Through Thick and Thin (Anthony Rizzo)

Broken System

Anthony

Now that were nearing the end of May, teams are starting to think up of ways to get our sports back. The NHL and NBA need to find ways to finish their seasons off, whether it's they play their remaining games or just start the post season, and we gotta figure out how to get started. We will probably have to finish spring training and I highly doubt we will get 120 games in without screwing everything up from here on out.

So the MLBPA started putting together some ideas and suggestions. Being outdoors we should be one of the easier sports to get as close to normal as possible. Of course having no fans is going to be weird but I don't need people risking their lives for a baseball game when they're not getting paid millions of dollars and get constant testing done to promise their safety.

So a few of the players and owners from around the league sit and talk and honestly, we don't get very far. There's a lot that need to happen before we can get a plan through. And it doesn't seem like the owners were sold on having a bunch of games without fans. We just want to play because we know the fans will still watch at home. It'll be weird to play without hearing people yell at my to swing my bat but I know they'll be safe at home cheering us on for as many games as we could play without things getting difficult. But the owners won't make any money this way so they were on the fence which made me feel uneasy.

"What do you do when you think the system is broken" I ask Jazz as we hang out at her place like always. She stops what she's doing for a second to think because she knows all about the system being broken.

"That's usually when the the system needs you the most" she claims.

"The owners want a season, but they want control of it. They just want money, but me? I just want to play. If they cut our games it cuts our salaries and they get to keep the money they'll lose because there won't be any fans at games. But that's wrong" I defend.

"You have to know where your morals lie, then realize it's not the system you're doing this for but the morals you play for.

I don't fight for this corrupt government or the people who sit in its office. Most of those people haven't had to know the things I know because I'm fighting their fight for them. I never fought for those people who oppress and bind our people, I fought for people like you and me who love one thing while we work for the other. I believe in the people who go to work every day to support their families, who have to make hard decisions for the greater good of our people" she says.

"But I'm not strong in the way you are. You knew this whole time you had to do things you wouldn't like and you would have to stand up for yourself in the face of adversity. I wasn't trained to go head to head with the guys who write my checks" I argue.

"The hardest things in life you can never prepare for. But you have a voice in these parts Anthony. You've been playing in Chicago since 2012 and are the last guy from those teams. This team is yours and they're counting on you. You might not have been trained to fight this fight but it's yours to win. If you let the owners walk all over you then you will never find your voice again" she insists.

"Can I just have you come fight with me? I feel like they will listen to you. You had your own battalion after all, you're a natural born leader" I insist.

"And you're not" she asks. "I hear the zoom calls through the walls some time. Those men, they admire the hell out of you. They're asking you what to do. You don't need all the answers right now but you're a smart man. You'll figure it out" she insists.

"What all... what all do you hear us talking about" I ask cautiously. This could be bad news for me.

"Enough" she smirks as I start to blush.

"Note to self, turn volume down on zoom calls" I joke as she giggles.

"Just know things will get harder before they get better. But everything worth having gets its worth from the struggle we endure to have it. Fight for your game and the parts of it you play for and you'll be fine" she says.

"If you were me what would you say" I ask.

She shrugs her shoulders as a soft sigh passes her big pink lips. "I would just remind everyone that you're players but you're humans too. You have given up so much for the greater good of this country and this city by sitting out and being safe. They have no right taking more from you than you have already given. You sit in my apartment and work your ass off every single day and you are doing what you can to be the best player. Show them that you aren't a pawn for them to use" she explains.

"I wish this was going to be easy" I sigh. I know it's not but a man can wish.

"I have faith in you" she smiles.

"Well that makes one of us" I joke.

Jazmyn insists I get my mind off everything so we find something on Disney + to watch. She hasn't see a lot of the Disney movies from the past ten years and I proudly haven't missed one so I show her things like Moana and Tangled and the new classics. Frozen blew her mind and I think she's ready for Frozen 2 now.

So I play the movie and she grabs us some movie snacks. She curls into my side as I wrap my arm around her. She was starting her training for national guard which was nothing compared to what she did for the army according to her. But I can tell she still isn't sleeping all that well.

Halfway into the movie she was passed out and I had to laugh. She's talked about wanting to watch this movie since they put it out in Disney + and now she's knocked out.

But being the good friend I am I pause it and I'll play it when she wakes up. I pull a blanket over us because she kept her place freezing cold. She stirs a little and I stop moving careful not to wake her. She suddenly wraps her arms around me and I couldn't stop the smile on my face from coming up. My heart beats a little harder as she presses her body against mine. I softly kiss the top of her head and I see her lips pull tight. Hopefully she can get some sleep.