might not update tomorrow just a heads up)

Jailyn~

Sighing a little I sit and start typing out my public statement to publish explaining my absence this coming season now that I'm not going to be there this coming week. Honestly, this is probably the most bittersweet moment I've ever had. "I know that this is going to be a shock to most but, I've made the incredibly hard decision that I will not be returning this season to The US Women's National Softball Team. I've had the absolute time of my life as a member of this team, two Olympic gold medals, six world softball championship gold medals, four Japan cup gold medals, some of the most incredible teammates and friends that I'll ever have, pretty insane brand deals with Adidas and DeMarini that have been wildly successful, and countless other achievements and accolades I would've never gotten if I wasn't given the chance at the Trials when I was twenty years old. As amazing as every single one of those moments has been and how grateful I am for every single aspect of my career, I've also dealt with pretty significant injuries.

Given how face paced my career and life has felt the last nine years I haven't really been given the chance to let them heal properly. My shoulder more so than my Achilles. I chose to return to softball immediately when I was cleared for more activity before I was back at full strength. Then I chose to push myself incredibly hard in my workouts that offseason and the now three seasons since; ignoring the discomfort that's been relatively consistent ever since I'd separated it." I mean, I'd believe the lie here. It's a pretty valid excuse, Christian had a pretty good point when he said it'd come in handy. "All of that being said, I've decided to take this next year off to hopefully try and get my body back to the place I'd like it to be where I'm not stressing about potentially re-tearing anything else especially with my shoulder injury being the second time I've done it.

I've got nothing but love for everything that's happened in my career and everyone who has been a part of it and I look forward to cheering on Team USA this coming season. I'm incredibly sorry to all of my fans and supporters and to anyone I've let down with this decision. I've got so many great memories and moments from the last eight years that I'll forever be grateful for so thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey, every coach, every teammate, every competitor, and every single person who has supported us and me and helped me elevate Softball to a bigger platform than it's ever before had. I love you all so much and I'll forever be grateful for everything this sport and team has given me and the history I've been able to be a part of along the way. Thank you for understanding and respecting my decision because it hasn't been an easy one to make. <3

With love, Jailyn James-Yelich" I wipe my eyes as I've been crying this whole time. It's the end of a massive part of my life, the end of basically the biggest aspect of my life. That's the pin in my career basically. Going out with a gold medal and the winning play is pretty much storybook ending for any athlete, it's just so damn hard to say goodbye especially knowing I could put in a good probably ten more years. Softball and this team have given me almost everything. My two best friends, insane deals, an insanely fun career, the opportunity to go to these insane events, and live this crazy lifestyle on my own doing. I don't think things would be too different between Christian and me besides maybe having a kid sooner, it definitely helped with the reception of us as a couple though.

Laying on my stomach on my bed I hold a pillow under my chin as I re-read the announcement figuring out if there is anything I want to fix or add anything I deem necessary. Finally, I screenshot it and send it to Ken first before hitting his contact calling him before he'd even received the text so I can actually tell him what's up.