“It is a Spalding glove, which I still have to this day,” he says. “There are no words to express how a young child feels when he gets his first glove, as it’s so much more than just a glove; it’s a matter of being a part of something bigger than yourself, which is the true essence of teamwork.”
Baseball was an important part of the Americans’ life in Italy, Bruback says, but it was also an important part of their family. His grandfather played professional softball in the 1930s, and his skill as a pitcher helped him land jobs at different companies. On his deathbed, he told young Matt: “You’re my ball player. You’re going to make it.”
“It’s because of his kind words I never doubted I would play professional ball someday,” Bruback says. He went on to play AAA and was invited to big league spring training twice.
His grandfather got to see him play while the family was stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Every time Bruback looked in the stands, his 70-plus grandpa was grinning. Baseball tied generations of men together.
“It was obvious they got joy out of seeing others in a state of joy,” he says, “and it was this mentality which defined our relationship — loving family members willing to give their all to bring happiness into a kid’s world.”
While Matt and his brother also skateboarded in Germany, Bruback was undeniably devoted to baseball.
“I fell in love with baseball like a guy falls in love with his first car,” the pitcher says. “Baseball was freedom of expression, freedom to challenge oneself, freedom to explore this world and attempt to make sense of things. As soon as I picked up a baseball and started throwing it around, I knew baseball was going to be a big part of my life.”
The sport helped him deal with speech issues as a child, he says. He still carries its lessons of teamwork, motivation, determination, focus, concentration and even sacred geometry — the field, he suggests, recalls Masonic symbolism.
These lessons also helped him overcome his own injury paving the way to invent the Miracle Belt which helps improve the lives of children suffering with autism, ADHD, and many other sensory related disorders.
“The main thing I learned in baseball is to have confidence in yourself and not to pay attention to naysayers,” Bruback says. “So many people in life are going to tell you you’re not good enough or that you should get a real job, and early on in baseball, you learn to stay focused on the task at hand — one step at a time. We all have the ability to create happiness, and I know now real happiness comes from helping others.”
Comments
comments
Julie Audet
Matt, what a wonderful story. Hope all is well, and life is good for you. We do miss you on the Board of Directors for Community Haven. Come back when you can.
Wendy Lynne
What a powerful story and the reason we get our kids in sports – to gain all those important life lessons. So great you are using those skills to make a difference in kids lives!
Wendy Lynne
Director of Mental Toughness Academy
Matt’s Destiny
Its interesting how destiny lays a path out in the direction of our desires, but ends up in a place of much greater importance than we set out to find. Matt’s story is fascinating, but truly fascinating, Matt Bruback is just getting started.
Michael Williamsen
“Destiny has a way of laying out a path in the direction of our desires, only to have us end up in a place much larger than we imagined.”