Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Baseball: America's Pastime


Admittedly, I never played much baseball growing up.


Quite frankly, I sucked at it. I was very much afraid of that ball, which lent itself to my poor fielding. I didn't, at the time, understand the mechanics of a proper baseball swing; I would always hit line drives and never anything that could really carry far.

In high school, I discovered how enjoyable watching a game could be with friends. As an adult (with a few nephews that enjoyed playing) I learned how much fun it could be actually playing. With that came a desire to learn how to properly catch without the fear of being hit (it'll happen either way, so make the damn play!) and proper hitting mechanics.

This is my first year coaching my oldest son in baseball, and I've got to admit: I'm having quite a great time with it. I've really boned up on baseball (special thanks to my brother-in-law) and the team is doing very well. Most importantly, I think the kids are really learning some of the skills needed to play the game well, in addition to the building up of teamwork and support.

Early on, when things would be going south, some would start jeering their team mates over mistakes made; now it's more of a "Let's get it back, let's go!" kind of attitude. A lot better.

We've won more than we've lost, but I'm kind of sad that we've only got two games left. Hopefully, we finish strong.

To those of you that do know me, I'm really not missing golf right now.

Shazam!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

some of my fondest memories were watching Kris play baseball.he had a hell of a strong arm in the outfield and his batting average was usually over .500.he was'nt a homerun hitter but he was usually on base when Jeff hit one.my favorite play was one night when he threw a runner out at home from deep left field.C

The Mert said...

I got to see him play once, during one of my over-night excursions in Ellinger.

He did play well, from what I remember. Of course, knowing him, he'll deny this and admit only to mediocrity.

Marilyn said...

I didn't enjoy playing in school for the same reason. So, I tried to be in the outfield where I wouldn't get hit... I'm glad that you are enjoying it now and making memories with him.

Anonymous said...

He does have a big head, actually a bbbiiiggg head not ego,just ask his Mudder.C Come to think of it you have a big head to ,must be a columbus thing

Kristopher A. Denby said...

I somehow missed this post and the discussion of my erstwhile baseball career.

Dad, you're getting sappy in your old age, but it's nice to know you have some fond memories that don't involve me crapping my diapers or crashing your truck.

Heh heh.

David,

Thanks for the kudos, mate. I was decent at the sport for a while. It all went down hill eventually, though. Never could quite handle you in 1 on 1 basketball, though, as i recall.