Baseball

One of the many things contributing to our crazy schedule this weekend was a baseball 'try-out' for Eli. We decided to skip soccer this fall to give Eli the opportunity to try another group sport. (Two in one season sounds like too much for us at this time.) Since the boy obviously loves baseball, that seemed like the obvious choice. We picked a league that practiced and had games just down the street from us, intent to sign him up a few Saturdays ago. However, on the way to said sign-up, Lehr passed a sign for another league for the same age, and opted to try that one. Good call, as they allow some pitching. (Most leagues for Eli's age are tee-ball only.) This other league pitches five times; if a ball is not in fair play after that, the tee is pulled out. Brilliant! The age range is 4 - 5 1/2. Eli made the cut-off by one day.

So, back to the tryout. Our day was hectic, full of birthday parties (one before baseball and one after) and whatnot, but we planned for success. Power bars and baseball pants make it all work. The purpose of the try-out was to evenly distribute the team, but Lehr said it was still pretty intimidating. The kids went in groups of 10, all at different time slots throughout the day. They were pitched 10-12 pitches, then they ran around the bases to the 3rd base dugout (where Lehr was volunteering), and then they came into the field and hat do throw and catch. Eli did as well as could be expected...caught a piece of one or two pitches and tried really hard in the fielding (but didn't quite impress anyone). Lehr said he was pretty awe-struck the whole time. So many other kids dressed in baseball get up, so many bats and balls and so on. I think he'll learn a lot this season. He tends to focus so much more on the task at-hand when he's with older kids. Here's to our little leaguer!!