Hey Baseball: India is Still Waiting
Do you know how many Indians have played in the Major Leagues? The answer is zero, nobody from India or of Indian descent has ever made it. There have been a few who have made it to the Minor Leagues, myself included, but India is still waiting for their first Major Leaguer.
My parents were born in India and both of their families migrated to Canada before either of them turned 10 years old. My dad was raised in Toronto and my mom in Hamilton, just outside of Toronto. They met each other in University connecting through sports and economics. My father grew up loving baseball and the Blue Jays, while my mom dominated volleyball and badminton. However, my parents both grew up playing these sports without the full support of their parents. In my grandparents’ eyes, just like many other Indians, sports were a distraction from education.
My siblings, both younger, and I were raised in a suburb of New York City, an area where sports were a huge part of the community. We played town league baseball, basketball, soccer, and swam at our local pool. Year-round, we were signed up for sports whether we liked it or not. All of them helped me become the athlete I am today. Our parents would coach us and when they didn’t coach, they were cheering in the stands – my dad in his blue chair, my mom behind her camera. Our town took youth sports, especially baseball, very seriously, sometimes too seriously. It was common for umpires to eject parents from the stands, kind of like an umpire tossing a manager after arguing balls and strikes in the Major Leagues. Some parents acted as if their kids were playing in Yankee Stadium.
At a young age, I fell in love with baseball, largely because my dad had grown up loving it. During dinner, the conversation would almost always be about the previous night’s highlights or the most recent trades. Baseball talk dominated the family dialogue, often annoying my mom and sister. Growing up, I struggled on the field, but my love for baseball never diminished. I quickly learned that baseball, and life, was a game of failure. Through it all, my parents continued to support me.
While in high school, my grandmother, who I call Ajji, would always suggest I stop playing baseball to pick up tennis. She learned to love tennis and had wanted me to focus on a sport that I could enjoy for life; she still plays tennis with her friends often. Our calls would usually end with words of wisdom, which included working hard in school and sleeping lots, but to my disappointment would never mention baseball. The first time she truly understood my passion for the game was when I received an offer to play baseball at Yale, a school that isn’t known for its athletics, but its academics. I had used baseball to get myself a great education and my passion for the sport was finally accepted by my Ajji.
After I graduated from college, I received the opportunity of a lifetime, to play professionally for the Oakland Athletics. At Yale, I was able to study diligently and also pursue a career in baseball because of my parents. While growing up, I was not forced to choose one or the other and was able to create a balance between athletics and academics. I think my brother and sister would say the same; my brother is playing college baseball and my sister is playing college soccer, both at rigorous academic colleges. Sports taught us how to be competitive, to pick ourselves up after failure, to be good teammates, to have fun, and much, much more. Our parents saw the benefits of playing sports and guided us toward them, unlike how their parents raised them. These lessons we learned through sports are ones that we can take with us to school, our jobs, and one day, our own families.
As I have grown up, I have seen many more Indian baseball players, which I love to see. I try to introduce myself whenever I can. I want others to see that you can be dedicated to both your education and your favorite sports. Baseball is a game passed down from parent to child, but I’ve been able to pass it upward from child to grandparent. Still, I will never forget what my grandparents have told me – to always excel in my studies. Just as my parents helped change the expectations of my siblings and me, I want to help change what other Indian-Americans expect of their children.I hope to be a role model for all the young Indian ballplayers out there and maybe one day soon, we’ll all get to witness my dream of an Indian playing in the Major Leagues.