For local resident Stephen Peterson it is hard to imagine his life without baseball. A well-known athlete growing up in Wilmington, Steve played a lot of different sports but, as he explained, “baseball was always first on my list.”
From his earliest memories of tossing a ball around with his dad in the backyard Steve can’t remember a time that baseball was not his passion.
“My dad always tells the story about watching the Red Sox with me,” he said. “I would stand in front of the television and try to imitate Roger Clemen’s windup.”
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Soon, Peterson went from his parent’s back yard to playing for Wilmington’s “major league” Red Sox at Rotary Park. His baseball career eventually took him out of Wilmington to St. John’s Preparatory School in Danvers and Marist College in New York.
This is where Peterson's career was briefly put on hold while he underwent Tommy John Surgery. That surgery, however, didn’t stop Steve and he went on to a winning 2011 season pitching for the University of Rhode Island.
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“When I was facing surgery going into my senior year it got me down but I never panicked,” Peterson recalled. “I just knew that I had to work harder to get back to where I was and, eventually, be even better.”
Without a doubt, that is exactly what Steve was able to do. At the end of his season at URI, Peterson was signed as a free agent by the Milwaukee Brewers and headed to their minor league team in Arizona. He proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a little adversity was not going to ruin his dreams of playing baseball.
“There are always things that are going to happen and maybe get you down.” said Peterson. “You have to work through those things and make your dreams come true.”
Steve, however, doesn’t take all the credit for his success. Instead, he believes it was his family’s love and support that truly made his dream come true. “I owe everything I have done to my mom, my dad and my family,” said Peterson. “Without them I would never have had this opportunity.”
Of course, realizing your dreams are finally coming true after years of heard work can be overwhelming to say the least.
“I have always told people that this is what I wanted to do. The pressure has always been there and I have never doubted myself,” Peterson explained. “When it finally happened it was emotional for me but it was even more special for my family. They helped to make it happen.”
Not happy, however, to simply make his own dreams come true, Peterson also spends a lot of time helping young kids with their dream of playing baseball.
Peterson began working with players at Extra Innings in Tewksbury during the summer of 2010 while rehabbing from surgery. Today he continues to spend much of his time inspiring young players and their love of baseball.
“It’s about being able to give back everything that has been taught to me,” said Peterson. “I have an opportunity to teach the lessons that I have learned and to pass them on to kids who work hard and enjoy the game.”
For Peterson, there are a lot of lessons to be learned when it comes to baseball. One of the most important, he believes, is that kids need to enjoy them game and have fun.
“That’s when you start to see the results of your hard work,” he said. “That is what keeps you working hard and wanting to achieve more.”
“As you get older the game and the training gets more intense. These are the times that you find out whether you want to keep going or not,” Peterson added.
As the holidays approach, Peterson is already looking forward to the 2012 baseball season.
I’m really enjoying this time that I have between seasons to relax and spend time with my family,” he said. “But I am already looking forward to having a full spring training and baseball season next year.”
Come spring he will be with the Milwaukee Brewers organization in Arizona to begin the season and from there, it remains to be seen exactly where Peterson will end up.
“Everybody works hard to get to this point,” he said. “It’s about what you do with this opportunity that will make you a success.”
One thing is for certain. Peterson will continue to love the game of baseball and will continue to inspire young players to dream and to work hard to make their dreams come true.
