Passing the torch.

[Columbia Craw]

My son and I watched my grandson play his last baseball game of the season yesterday.  This was at the same field my son played at and coached his teams for three years. That was over thirty five years ago.  My son and I made some special memories over those three years.

 

It was  a special day to see my boy watch his boy and it was time to pass the torch.  Desmond had an incredible season in spite of having a split home.  His mother has issues. But Desmond’s desire to play and his ability to grow as a player and teammate helped his mom to take a special interest in her son that she had not demonstrated until this year.

 

Most rewarding was my son’s commitment to see the healthy values of sports I taught him being emphasized and installed every day. My son works a schedule that did not permit him to go to Saturday games so it was Papa’s responsibility to fill in. What a joy.  Desmond played well, is a great teammate, a good sport, dedicated and had so much fun. We have a short season to play fall ball and that looks promising.  This experience was the best!

[gim]

I assume this is little league baseball. I played little league when I was a kid for a few years and still have lasting memories of it to this day. I also umpired it for 10 years after I stopped playing. I was a good player but I was an even better umpire. They always asked me to do playoff games and the leagues final games.

[throttleplate]

10 minutes ago, gimruis said:

but I was an even better umpire. They always asked me to do playoff games and the leagues final games.

 

I bet they called you robo ump🙃

[DaubsNU1]

What great memories! Thank you for sharing!!

 

Fortunate that my daughters loved sports...as a part time photographer, started taking pictures of their teams...and as they grew, so did my photography. Such fun when their high school basketball and softball coach allowed me field and court access...heck, I even had a press pass for a few years. 

 

 

 

I was under the basket when the won state championship basketball, and on the field winning state championship softball. 

 

 

 

[islandbass]

Thanks for sharing such a great story. I too have a special heart for baseball and almost made it to the LLWS in 82 or 83. 
 

I also passed it onto my son although a bit late (he was into other sports at the time). He played for two years and the last was in the major little league. He did gain my ability to hit the ball, although he didn’t have my power, at that age, lol (think ichiro). He is a natural at any sport and baseball was no exception. Starting late in baseball can be a recipe for sink or swim in terms of “getting it”. His peers had years on him and a good number played on what are called select teams. In his one and only year in the majors, he was put on the with so many good players.  These kids throw harder, faster and were much more fundamentally sound than my generation at this time. They even took recording stats to another level 😱. There was a team mom that tracked and recorded stats as if they were MLB players. 
 

My son was 9th in the batting order at the start of the season, but by the 4th game of the season, moved him to 1st. The stats showed he at least singled or doubled at just about every at bat. And then his teammates usually brought him home getting the team on the scoreboard quickly.  He averaged .450 for the whole season. Dang. He got that one over me. I was around .400, lol. 
 

Anyway, thanks for sharing. I thoroughly enjoyed reading every word. Memories to cherish for sure and it stirred my own memories back to the forefront. 😇👍😎