Wishing Aaron Boone Well

I don't hate Aaron Boone. Maybe it's because he played for my NL team, the Nats last year. But it's probably because I was just an innocent eight-year-old who didn't follow sports back in October of 2003. At the time, I wasn't even aware of what had happened. Now, I'm a die-hard Sox fan. I understand how heartbreaking that walkoff was to Red Sox Nation (Joffrey Lupul, anyone?), but nothing can give me the experience of having lived through it. (Though that also means that I'll never feel the full joy of those who were Sox fans in '04).

I've always felt that Boone was a guy who was in the right place at the right time (or wrong place, from the perspective of the Sox). Not a superstar, but just some player on the Yanks who made a name for himself in baseball history with his walk-off homer. And on the positive side, he helped make the '04 World Series win all the more sweeter. (Okay, that was bad grammar, but I don't have school until Monday. Cut me some slack.) Aaron Boone had no control over the events that led up to his home run, and anyone else (on either team) could have won the game. He was just a baseball player doing his job.

And now, despite many odds against him, he's coming back. He's been on a minor league rehab stint, and he'll join the Astros when rosters expand. Boone had open-heart surgery before the season because of a condition he had that had gotten to the point where it was too risky to not operate. His overcoming of obstacles should be an inspiration to us all. Walkoffs aside, he's a guy from a great baseball family whose love of the game keeps him coming back, and he's had a pretty decent career (with more to come, if all goes well). Red Sox fans, Yankees fans, Astros fans, and baseball fans and people in general should respect his determination. Love him or hate him, he's back. Again. Good luck, Aaron.

(MLB.com- Boone excited for return to big leagues)