NW:
I am Nelson Wodarz and this is Wins and Losses, today I sat down with Boden Strafelda to talk baseball. How long have you been playing baseball?

Boden Strafelda (BS)
I’ve been playing baseball for 15 years.

NW:
How long have you been playing for SPA? How long have you played baseball for SPA?

BS:
I’ve been playing baseball for SPA for four years and this is going to be my fifth year.

NW:
Okay. How would you say baseball has shaped your life?

BS:
Baseball has shaped my life in many different ways. Mostly connecting with new people that you might not have like known as well before or like known at all. You just kind of make a lot of new friends along the way and also just kind of helps. Like with other things like not like when you’re stressed with school, it’s kind of like a stress reliever. So it’s just kind of helps and, and shaped my life in ways where it helps me with new connections and kind of just like clear away everything else that’s going on in my life.

NW:
Who would you say? has been your biggest role model in your baseball career?

BS:
My biggest role model in my baseball career is my dad. Darrin Feld. Just he’s kind of like always been there for me and he’s kind of like, taught me everything that like I know regarding baseball, from like, day one. So that’s probably why he’s my biggest role model.

NW:
Why did you start playing baseball?

BS:
I started playing baseball, because my dad played baseball his whole life and I feel like he kind of just put me in the sport that he played growing up and hoped that I would love it as much as he did. So I started playing baseball because my dad kind of made me

NW:
would you say that you and your dad have made a strong connection through the game of baseball?

BS:
I would say that my dad and I have made a strong connection through baseball, but more or less just a strong connection outside of baseball. And baseball just helps connect us more

NW:
what is your favorite baseball memory?

BS:
Oh, my favorite baseball memory was probably. Let’s see. I was like 12 years old, and we were playing Hudson and we’ve like never beat them before. Like traveling baseball. And my teammates like kind of started to choke and then we were down three runs. And the last inning and the bases reloaded. Hit inside the park home run. And then we’d be Hudson and then my dad Darren hugged me. And yeah.

NW:
Okay, that’s that sounds like a great memory.

BS:
Yeah, really special connect connection between my dad and I.

NW:
So you’re going to go play baseball at Gustavus after you get next fall. Or spring but it’ll be there next fall, at Gustavus. What made you choose Gustavus to continue your baseball journey?

BS:
Well, my dad went there. So that was kind of part of that. But mostly, I put like my club baseball coaches for a few years are the assistant coaches at Gustavus. So I had a strong connection with them already and they really said a lot of things that kind of drew me there and they have started working really hard on their team and like getting new facilities that just our way advanced, like a top tier like D one school would have. And that kind of really drew me there because that’s something that’s like important. I don’t want to go to like some school where they don’t have the proper facilities to train. So that was kind of like the biggest thing that drew me there and having like connections with coaches to

NW:
What is the game of baseball meant to you throughout your life?

BS:
Um, the game of baseball I don’t even know. Honestly, it’s just kind of like it means everything to me. Like I prioritize baseball more than I ever prioritize school or anything else. That’s just something that I always enjoyed doing. Like I don’t always I don’t ever like complain about going to the field. Or like going hitting or throwing or something like that just means more than anything else could ever mean to me and I wouldn’t change any of that for like the world. So.

NW:
Would you say it’s brought you and your peers at school playing with SBA? Would you say it’s brought you guys together, both on the field and off the field?

BS:
I would say, you know, I’d walk through the halls and I’d see a freshman. And I know he plays baseball and like I’d talked to him I’d say hey, and like read chat, and that’s kind of like a connection that I feel like maybe a lot of schools or teams might not have because like, there are some schools where there’s so many kids that you might not even know like, a kid a grade below you. So at SVA there’s a lot of connections that just like are really strong from seniors to freshmen or vice versa. And I think that’s just like a good thing to have on NASA field.

NW:
If you could give a piece of advice about baseball that you would give to your younger self, what would it be?

BS:
That even when I’m going through the hardest of times, keep my head up because at the end of the day, there will always find a way to fix itself. And turn around. Don’t get pissed off at the little things.

NW: This has been Wins and Losses with Nelson Wodarz.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai