My name is Nathan Rueckert, I am an artist and baseball enthusiast. In 2001, I was playing college baseball when I saw George W. Bush throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium for the World Series.

That image stuck with me as a unifying moment. Something that was more than a game. It inspired me to make a map of the United States out of old worn out baseballs.

Seeing it all come together. I knew at that moment that I had something special.

Gradually, I moved more and more into my art, until I walked away from an accounting career to do this full time.

I love that baseball is generational. From a parent teaching their child to play catch, to a family outing to the ball park, baseball is something that transcends race, sex, class, and unites rather than divides.

I hope that my art does the same.