COLORADO SPRINGS — Meet the newest baseball team to come to Southern Colorado.
"I actually found out I was going to be the manager three or four weeks before the season started," explained Kyle Watson.
The Colorado Springs Snow Sox began their inaugural season in the Pecos League this year.
It is the definition of a grinders league in independent baseball. The league has teams all over the Southwest United States.
For the Snow Sox, they call historic Surgeon field at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs home.
"To hear the stories about what happened here and you got Yogi Berra playing here and guys like that," said Watson, the manager of the Snow Sox.
"There's not many places you're going to play where there's a concrete wall in right field and you're looking at Pikes Peak while you're playing," added Snow Sox right field and first baseman Thomas Jeffries. "It doesn't get better than that."
For these guys, it's their last shot of playing America's game.
And they are 100% not doing it for the money.
"If you hit a home run you're taking home whatever you get in the stands," explained Jeffries.
So you may ask, where do these guys come from and what do they do for a living?
"I am a high school history teacher and baseball coach back in Fort Worth, Texas," stated Watson.
"I was a guest services manager in a place called Palmetto Beach in Port Aransas," added Jeffries.
And the reason they still play? Simple, it keeps their dream of making it to the big leagues still alive"
:The dream is there," Jeffries explained "If you pipeline yourself well enough, crazy things can happen."
"I've had that dream ever since I was four years old to be a Major League baseball player," explained Snow Sox catcher John Anthon. "Some guys like to hang it up, but for me, it's just not in the cards for me."
Because, in the end, dreams can only comes true if you try to follow them.
"I already know I am in the 1% as is every other person out here, If you can throw a baseball if you can swing a bat - you've done it at a high level - that's something you should use until you can't use it anymore," concluded Jeffries.
For more information on the Colorado Springs Snow Sox, please click here.
