One of the beautiful things about baseball is that no matter how many years pass, the game remains the same.

Sure, adaptations of the rules and tweaks to strategy have occurred over time, but overall the game that was developed and created a long, long time ago is roughly the same as the game played in front of millions today.

As time progressed and everything around it changed, baseball stayed the same.

A perfect analogy for George Martinez, who passed away on March 31, 2015, from multiple forms of cancer.

While Martinez, my grandpa, ultimately lost his battle with cancer he never lost his spirit or his identity.

Just as the game of baseball has remained constant through centuries, my grandpa remained a constant through his struggle.

As his health dwindled and mortality stared him, and his family, in the face, he remained the fun-loving grandpa I will always remember.

My grandpa always loved spending time with his family, eating a thick cut of meat, sipping on a nice glass of wine or telling a dumb, corny joke.

There are many memories of my grandpa that will forever live in my heart and a lot of them revolve around baseball (and the aforementioned corny jokes).

My grandpa viewed baseball as many things. It served as a hobby, a past time, a bonding experience between generations and in the final years and months it provided an escape – an avenue of relaxation.

My grandpa was a lifelong baseball fan, often telling me stories about growing up and watching the early days of the Pacific Coast League.

Over the past couple months we’d talk about once a week and the conversation would always conclude with a spring training update.

Yes, my grandpa was proud of me and wanted to know what I was working on and how everything was going. But as an avid, lifelong fan, he also wanted to know what was going on with his beloved Oakland A’s and if they were going to contend again in 2015.

My grandpa won’t get the chance the see the A’s play a regular season game in 2015, but he did celebrate his 78th and final birthday with a present from the team and that gesture, to me and my family, may be bigger than any other victory the A’s have this season.

A month ago I wrote a blog titled “More than just a hat” and briefly, I want to share that story once again.

Sensing that it would be her father’s final birthday, my mom sent an email to the Oakland Athletics, telling them about my grandpa’s condition and how he had been a lifelong fan of the organization.

Sending a note to a generic team account can result in any number of things and frankly I expected the email to go unanswered as the team – and all teams – probably receives tons of similar requests.

However, that was not the case.

The A’s took the time to put together a special birthday package that contained a schedule, a hat, baseball cards and several other items.

It wasn’t anything extravagant. But it meant everything.

At the time, my grandpa was still in the hospital and when I spoke to him – and he told me about the package – the excitement and the joy in his voice was evident.

He was surprised to receive a gift from his favorite team and most importantly, he was happy.

He told me he put the hat on as soon as he opened the box. A few days later I spoke to him again and the hat was still on.

Even while lying in a hospital bed baseball once again provided my grandpa with an escape – a sense of joy.

Just as the game of baseball will stay the same, live on and provide me with many memories and smiles, so will the memories of George Martinez.

Rest in peace Grandpa. I love you.