August 23, 2022: Still Looking

posted in: Cubs, White Sox | 0

Forgot to sum up our first Fall Ball baseball game this past Sunday; the final result wasn’t pretty. Still looking for that first W in a long time as “manager”. Now that I think about it, wasn’t I manager last fall for my son? Actually, no… I was not. Yeah, I remember that killing me…. OK, I got it. So it’s been since 2019…

The final score was 14-2, yet, it’s not like that other team was so much better than us. It’s not like they were hitting the ball all over the field; it’s not like we were hitting either though, pretty much at all. It was mostly thanks to our own doing, which is the case a lot of time at this age. Get this: my son struck out 8 kids in 2 innings! Yeah, that’s not a typo. Only one kid hit him, yet he gave up 6 runs. He was a bit wild, issues a number of free passes, along with those couple dropped third strikes; those are really brutal. After giving up 4 in the first, he was in trouble in the 2nd; 1 run was in, the bases were loaded, there was nobody out, and the count was 3-0. Should I take him out? Nah… he needs to work through this; he needs to finish the inning. He fired 7 straight strikes, striking out 2 batters, before plunking the kid, which lead to the 6th and final run charged to him. He was spent. It was a challenge because our catcher was catching for the first time; he did well considering. My son caught the rest of the innings. I tell you, he’s a swiss army knife. He actually looked really good behind the plate… a left handed catcher! He went 1 for 2 at the dish too. He was upset with himself, and although it wasn’t his best effort, still pretty happy with it.

The team needs work; there is no doubt about that. The other team was solid, but not light years ahead of us by any means; I wonder how the rest of the league will look. We’ll find out next Sunday. Until then, practice time! Will get some practices on the schedule; see what the parents’ appetite is for practicing during this fall baseball league. I’m up for at least 2 per week. This is my workout, getting out there, coaching the kids; I love it. I’ll love it even more when the practices show up on the field on game day; the kids will get better… I don’t doubt that. How much better will they have to be?

One more funny story before I end it. So our first time catcher decides to walk out to the mound and talk to my son. The next pitch my son throws to the plate is an absolute lollipop. I find out after the fact, that the catcher told him to throw a change up, because his hand was hurting him. I told my son don’t ever throw that “pitch” again… love these kids…

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