Two years ago today, my friend Mike Kic died. I think about him all the time.
Earlier this year, I received a text from his wife. She wanted me to have his #13 Brett Lawrie Blue Jays jersey. I couldn't think of a better way to honour his memory than by wearing his jersey and telling everyone who would listen who it belonged to and what an amazing guy he was.
Even the long bike ride last week to pick up the jersey was cathartic. I thought of all those ball games I played at third base with Kic behind me in LF, how passionate he was about our Jays, how he'd heckle opposing players with such zest and what he would have thought of Joey Bats's bat flip. He would have absolutely loved that.
I'm going to cherish Kic's jersey, but it's not going to hang in some closet collecting dust. I'm going to do what he'd have wanted me to do. I'm going to wear the shit out of it.... forever.
