Fall Ball

Dropping the guys off at practice. Sweet evening.

I'm in the Majors

Bob is is into baseball cards right now. A lot into. Extremely into. He lives for baseball cards. Today he paid me the ultimate compliment. He made a card for me. Apparently, I play second base for the LA Dodgers.

Also, as you'll see below, my stats are pretty impressive.

Bonus Question

Baseball Card Store Guy: Okay, if the two of you can answer this trivia question, you can each pick something out of this bag of random cards. You can work as a team.

Felix: Cool!

Bob: That's awesome.

Baseball Card Store Guy: Here's your question. Who is the Dodger with the lowest ERA?"

Felix: What's ERA?

Bob: Earned run average! Clayton Kershaw!

Baseball Card Store Guy: That is correct!

Felix: Yes!!

Bob: Score!!

Felix: High five!!

Scorekeeper-ing

Sometimes I feel comfortable just winging it: Getting to the restaurant without directions, shopping for Thanksgiving without a list, extemporaneous public speaking.

Sometimes I feel in no way prepared to just wing it: Scorekeeping a Little League game.

I volunteered to keep score for some upcoming games for Bob's team, the Jet Hawks. I sort of watched a dad doing it for the first time on Saturday. I've been watching YouTube Little League Scorekeeping  instructional videos. I printed out a scorekeeping cheat sheet from the internet. Just thinking about it, my left eye starts twitching.

I have realized that if I actually understood the rules of baseball, I might be a teensy bit more confident.

Hey Batta

SA-WING!

Look Fast

"Mom? Are you okay?"

"I guess so."

"That ball hit you really hard in the face."

"It did. It feels really bad."

"I know. Remember when that happened to me those two times?"

"Yeah. Well, whoever threw it, it was just an accident."

"Doesn't it feel like your nose is falling out of your face and that it's stinging on the inside and maybe you can kind of feel your own blood in there? And then your top lip feels all fat and warm but not in a good way? And then right between your eyes it's like when you get hit with a plastic light saber, sort of? I keep my hands up like this now to guard my face. You should try it next time."

Go After The Ball

"Good game today, Bud."

"Thanks, Mom. But why does the coach yell stuff to me through the whole game? He doesn't yell that much at anyone else."

"I think it's because you're tall and he sees potential in you to be a better player so he's coaching you a lot."

"What's potential?"

"Potential is when it seems like you could be really good at something."

"I think I'd feel better with a little less potential and more baskets."

Here We Go Dodgers, Here We Go

"Mom, I saw a guy do a bunt at the game."

"Is that right?'

"Yeah. I did a bunt this one time. It worked out pretty well."

Game Plan

"So, here's my plan for practice, Mom. I'm going to catch really good. I'm going to throw super far. I'm going to hit the ball extra, extra far and then I'm gonna get a home run because I'm going to Usain Bolt it around the bases."

Outfield

"Did you have fun tonight at practice, Bob?"

"Yeah. I hit the ball okay."

"And you stopped a couple of balls too."

"Yeah but I stopped them with my tummy, not my mitt."

Catching It

"I don't think I want to be catcher anymore, Mom."

"Why is that?"

"You get hit a lot when you're catcher."

"I thought you just got it that one time in the leg."

"No, I also got it in the shoulder, the arm, and another place I will have to whisper in your ear."

First Practice of the Season

It's that time of the year again - the time of year where the words "good hustle" become part of our vocabulary.

Practice #1

"How was the first practice, Bob?"

"Great!"

"How's your coach?"

"Great!"

"What about your teammates?"

"Great!"

"So, you're feeling good about the season?"

"No, Mom. I'm feeling great."

Oh, Those

"Mom, I'm done with soccer."

"You have three more games in the season."

"I don't like parts of it anymore."

"Which parts?"

"The running and the kicking and the defense and offense parts."