Sorry- the proud Dad's gotta brag on his kid just a bit

My youngest son (he's ten) pretty much eats, sleeps and breathes baseball. Go figure- he is my kid, after all.......

Anyway, he has been attending a biweekly skills camp since January, if for no other reason than to get his fix until Little League starts. The school district that my kids attend is a small rural district-putting two towns together they're lucky if they can field four little league teams in his age group.

So tonight I get a call from the guy running the camp. He's putting together a team to compete in a nearby bigger town's little league, and he wants my kid to play. He says he's got him penciled in at shortstop and pitcher. Anyway I thought that was pretty neat-o and had to brag on him just a bit. I know he'd only ten and it's just Little League, but I just love watching the kid play, because he's better than I ever was, and he just loves it, and every parent loves watching their kids do what lights them up.

Congrats! Hell, if ya can't boast about the 'lil mite here, then where can you?

Congrats Bernie, from a fellow baseball freak. I have two daughters, so baseball won't likely be their thing. OK if I live vicariously through you and your son for a bit?

Brag all you want, you needed a bright spot.

Congrats Bernie and son. I hope he has a great year.

Glad to hear you got some good family news to share buddy!!!

Awesome!

Baseball provided me with some of the best memories of my childhood. I still remember the game where I bunted a single, stole second, took third on a sac fly... and then the big fat guy clean-up hitter on my team with a slugging percentage over 1.000 and a home run every third at bat came to the plate and for probably the first time in his life didn't swing away... he suicide squeezed me in from third to win a game 2-1. He was actually an amazing player... went on to play college baseball and basketball. And it was truly a learning experience for me as a person to be on a team with a guy that much better... who you knew came up to the plate ready to knock one out of the park... and to see him square around to lay down a bunt.... And man, there's nothing like running in from third thinking, "damn, that bastard better be taking that bunt sign seriously..."

I was always a little slow guy. Besides the big fat guy (there's one on every team), I was always the second slowest in the sprints... and yet always wound up with the most stolen bases. I could always get a good jump. They'd stick me at second or third where my lack of speed didn't kill the team and when I came to bat, I'd either bunt, or else fake it to pull the third baseman in and then drop it over his head into short left field. I was a solid spray hitter by the age of eight. I was too slow of a runner to bat at the top of the order, but was a hell of a 7th or 8th man on the good teams where I wasn't batting second.

The teams I played on were always small ball. You get the burner kid on first base, then I'd get up there and get thrown out 2/3rds of the time or more, but moved the runner like clockwork... I learned all about stats like "quality at bats" when I came home crying about being 1 for 5... with three 5-3 ground outs to move the runner and 4 walks in a double header. Hell, I played till I was 18... and I don't think I ever failed to move a runner.... I didn't make my high school team because they went by the numbers in try-outs... I couldn't hit far enough and I ran too slow... but when I was 16, I played in a semi-pro 18 and over league as a utility-man. I had a decent enough knuckle ball to pitch when we were already losing by 10 or more, and could handle a couple innings at just about any position...

Thinking more about it now, I remember being pretty cocky about my bunting, telling the other kids that you have to be pretty retarded not to be able to bounce a baseball off a bat... As a result of that though, I don't think I ever played on a team where every player couldn't lay down a solid bunt. By the time I was 13 or so, I was putting on clinics... there's a touch you need to have.. depending on if you want the ball to drop and spin in the dirt, or squirt between the over-compensating third baseman and the deep shortstop. Once you know how to do it, it's stupid simple.. oh and man! I'm a lefty. Let me tell you there's nothing like showing a bunt, then pulling back at the last second and swinging hard, trying to push the ball towards left field when the third baseman is charging in.... I swear sometimes I could hear the s#it dropping into the third baseman's shorts.... That's the stuff I remember...

I <3 small ball.

Anyway... yeah.. about your kid. Congrats. There's a lot of great life lessons to be learned in team sports...

Bernie Brewer said:

My youngest son (he's ten) pretty much eats, sleeps and breathes baseball. Go figure- he is my kid, after all.......

Click to expand...

So, how long before he joins the brewing team

Congratulations to both of you!

Congrats Bernie!

We need some pictures or videos sometime!

Congrats! Good news is always welcome!

Gratz! Its an awesome feeling to watch your kid excel at something that they love, and you love for them. I have a daughter so baseball is out of the question. (Not to mention Im not a baseball fan by any stretch of the imagination) Fortunately I am an avid MMA fan and a huge part of MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) is BJJ (Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu).

Fortunately my daughter loves her BJJ class and its getting to where others are afraid to grapple with her. Hopefully she sticks it out for many years to come.
Maybe she will be able to beat daddy up one of these days. Buahahahaha
(Be careful what I ask for!)
-Me

Brag away!

But the truly awesome thing is your son having found something he REALLY loves. That kind of commitment carries through growing up and into adulthood.

Have a ball (pun intended) and help him keep the feelilng of joy and you'll both have a lifelong shard passion. What a cool thing.