The oldest baseball fable centers around the kid playing in his parents' backyard. Every throw is the final out of a World Series, and every swing wins the seventh game for his favorite team. He emulates his heroes and dreams of playing their game, in their uniforms, as a professional.
One of those kids usually cares about the game more than most. He harbors something different because his undying passion tapped into something deeper. There's an intensity that doesn't go away, even when obstacles say a professional career is completely and utterly impossible.
In 2006, Joe Suozzi found that love when David Wright nearly led the New York Mets to the World Series.