Game On

Here are a few shots from Buby's first baseball game on Saturday. It was a good one. The whole town was out cheering for our teams, and you could really feel the excitement.


Buby's league is considered Minor 1 Instructional. It's coach pitch for 6 and 7 year olds, so that's one level above T-Ball and one step below player pitch. There are 6 innings, each player is allowed 4 balls and 4 strikes, and the league doesn't technically keep score at this age. Otherwise it is exactly like MLB :)


This weekend's game reminded me how much I love baseball. I rarely catch it on TV, but it seems like yesterday I was sitting on a bench watching my little brother pitch for his team {sponsored by my dad and coached by my older brother and My Sweets}. Billy is now 30!


Our Redsox are still learning the rules and playing for the pure joy of it, but you can definitely feel their intensity too. Watching them go all in... chase ground balls... run wild to make it home... it can be exhilarating and sometimes amusing. I love this age group.


Buby was happy when we first arrived on Field 3, but I could tell he was also nervous. He loves practices and the camaraderie that goes with being on a team, but he feels so anxious about people watching him, and the bleachers were full due to the fact that it was Opening Day. As soon as the coach called him to bat he was terrified.


I ran to the dugout to give him a pep talk while everyone waited. Then My Sweets came and said his bit. A moment later Buby stood up, wiped away his discreet little tears, grabbed a bat and walked toward home base. It wasn't the comfortable thing for him to do, but I'm sure it's a moment he'll always remember. I still don't know what My Sweets said exactly, but it worked. Buby hit the ball and then got out at first, but he was doing it. He hit the ball every time at bat and tried to stay focused in the outfield. In the end I think we won by two points. I think. It was a surprisingly high scoring game, and nobody would give me a straight answer.


Meanwhile, Bleu made it her job to "work" on the dirt mountain behind the dugout and to periodically check on the team. She has decided she will play next year.


P.S. Look at these photos from Buby's first day of T-Ball in 2010.