Like thousands of other ballplayers across Texas, the young T-ball players at the YMCA have been plagued by rained-out practices and games, muddy fields and the hordes of fire ants that thrive in the wet weather."It's the worst season I've ever seen. We had a lot of rain," said Charlie Fox, who has been administrator of Little League baseball's District 16 since 1981.
"At one time or another, we had from 15 to 20 games postponed throughout our playoff tournament. But we got them all in, finally."
07/29/07 | permalink | comments [0]
TBogg writes about his and his daughter's experiences with Little League, in context of the debut of the remake of The Bad News Bears.
Having spent seven years toiling in Little League hell, there is so much that is accurate in TBNB. It seems like Little League exists solely to take all of the joy out of baseball for both kids and parents alike. I was on the Little League board for six of those years in various capacities all leading up to being league president, which I wouldn't wish on anyone. From t-ball dads who can't understand why five year-olds shouldn't play 24 games in twelve weeks to mothers calling at night because the coach hates little (Austin, Cody, Aspen, Garfunkel...pick one) and won't let him pitch in games, when I've seen the kid and he can barely make the throw from second to first. Then there were the parents who would drop the kids off at practice and practically peel out of the parking lot so that they can go to the mall for a few hours because they had a free babysitter and then would they show up late to pick the poor kid up while we waited in the parking lot in the gloaming (a word only used with baseball).Even worse than the meddling overbearing gonna-make-a-star-out-of-my-boy types were the ones who didn't even show up to watch. I had no problem with the parents who had to work or, with quite a few of my kids, the ones whose dads were in the navy and were out to sea. But to see a kid get dropped off before the game and then watch that car disappear only to show up a couple of hours later used to break my heart. For an eight year-old to slap a single through the hole or make their very first catch in the outfield (no small feat at eight) and not have a mom or dad there to see it is, in my opinion, far worse than missing their very first steps. Because that small achievement is a moment that should be shared by both a proud child and a prouder parent.
If you want proof (or maybe just reassurance) that even in a competitive atmosphere people can be levelheaded about the whole Little League thing, then I recommend you put the documentary Small Ball at the top of your Netflix queue. I saw it last weekend as part of the "Baseball as America" installation at the Museum of Fine Arts, and it rocked. Filmmaker Andrew Kolker was there to answer questions afterwards, and he confirmed when asked that he did not see any abusive or inappropriate behavior by the parents at the games he attended, either. See the movie and tell me if at least some of your faith in people isn't restored.
07/25/05 | permalink | comments [4] | trackbacks [0]
With two games to go, both of which were rescheduled due to rain, the Twins were tied for the lead of the Mustang division with a 12-2 record. Their penultimate game was yesterday against the co-leading Cardinals, against whom they'd split two games - the Cards whipped us in the season opener, and we nipped them in our last at-bat a week later. The winner of this game would finish first regardless of what happened afterwards.
The game was played at 4 PM, and it was suitably hot and muggy. On the plus side, as it was a Sunday afternoon, the kids' families were out in force. I think relatives of two of our players accounted for about 30 fans, but everyone was represented.
We had a bit of a scare before the game when one of our star players, who we'd slotted to pitch the late innings, was late arriving. I called his mom from my cell phone and she assured me he was on his way. He's a diabetic, and they'd checked his blood sugar as he was leaving, only to find that it was low. Having wolfed down a quick snack, he hauled ass to the field and was heading in as I was hanging up.
The game shaped up as a classic pitchers' duel. Both hurlers had their stuff working, and both of them were striking players out left and right. The Cards scraped up a run in the bottom of the second, and the score stood at 1-0 as we batted in the top of the fourth. Three base hits and a few wild pitches later, we led 3-1. I helped by showing the guys how to make rally caps, a vital aspect of their baseball education which I had inexplicably overlooked previously. The players, who usually goof around in the dugout, were on their feet cheering. It was great to see them that into the game.
After our tardy closer shut them down in the bottom of the fourth, we added two insurance runs. One of our bottom-of-the-lineup guys, who'd gotten his first hit in the prior game, drew a one-out walk and came around to score two batters later when our leadoff man, who'd gone 0 for 2 and struck out swinging at a bad pitch his last time up, doubled to center and scored himself on an errant throw back in to the infield. We were now up 5-1.
There were some tense moments in the bottom of the fifth as our closer struggled with his control. Two batters reached, on a walk and an infield hit, and both eventually scored after wild pitches. A two-out walk brought the tying run to the plate, but our guy still had something left in his tank as he got a strikeout to end the inning.
Best of all, the clock now read 5:31 PM, meaning we had reached the 90-minute game time limit. "Ball game!" shouted the umpire, as a huge whoop emanated from our side of the stands and from our guys on the field. Gloves were thrown into the air, backs were slapped, hugs were exchanged, and as we gathered to wrap things up, the realization settled over us.
The Twins were the champions of the Timbergrove Little League Mustang Division. Go Twins!
05/24/04 | permalink | comments [5] | trackbacks [0]
We won six games in a row before finally losing, as we did last night in a game that was closer for us than perhaps it should have been. Though we did some good things, including throwing a runner out at home, our pitching was shaky and our offense took awhile to get untracked. The kids were disappointed that they lost, but I think they've got a better appreciation now of why they'd been winning.
It's amazing how easy it is as a coach to lapse into Coachspeak, that cliche-riven amalgam of pithy sayings and Hallmark inspiration. "Losing is a habit, and so is winning," I intoned last night. "We need to get back to the habit of winning." I'm not sure what amazes me more, that I can think of things like that to say on the spur of the moment, or that it's not even an effort to maintain a straight face while doing so. I guess it helps when this kind of stuff is not well-worn to your audience.
Overall, I'm very pleased with the progress most of these kids have made. They're getting more confident in what they can do, which is a big hurdle to clear. They're just now at the age where they're coordinated enough to really build on physical skills they've been taught, and it's really rewarding to see a kid who's been working on his swing all season finally make contact. You don't really appreciate how hard hitting a baseball is until you see kids struggle to do it.
With another rainout last weekend, our schedule continues to be full as we scramble to make up missed games. We're halfway through the season but we've only got about 2.5 weeks to go. No rest for the busy, that's for sure.
Chron columnist Ken Hoffman has an amusing tale of coaching strategy and Lombardiesque speechmaking for his 7-year-old team. I don't think I'd have the guts to try that kind of shifting defensive players, but hey, if you can't experiment at this level, when can you?
05/04/04 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [0]
Having entered the (for me) uncharted waters of winning a game on Tuesday, we kept on plunging forward by embarking on a winning streak - the Twins defeated the Marlins 9-2 last night for the second straight victory and a 2-1 record overall. Even better, Tiffany was there to see it, so now she's experienced the thrill of victory with me. The Twins get a rematch against the Cardinals tomorrow, who beat them easily on Opening Day. They'll have to take them on without me, though, as Tiffany and I will be attending an orientation at the hospital where the baby will be born.
The old saw about pitching being some monumentally large portion of winning baseball is fairly accurate in Little League, especially in a division like ours, where the kids are pitching for the first time. Despite scoring 18 runs in the last two games, we really haven't hit the ball all that much. A lot of our rallies have been based on walks and wild pitches. Conversely, our hurlers have been outstanding this week, with far more strikeouts than walks and good control overall that's kept the opponents' running game in check.
The new field itself is a factor in all this. Our practice field, which is where the games were played last year, had no outfield fences and a backstop that was very close to home plate. The new field has real fences (170 feet down the lines on our field, 175 to dead center) and a much more distant backstop. No one has hit a home run yet, but several balls that were hit between or over the outfield that would have been home runs last year wound up as triples because the fence enabled the defense to get to them in time. Sinilarly, quite a few runners have scored from third on wild pitches where last year they probably wouldn't have tried.
Last night's game could have been even less close, as we had one runner thrown out at home after a wild pitch (I thought he was safe, but it was very close) and another called out due to obstruction, as the batter failed to get out of the batter's box while the catcher was retrieving the ball and throwing it to the pitcher. Actually, as there were two outs in the inning, the umpire correctly ruled that the batter, not the runner, was out. This had no practical effect, since it was what turned out to be our last at-bat, but it gave me confidence in the umpire's abilities. One of the underappreciated pleasures of Little League is the opportunity to visit some of the more obscure areas of the rule book.
We turned another double play, this one to end the game, last night. With a runner on second, the batter hit a soft line drive that was caught by the pitcher. The runner, who clearly didn't fully understand the rule about tagging up, was going on contact and steamed into third while our pitcher tossed the ball to the second baseman for the last out. Overall, our defense was as good this game as the last one, which also helped us a lot.
Two in a row! Break up the Twins!
04/16/04 | permalink | comments [4] | trackbacks [0]
That sound you heard tonight had nothing to do with the Presidential press conference. That was the sound of the monkey climbing off my back in the wake of the Mustang Twins' first win of the season, a 9-5 triumph over the Astros. My two holdover players and I are officially off the schneid and in the W column.
The game was not without its tense moments. With the score 4-1, the bases loaded and one out in the top of the third, the Astros batter hit a line drive that was snagged by our shortstop, who then stepped on second to double off that runner and end the inning. Call it an omen or call it dumb luck, but both the batter and the shortstop were on my team last year. We upped the lead to 9-1 in the bottom half of the inning, as that same shortstop hit a two-run triple and later scored.
Games are limited to 90 minutes in our league, which basically means that no half-inning can start after that hour and a half have passed. Game time was six PM, and we entered the bottom of the fifth up 9-5 and 7:21 showing on the clock. Had we taken nine minutes to bat, the game would have ended, but we were retired in five. Once the sixth inning begins, the five-run limit is rescinded, so we either had to hold them off or not let them get too far ahead and take our chances at last licks.
The first batter in the top of the sixth grounded out, but the next two reached on a walk and a single. Batter #4 then hit a popup on the first base side of the pitcher's mound. Our hurler, that same shortstop from earlier, got his glove on it but couldn't hold it. He then went for a force at third but the throw was late. I was starting to sweat.
Thankfully, the umpire remembered that this was an infield fly situation, which I had quite forgotten. He called the batter out - the runners were allowed to advance as they had, but I didn't care. We had that magic second out. The next batter hit one back to the box for out number three, and the celebration began.
As anyone who followed through my 0-12 campaign last season can attest, winning or losing any individual game is not what's emphasized at this level. We're all about having fun, learning to play the game properly, and improving over the course of the year. No matter how you handle it, though, losing all the time is tough on the kids. They do try their best, and it's really hard not to get at least some tangible, obvious reward for it. Whatever happens from this point forward, these kids now know that they can win. Learning how to deal with losing in a sportsmanlike and dignified manner is important, but so is learning how to win in a sportsmanlike and dignified manner. Success can breed success, but it can also breed arrogance and a sense of entitlement, and in some ways can be harder to cope with than failure. It's good to experience and learn from both of them.
No time to bask and wallow in it - we play again Thursday and Saturday. We had only one game scheduled last week due to Easter, and it was rained out. Three games a week will be the norm for the rest of the way. We're 1-1 now, and I think we're ready for what comes next. Go Twins!
04/13/04 | permalink | comments [7] | trackbacks [0]
Opening Day was Saturday, and my perfect record as a coach remains unblemished. Unfortunately, that means we lost, 12-3. We had a bad first inning, nobody came close to hitting the ball until their second or third time up, and we didn't make any plays in the field.
Though it wasn't pretty to look at, there were some positives to take away. Our pitchers had good velocity and struck out a lot of batters while only walking a few. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that the other team made as much contact as they did against them. One of our kids, who hadn't really hit the ball all throughout practice, walked and scored in his first at bat, then made contact in his second. It was a popout to the second baseman, but he was justifiably excited (as were we all) by getting the bat on the ball. Progress is always incremental, and it's important to celebrate the milestones when they pass by.
What was most encouraging, though, was the realization that these kids can and will play better than they did this time. They know it, and we know it. Our penultimate practice on Tuesday was sloppy and mistake-filled, then we pulled it together and had a sharp practice on Thursday. I have hope that the same effect will take place again, for tomorrow's game.
One note from Thursday: We got our Twins caps, and as they were trying them on, one of the kids asked me about the cap I was wearing. I told them that it was the team cap for the Yakult Swallows and that I'd gotten it at a game in Tokyo. They were all duly impressed, though what they were most curious about was what kind of food one could get at Jingu Stadium. That in turn led to a debate over the merits of sushi. We're nothing if not a cosmopolitan group here.
04/05/04 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
Opening Day for the Timbergrove Little League is this coming Saturday. We'll finally get to play on the brand-new fields that were supposed to be ready for last year's season but were delayed due to drainage problems. We were able to practice there last Tuesday, and with two batting cages we were able to really multitask effectively. Gary worked with pitchers and catchers while rotating everyone through for a few swings while I hit grounders and fly balls for some defensive drills. It was really sweet.
There have been a couple of bumps and bruises in recent practices, thanks to some bad hops and some bad glove-holding technique. The former can't be avoided, but I'm hoping that the latter will help convince some of the kids who hold their gloves pocket-side up all the time that there's a better way. We made it through last year without anyone getting really dinged up, and I hope that continues this year.
One of the mothers approached me after Thursday's practice to ask if we were going to work with the kids on how to slide. That's something I didn't do last year, and truth be told it's not a really high priority this year, not when the basics of throwing and catching are still big needs. Besides, though I've not forgotten how to do it, I'm not sure how easily I'll get back up after demonstrating a slide. Seeing a coach injure himself will surely leave an impression, though it may not be the impression you want to leave.
We definitely have some pitching power this year - four guys who can throw fastballs that will be hard for the average kid to hit. Defense is always a shaky thing for any team, so the more Ks you can rack up, the better your odds will be. The catchers will come from this same group of kids, so we might also be able to control the running game a bit. The rule is that you can't leave a base until the ball passes the batter. For the most part, if the pitch is caught by the catcher, runners stay put. Our guys will have a chance at making a play at least some of the time when they don't catch the ball cleanly.
We've had good weather karma so far - no practices lost to rain as yet. Fridays are the designated rain days during the season. I hope we don't need them.
Six days to go. I'm getting excited.
03/28/04 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
We've had a week of practices so far, and there are many differences between this year's team and last year's at the same point in time. Last year I was still trying to figure out what the kids' skill levels were, but this year it's a lot more apparent. Two of our kids already have their tickets to the All Star Game punched, most of the others are showing various abilities, and there's only one true beginner. Another difference is in hitting. Last year, early batting practice against live pitching involved a lot of swinging and missing. This was especially frustrating because all of them demonstrated they could hit against a pitching machine at the batting cage. This year, just about everyone is making at least some contact, and one or two kids have genuinely surprised me with the bat. We should score some runs this year.
I'm doing well as a second banana, filling whatever role needs to be filled at a given time. I think I'll be spending some extra time with the less experienced kids, working on the basics of throwing and catching. A lot of these kids don't have any instinct for how to hold their gloves when a ball is approaching. They automatically hold them face up, as if to make a basket catch, even on chest-high throws. I'm going to break them of that habit if it drives me (and them) crazy. Throwing is harder to teach, but I keep drilling the same fundamentals - extend your arm, step as you throw, the shoulder drives the action and not the elbow - and I hope it sinks in.
Spring break is this week, so we'll have a smaller crew show up at practices. Gary the head coach will be out of town, so I'll be the interim coach in his absence. At least this time I have some idea what to do.
03/13/04 | permalink | comments [5] | trackbacks [0]
Thursday night was the draft for the Timbergrove Little League, so barring anyone coming or going, the rosters are now set. Quite a bit happened that night, starting with the fact that I am no longer the head coach of the Twins. I am now an assistant coach. I'll explain that in a minute.
The draft started off with all of the coaches for each respective division gathering together. The league president went over all of the administrative tasks - team sponsorships, deposits for equipment bags, practice fields, candy sales, and so on - then explained the rules for the draft. Basically, each team started with a certain number of players who were guaranteed to be on their teams. They are coaches' children, and players who were on that team the previous year and wanted to return to it. Some players expressed a desire to be on a certain team or to be on the same team with certain other players, and we were to try to accomodate them within reason.
The teams with the fewest players would pick until each team had the same number, then the draft proceeded with rounds alternating in worst-to-first and first-to-worst order. The Twins had the fewest players to start with and finished in last place, so the draft was a chance to rebuild.
After all of the preliminaries, the six coaches in the Mustang Division realized that there were only 55 players total, meaning nine players per team. That wasn't gong to work, since every kid misses a game here and there, so we decided to combine two teams. There were two teams that had one player each - the Twins, who had a single returnee from last year, and a new team, the Giants, who had the coach's son. That coach and I volunteered to join forces, with the new team keeping the Twins name. Since he has a son playing, we agreed that he'd be the head coach. So now you can just call me Assistant Coach.
The draft went spectacularly well for the Twins. Every other team had between three and six players to start out, and they all had certain kids that they had to take to satisfy various requests. We had no such constraints and were able to pick off several of the more talented kids that we'd seen last Saturday.
The kid we picked first was one of my guys from last year, who had originally indicated that he wanted to be on a different team. Fortunately, when I spoke to him and his mother on Saturday, they both said they'd be okay with having me as his coach again. The other coaches were also okay with that. Even better, he and another good player had asked to play together, so we wound up with both of them. We picked up two other standouts during the catchup rounds, and by the end of the evening felt like we were loaded for bear.
The thing that I liked about the draft the most, though, was actually getting to know my colleagues a bit. Coming in last year with an already-formed team, I was never really acquainted with the other coaches. Now I feel like I'm on more equal footing with everyone else.
As for my "demotion", I'm happy to be relieved of some tasks that I didn't have to face last year due to my last-minute status, such as arranging for a team sponsor. With the baby due in May, which is season's end, I knew I'd need someone else to help me out anyway, so this works out just fine. But I admit that a part of me already misses being the guy in charge. I'm going to need to keep my instinct to take command in check.
Practices should start this week, probably Tuesday. I'm ready to get started.
02/28/04 | permalink | comments [2] | trackbacks [0]
Checking out the talent
02/21/04 | permalink | comments [2] | trackbacks [0]
Coach 2: Electric Boogaloo
02/09/04 | permalink | comments [4] | trackbacks [0]
Coach lets team manage itself
07/07/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
I shall very likely return
06/08/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
The Little League All Star Game
06/01/03 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [0]
And so it ends
05/23/03 | permalink | comments [2] | trackbacks [0]
All Stars
05/14/03 | permalink | comments [3] | trackbacks [0]
Feeling a little down
05/06/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
Setting goals
05/01/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
Nearing the halfway point
04/29/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
The good, the bad, and the strange
04/14/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
Can't win 'em all
04/12/03 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [0]
Some days you win, some days you lose...
04/07/03 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [0]
Thus endeth spring training
04/04/03 | permalink | comments [2] | trackbacks [0]
Why I've never wanted to be a manager
03/31/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
So when does this season actually start?
03/24/03 | permalink | comments [3] | trackbacks [0]
Little League goes on
03/21/03 | permalink | comments [2] | trackbacks [0]
Spring break takes its toll
03/15/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
Spring is here
03/10/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
So what kind of coach will I be?
03/05/03 | permalink | comments [5] | trackbacks [0]
Now pitching
03/04/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
Batter up!
02/28/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
Rainout
02/25/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]
Practice notes: Getting to know you
02/22/03 | permalink | comments [1] | trackbacks [1]
Just call me Coach
02/17/03 | permalink | comments [0] | trackbacks [0]