The season of Baseball

T-ball is now over. Thank goodness. I'm not saying we didn't enjoy it, we did.  Who doesn't like repeating themselves 625 times a game? Every game.


"put down the bat, sit down, hands to yourself, run to first, stop picking grass, run to second, stop chewing your glove, stand up, stop kicking dirt, don't put dirt in your hat, oh for the love of baseball - you have to potty AGAIN?, "...rinse and repeat.

I think that T-ball is such a difficult sport to teach...so many rules and strategies. I say this not as a parent or a former softball player, but as a someone who has coached T-ball teams.


I say this as someone who parents expect miracles from.


The parents bring their sweet little person that is barely old enough to get to the bathroom alone and hope we can turn them into the next All Star. They yell and cheer from the stands - thinking that somehow the kids can hear them. Really? They can hardly hear the coaches standing right next to them.


Our hope as coaches is that we can teach them to RUN TO FIRST BASE AFTER YOU HIT THE BALL. Everything else is just icing on the cake.


We ended the season 12 and 0, because in T-ball. We are all winners :) Plus, we only misplaced 1 player...once. And he was quickly found and returned to the dugout.


And then there is Pony League. Ahhh, much better...and they find first base without all the yelling and shouting and whatnot. Most of the time.

(those photos of ADog are NOT compliments of ME. They are compliments of the dad with the very cool camera with a zoom lens 9 inches long)


What would we do if we were not going to games and practices 5 times a week?


Certainly not cry. There is no crying in baseball.

Game 3

With the obvious seasonal threat of summer monsoons, we did wonder if we would all make another trip to the far away park only to be turned away at the rain. Thankfully for my gas tank and my dwindling kid watcher fund (since we don't 'sit' on babies, we don't call it babysitting), the game was played and never delayed. Quite the 'rhym-ist' aren't I?



Pre-game excitement (except the guy in the middle I guess)


This game happened to be the battle of the pitchers and after 4 innings it was 0 to 1 them. Typically we are given about 2 hours to finish a game - so give or take that with rain, lightening etc. This particular game was over in 1 hour 15 minutes. That's how tough it was. Few hits. Few walks. Sad loss. Very little to comment on really. Except for Wyatt, I think he won!



From the looks of it, she may be my new daughter-in-law. This cutie pie belongs to our team - and is the sister on one of our players. Good thing, I'd hate to have to search all over town to find her again, seriously, quite a sweetheart!

But, all was not lost - we did complete the game without delay or a reschedule. That's a big deal these days!


And here's a little cheese for your ham...

Game 2!

But what happened to Game 1 you ask? Well our day was scheduled around a 7:45pm start time, (which included some time with the A/C and no swimming...well, maybe just a quick dip!), some relaxation, then driving the 35 miles to the park, enduring 102 sweltering heat (and humidity I might add) once we pulled into the parking lot - then the weather took a turn to the south.

Or was it to the north west?

I'm not sure.

Either way, at one point the dedicated fans from the earlier game and the excited fans for the second game had to run for cover during a quick on set of a summer monsoon. After the downpour subsided, the earlier game was allowed to finish - but it was after 8:30, and far too late for us to start...so, we are now rescheduled. Game 1 will be between game 3 and 4...or is it now between 2 and 4?

So, Game 2 we'll call it was last night. Time not any different than previous night. 7:45. Park, somewhat closer. Weather? Very cooperative! Only a drizzle that faded off to just leave little annoying bugs that get in your eyes, ears and mouth.

We played a team at their home park and after a coin flip, we were away. 2 things stacked against us before the game even started. Their starting pitcher? He was on OUR 9/10 All Star team last year and was now up against 5 of his former teammates.

As typical, Alec was the lead off batter. Poor guy. There are several spots no one wants to be - at bat with bases loaded 2 outs down by 1 - and the first batter of the first All Star game of the year. He handled it like any good All Star would...went down in 3 straight swinging strikes.

Luckily, the rest of the top of the first went a lot differently - and his 2nd time at bat that inning (yup, you read right) he got on with a walk. They scored 5 that inning and ended up winning 12 to 1. Alec had 1 strikeout, 1 walk, 1 single and 1 triple with 2 RBI's. He played all of the 4 inning game (called for 10 run rule) and caught a line drive, a pop fly and assisted in getting a runner out at 2nd.

He said later that he was so glad to strike out his first at bat because he needed to get the "first game jitters" out of his way. Clearly it worked. The triple he hit during his last at bat was the most solid hit we've seen him hit in a while. He crushed it to a gap in right field and it bounced once and hit the fence. I guess the cash we put out on that new bat is paying off :- ).

Next game? Friday at 5:30

.