2008 baseball season (I hate baseball), but my kids love it and although my oldest (12) hasn't played for two years they are now 6-0 and my youngest (9) 5-1...but they are now the starting pitchers, both were 3 up, 3 down for their allowed innings at pitching today. My oldest also does SS and Catcher...sorry for the modem burning pics, but photobucket won't let me resize them anymore.

 

Little league baseball is one of the best things kids can do. It teaches them a lot of values. Why would you hate something that does that? (Sorry, I'm a huge fan... and as of this moment, am winning the FTE Friends fantasy league!!!)

Oh, BTW, those are some great pics! Keep encouraging them to play!

 

Baseball is not a sport I like...I love the fact the kids enjoy it so much, just not my cup of tea, and since we don't "force" our kids to do sports, this is the one they've picked...I do like that they enjoy it so much.

 

My grandson (now 8) has been playing since T-ball age and LOVES it. The other day he asked me, "Papa, has there been any professional baseball players in our family"? When I said no he nodded and said, "Good, then I'll be the first".

 

Little League and maybe SPAL...and some local minor league stuff is the only baseball I watch these days. Pros are a bunch of soiled, overpaid, whining, sorry excuses for sportsmen...

Love those kids!

 

I played baseball when i was young, loved it. Now my oldest son is playing his second year at it. We just moved to the country and the team he was on(his first year) was like the bad news bears. Boy, was that fun to watch. They were having so much fun, we were so proud of them all.

 

Two Choices

What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe, that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

 

Wow, that brought a tear to my eyes.What a story.

 

Interseting because for the first time ever in my oldest son's baseball playing "career" he has a coach (who is another players grandfather) that makes it a point to let anyone on the team try a minimum (sometimes more) at any postition they want.

Of course every kid wants to try pitcher and he lets them, even if it means 6 walks. Amazingly they are undefeated. He has never coach before, although he does know baseball and two of his adult sons are helping and they obviously know baseball too.

There had been no yelling or screaming at the players and only firm but positive support, this is really the first year where my oldest has had what I consider to be a good coach.

He's smart enough to reserve the better players to resume their best positions when they get behind which is every game, but luckily we have so far been able to come back and win our games.

The best thing I noticed is that they all seem to be having fun.

 

Thank you for being a good dad and participating in your kids activities.