Little League is Upon Us

When I was a youngster, I played two years of little league baseball. Technically it was not Little League, with the capital letters, and any team I was on would never make it to the Little League World Series. I played in the Pony League, which was an organization that was big in Sacramento in the '80s.

I played one year of "Coach Pitch," and one year of "kid pitch." I don't remember too much from Coach Pitch, but I do remember walking a whole lot in Kid Pitch...and getting hit a lot, too. I remember only getting a single hit, and making contact twice in the same at bat, fouling a pitch off before lining a single to right-center. I think my OBP (on-base percentage) was in the upper .800s. I remember just wanting to swing for a change...

Anywho, Cass has joined a fall-ball league, and around here (Long Beach), fall ball is a short season with kid pitch until ball four, then coach pitch, and they switch turns in the field after the fifth batter no matter what. These are a couple of good rules. This way no one get's too zoned out out in the field and there's not an avalanche of walks.

This is also not technically the Little League, this is the Long Beach Cal Ripken League. But both Little League and Pony Baseball have a presence here, too.

I love that Cass and I can talk about baseball, and watch baseball, and have meaningful conversations about my baseball cards that he's claimed. Check him out above: rockin' the high socks and Don Mattingly's number.

The other day, Saturday, he found a collection of DVDs I bought years ago, my Yankee dynasty collection, a series of sports programs and year-in-reviews for 1996, 1998, '99, '00, and '01. There's also pivotal games from each year as well. Last Saturday we watched Game 4 of the 1996 World Series. There were no commercials, but it wasn't a series of highlights. It took a few hours. I showed Cass how to read the box score, so he knew which innings had the action, like Leyritz's homer in the 8th. 

I've been showing him Jeter highlights, too, like the flip play against the A's (RIP A's, pour some out for the homies) or his many tumbles into the stands.

Cass even caught the first pop-fly of the season for his team while manning 3rd base. So glad we spent all that time talking Mike Schmidt and George Brett.

Anyway, funny enough, all this baseball talk on my dad's birthday...so, happy birthday dad! Playoff's start today, too, with the Yanks getting a bye in this first round.