“When he came out he seemed so big to me.” Brandon Sims recalls the time he first laid eyes on his son. “I called him Tank.”
But on the day Tank was born, picking a name was the least of Brandon’s worries.
“When they first started the tests we were very concerned,” Brandon said. “There was concern about a hole in the heart. They said it could vary from taking medication to surgery. So we were very scared that day.”
Those fears subsided when at three days old the doctors said Tank was in the clear.
“Now he doesn’t have any health problems whatsoever,” Brandon said. “Except maybe sometimes he eats too much junk food.”
“Freeze-dried sour Skittles,” said Tank, a senior on the West Plains baseball team. “I got those today. If you haven’t tried them, go out and get you some.”
Now Tank makes sure West Plains’ opponents get some Tank bombs.Â
And he’s gotten plenty of Division I scholarship offers. Dad admits he may be struggling to let go. “If a parent tells you anything different, they’re probably lying.”
But Tank wanted to stay close to home. “Mom’s still got to do my laundry,” Tank said with a laugh. “So I’ve got to be kind of close.”
Tank chose Southeast Missouri State, whose last two starting catchers have been drafted by Major League Baseball.
“Whenever we went to SEMO and stepped foot in there he said, ‘This is where I want to go,'” Brandon said.
“It felt like home,” Tank added. “Everybody was nice. The coaches were perfect.”
Plus, it’s only three hours away. So he can get back to his dad, who is also his swing coach.
“He’s the only reason why I’m here,” Tank said. “He’s always spending time with me and giving up his own time to go out and hit, and figure out problems with my swing.”
“I just feel like I’m more of the mechanic than anything,” Brandon said. “Because the swing breaks down and you’ve got to replace parts. Whatever it is.”
This Tank is purring nicely under the hood, with a clear preference for a paint job.
“Ever since I was in Little League I’ve been dripped out in pink,” Tank said. “Pink eye black. About every accessory pink, I try to get it.”
He’s also got his Zizzers off to a 17-1 start, thanks in large part to the fact he’s gone from having a hole in his heart to having no holes in his swing.
