Paddy and Aidan had their second game today. Paddy actually did a bit of outfielding (as opposed to daydreaming and completely missing the ball) and Aidan is getting better as catcher at keeping his eyes on the incoming ball. I had to help him today as there was no proper batter’s cage and the assisant coach wasn’t there so I basically played the cage and stopped the balls that were getting past him.
Both do OK on batting off the tee; Aidan does nice rising hits but they ended up in the pitcher’s glove at least once so he was called out; not that he cares much. Paddy managed to make it to first base all three innings. Baseball pants are not provided or required at this level, nor are cleats, and so Paddy and Aidan wear just sweatpants and normal sports shoes in addition to their hats and jerseys. It is really cute to see a kid barely past babyhood walk by with color-coordinated pants, belt, baseball socks and cleats, and a batting glove sticking out of their back pockets. When I say “barely past babyhood” it is almost literal. A couple of the Cardinals we played today were hardly any bigger than the tee.
The high school fields are coming alive with young athletes of all sizes, in the Minors or in track. Sean and Kieron saw a couple of kids they have known from former years. Kieron didn’t want to do it this year since Major level is steeper competition and it’s not his type of thing. Sean did well all through Majors but wasn’t interested in Babe Ruth because he is focusing more on football.
Sean has his longterm plan to play quarterback so he was hoping to see his coach down there and mention that he wanted to try out for the position. But no go, though he did see the coach’s son doing track.
Both of them (the little ones, not the older boys) were grouchy when they got home, bringing back memories to me of when the older three went to early elementary school and used to come home growling like bears because they had bottled up all the stress for several hours. Nevertheless, I think they are basically enjoying it. Paddy wants to keep his mitt and cap on even at home. They got their pictures taken today so we feel we’ve covered all the essentials for the season : ) The rest is just icing.
