WHY TO LITTLE LEAGUERS, IT'S THE PROS

My son’s team made the playoffs and looking at these kids from day 1 until now, there is no doubt, they watch too much baseball on TV, and it’s absolutely hilarious.

These kids show up early, they put their helmets in there spots, lineup the bats and toss some seeds in their cheek and get warmed up. Half of them show up with their own eye black already on their faces, others put it on when they get there. They razz each other like Jeter and A-Rod would in the dugout and they are constantly keeping a run tally, even when the coaches forget. These kids are 8, but these kids think these games are the biggest events ever.

The stances are hilarious too, although when watching TV and seeing these pros at the plate, they pick up bad habits. Kids start moving around in the batter’s box, twirling the bat and they don’t set when the pitch comes in. Next thing you know, they’re swinging through it and don’t know why. “Because you’re not Robinson Cano” is all I can tell them. I’ve told these kids time and time again; stop that movement as soon as the pitcher sets so you have time to swing. If it’s a fast pitcher, move back in the batter’s box so you have an extra split second. If he’s throwing lollipops, move up so you can time it and crank it. Simple stuff. And why do kids not like to choke up on the bat handle? Do they feel like they aren’t a true ball player if they do? “Ty Cobb is one of the greatest hitters ever and he choked up” I'll tell them. “Who?” they asked. “Ask your dad,” I say.

The other night, one of the kids struck out twice. The third time up, I told him to move back in the box, he fouled off 2 and struck out. The fourth time up, he stood in the box. “Choke up 1 inch,” I yelled “And move back again”. Next pitch...Boom, a liner past 1^st… a base hit. He ran through the bag and walked back toward me, I was coaching first. “Now do you believe me?” I said with a smirk. “Yeah coach” he said with the biggest smile on his face.

The pitching is pretty funny too. My son now wears the socks high, David Robertson style. His pitching is improving so it’s getting good to watch. 2 nights ago he struck out 6 batters out of the 8 he faced in 2 innings. He allowed 1 hit, 2 runs and walked 1. The last batter he faced, he chucked in 2 pretty quick fastballs and the batter was totally lost. He looked at me in the dugout and smirked. The next pitch was a change up. The batter swung so early it was a little embarrassing. With a fist pump my kid just owned the inning and as he walked back to the dugout, he looked at me and said “Did you see that?” How can you not love that?

I’ve said it time and time again. Baseball is the greatest sport ever and when you watch these kids develop, you know that out of the 15 kids on the bench, 5 will end up playing in college, and maybe 1 will maybe go pro, but that doesn’t matter right now because if you look at these kids on the bench staring out at their teammates batting with eye black dripping down their face and seeds in their cheek, one thing is clear… this is the pros. You’ve got to love that.

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