A Brother's Determined Sacrifice

"Woo-hoo! Let's go number 28!" The crowd cried out happily when the one and only Jayden Brown of Oak Hill County strode forward triumphantly from the dugout alongside the baseball field, holding up his helmet to salute his fans from all across the world. 

Everyone in the city knew Jayden, but few knew his journey to becoming the most prominent baseball player of his time. Some say he was simply gifted. Others maintained that his talents were drawn from some mysterious, possibly supernatural connection that was as secret as it was powerful. In reality, though, there was only one person who knew his real-life struggles toward becoming one of the most accomplished baseball players in the world. 

Jayden's brother Stephen was one of the most popular kids in their neighborhood and school district growing up in the Midwest. At a young age, Jayden would witness lots of people coming to their house to hang out with his older brother or just simply to gain his attention. Stephen was always a very responsible older brother and a good role model towards Jayden, which resulted in the constant comparison between them made by their mother. Despite hanging out and watching movies, the two brothers would often spend long weekend afternoons discussing all kinds of things, like how to attract girls or tips for playing baseball. 

Of course, Jayden wasn't into sports, let alone baseball at that time. All he cared about was his science textbooks or even historical readings from global studies assignments, but that changed when a life-altering moment shockingly descended on him.

Jayden and Stephen did not live in a particularly good neighborhood. There was too much crime, and lots of kids around them would get in trouble and leave their innocent ways behind. Though the pair constantly lives in fear, they never thought these criminal ways would elbow themselves into their lives. 

That is until Stephen was shot in the neck by a passing stranger as he was innocently shopping in a local store for a birthday gift for his girlfriend. That's when the bullet tore through this exceptional athlete's body, ending his life and simultaneously ending the naiveness in Jayden.  

During the first few weeks after his brother's death, Jayden was devastated. He would spend hours alone in his bedroom, pondering the happiest memories he spent with his brother, which, until his brother's tragic passing, the two shared. Stephen's side of the room was perfect, with his favorite baseball players' posters on the wall. Jayden's side was messy, with posters of periodic tables on his wall taking the place of Jayden's ballplayers. Now, Jayden felt tired and overwhelmed by grief, unsure of what to do next. Become a famous chemist? Write a book or a novel? Or simply becoming a teacher? Before, the naive middle schooler considered such pathways for his future. But then, once everything changed, so, too, did his goals. He told himself he would become a baseball player, the greatest player who ever lived. He would fulfill Stephen's one and only wish, dedicating his life to his big brother in the process. He hoped that Stephen would guide him through his journey or that he would be by his side when he made the most difficult decisions, but he knew it wouldn't happen. He was on his own for the first time.

 Jayden began to train day by day. He stayed in the gym for so long that his mother would start to get worried about him and even considered calling the police to look for him. Every day, he improved his exercise techniques. He also visited a batting cage to work on his swing and played catch with friends to improve his throwing arm and fielding abilities. He moved ever closer to fulfilling what his brother had hoped to accomplish. 

His friends gradually drifted from him, telling him he should give his athletic career a break and that "he wasn't fit for it." But, of course, he wouldn't listen. He had one goal: to become the best baseball player the world had ever seen in order to fulfill his brother's dream. "It is what Stephen had wanted." He would often repeat over and over to himself so that he would fully realize the reason behind the act. So his extraordinary training schedule continued, and his skills professionalized to the point of becoming an all-star in his county and later in college, both locally and across the nation. He even wore his brother Stephen's uniform number, 28. Stephen chose it for his birthday, July 28, which happened to be right in the middle of baseball season.

After college, he was drafted by the best team in professional baseball, the New England Baserunners, and shot to the top of the league in hitting and fielding. 

"The batter, Number 28, Jayden Brown!"

Jayden's private reverie had been broken by the public address announcer calling out his name over the stadium loudspeakers. It was his turn at bat. Jayden tipped his helmet to the crowd before striding to home plate to take his position in the batter's box.

The pitch came in hard and fast, and Jayden turned on it. His bat met the ball midswing, and the baseball flew off in a high arc, finally clearing the outfield wall and falling into the seats for a home run. The crowd went wild as Jayden took his turn around the bases.

He had won the game.

As he crossed home plate, he looked skyward and doffed his helmet once more. Only this time, it was to the only other person who knew deep down what he had gone through to get there and who he'd honored with his massive stroke. It was his late brother Stephen Brown, who was undoubtedly looking down from the heavens, beaming proudly at all his little brother had accomplished for the two of them, just like Jayden promised as a grief-stricken kid back in the neighborhood in Oak Hill County.