Those were the exact words Summer Camp legend James "Coach Ballgame" Lowe said in his wedding vows on Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding and I've honestly never seen him happier - and that's saying a lot for a guy who I consider to be one of the most optimistic and happy people I've ever met.

The wedding was small, about 100 people total, and since James has tons of friends I thought about how hard it must of been for him to decide who to invite. But as I looked around the wedding, I noticed something - all of James' closest friends were former teammates.

There was a table full of Brown Baseball players and another table full of buddies from his high school football team. The rest of his side of the wedding was family and family friends.

It got me thinking about my wedding 5 years ago and about how my closest friends to this day - without exception - are all friends I made through baseball. My Groomsmen were my brother, and 5 of my best friends from baseball. I didn't plan on picking baseball friends, it just turned out that all of my strongest friendships were formed through the game. Coach Flikke even officiated the wedding! (We handed baseball cards in the middle of the ceremony - true story!)

We work so hard at the game to be the best we can be, but everyone's career will end eventually, and all that's left when that happens are the memories of the experiences and the friendships we built on the field.

So, at the risk of sounding corny, I would encourage parents and players alike to spend a few minutes reflecting on the friendships you've formed this season because of baseball and remember that when it's all said and done, those connections - not statistics, or trophies, or even championships - are what will be remembered most down the road.